<pre><code> This is my first post on the site and it's confusing trying to find the right forum so that's why I'm posting this here. My interest in politics spiked up during my junior year of High School and I have recently decided to have a career in it. Thing is, I don't think majoring in political science would be a good idea because I've heard that many undergrads end up becoming analysts and that a Master's is required for most governmental jobs. It would be better off for me to major in Economics, but I don't like the idea of calculating things in an office all day; I want a career that includes a mix of office and outside work, I love to travel.
But I read online that an economics degree can help me land a job in politics, or business, so it seems like an Economics degree is the smarter choice. Then there's international studies. This sounds like the most interesting degree to me but I have read many negative comments about it. It's hard to find a job with the degree, I would be better off to major in polisci,etc. I also recently found out that I would be able to do a double major with international studies and another degree. This is due to the fact that the course load in INS is not heavy at my school. I have a future goal of working in Cuba since that's my native land and I was told by someone that a business degree would be useful for this. Although my Spanish is good, there's a lot I can improve on. The issue is that I think I would be better off focusing on Asian studies if I choose INS as my major because knowing Mandarin is an advantage and there are many jobs in China. This would mean that I would be able to speak, write and read three languages. I can improve my Spanish by reading books, writing more and watching Spanish videos.
So I was thinking of possibly combining INS with either economics, public policy, international business or business administration and double minoring in psychology (more on the social side) and communication ( or one minor and one concentration). The reason I chose psychology as a minor is because I'm very interested in how humans interact and it's a skill that will help me out in any career. Communication skills is very essential in any job and it's in high demand; that's why I would like to minor in it as well. It also helps in all kinds of relationships. What do you guys think I should do??
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<p>Minors are useless. And you’re mistaken about Psych and Communications which are seen as very thin and weak areas of study. If your goal is to serve in politics, you should pursue an area of study where you can affect policy. That can be from PoliSci, History, science or math or Econ/business, Int relations, Spanish, English or many fields. People end up in politics because they find areas where they want to serve and effect change. There is no pre-determined Major that people must acquire. It’s a function of what interests you.</p>
<p>And you’re mistaken that govt jobs require Masters.</p>
<p>I would recommend international relations, political science, history, economics, public policy as a major; however International Studies + Spanish as a double major could work, too, as long as you take enough economics and political science classes. A history class involving history of the cold war would be handy too.
International Relations jobs are fairly prestige-conscious so if you’re not attending a “famous” school in that field, it’d be a good idea to get a graduate degree in a “prestigious” school.
Another way to get recruited for national agencies is to be admitted to any of the Critical Language Flagships.
Communication and Psychology are widely seen as “easy” majors (outside of specific schools famous for those fields), as well as business - not too intellectually demanding, little theory, not much reading/writing, etc. Of course it depends whether we’re talking Wharton or Directional Business Major.</p>
<p>In all honesty, if you want to get into “politics” your major doesn’t matter one bit. However, in the list you provided economics does seem to be the best option, along with learning a critical language.</p>
<p>Statistics is also big in politics now, especially if you want to do strategic communication consulting or campaign work. If you could double major in econ and applied math you would be golden.</p>
<p>^I agree with the comments above. And especially BlueJayBJ, because Statistics is becoming useful for a lot of careers (especially in government and political affairs). I would stay away from Psychology unless you plan to pursue a master’s or doctorate in that field. Too many undergrads are becoming psychology graduates, yikes! You can’t do much in that field without a higher degree.</p>
<p>But I think you should look into PoliSci, Economics, InternRelations, Public Policy, Business Admin for a career in politics. You don’t need a higher degree for most jobs, and what’s wrong as starting off as an analyst? Clearly, you’ll move up.</p>
<p>OP, your school matters a ton. Economics coming out of Harvard is great. But coming out of Nebraska U is probably worth about what a degree in Social Work or Basket Weaving is worth.</p>
<p>Politics is an old boys club. You can get in from the outside, but if you’re not coming in from HYP, it’s about like joining a local Free Mason chapter. You start at the bottom, put time in, and get promoted.</p>
<p>If you want to get into politics there are quite a few options. Political science, economics, history, philosophy and business are all great choices for a career in public service.</p>
<p>As someone who also wants to go into politics I would still recommend political science as it still teaches you the most relevant skill sets to being a public servant. The reason many political science majors don’t get a career in politics is because either A they don’t want one as the major is promoted as being something that can be used for many fields or B they don’t start early enough in regards to building a resume . </p>
<p>The best advice to someone who wants to start a political career is to work for as many political campaigns as possible by the time you graduate. Having a brand name school helps but in politics more than any other field knowing people is more important.</p>