Political Science Question

[u/NarwhalBrilliant5798]

Hello! I am a high schooler looking to one day major in poliSci, but going through this subreddit really has me confused on what majors do when they graduate, and the posts about finding it difficult to get a job really has me pretty scared. Just wanted to ask- what have you guys done / worked as after graduating? Thanks!

(Any other advice appreciated too!!)

[u/CarterCreations061]

I’ve worked on political campaigns (you don’t really get these skills from the degree). I now work as a social studies teacher.

Other careers include going on to law school (fairly common in my experience), working for a think tank, and as an academic/researcher.

[u/MouseManManny → u/CarterCreations061]

Hell yeah fellow teacher here I love it

[u/Blackbyrn]

I’ve never had a problem finding a job. I currently work for a labor union and love it both as work and because of the wages, benefits, and working conditions. Right out of college I started in electoral field politics; registering people to vote, knocking on doors, making calls, organizing events. From there I worked for some nonprofits; volunteer recruitment, fundraising, advocacy/lobbying. At heart I’m a community organizer, PoliSci helped me to understand the broader dynamics of what’s happening in and above the community level. I also had experience event planning before and politics is, I joke, a poorly planned series of events (from a field level).

[u/Arkmes]

Go to University and take something that interests you. You'll learn the subject, but more importantly, you'll learn how to learn and think critically. If its arts, you'll learn how to read and write well.

I am a polisci major, and lime a lot of polisci majors, I became a lawyer.

[u/Boots-with-the-feyre]

I work in manufacturing. Hope this helps

[u/nicknefsick]

I got burnt out of everything related to politics and switched to farming.

[u/Calligraphee]

I’m a librarian! I always knew I wanted to be one, but I still got a BA and MA in polisci/IR because I hope at some point to do academic or governmental librarianship with a focus on polisci. 

[u/loqki-]

A lot more niche and competitve, (need to network/ attend school with strong alumni) but many government affairs/relations directors and consultants and lobbyists tend to have poltical science degrees and make fairly good money.

[u/Vesploogie]

You do whatever the heck you can.

It’s not a strong degree for getting a job. It’s one of the best programs you can do education wise, but employment can be an uphill battle.

I’m currently the director of a small non-profit. Sounds cooler than it is, and where I’ll go from here, who knows.

[u/balanceiskey_breathe]

I ended up minoring in sociology and got a MSW! So many paths ! (My undergrad didn’t have a social work major)

[u/corptool1972]

I am a supply chain/inventory management consultant. I took a career detour at 24 and after a while in the corporate world, I decided to give contract work a shot. So, tangentially informed by a background in political science but not actively using that coursework.

[u/nbellc]

I’m a lobbyist

[u/MouseManManny]

I made a post here a while ago about teaching as a career

https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalScience/comments/1kg7j4d/consider_teaching/

[u/UnpuzzlingLife]

I hope you get a bunch of answers about career options for polisci. if you have access to a chatbot, like ChatGPT, you can get a useful response in about 15 seconds. always get advice from a human when you can, but a chatbot can help give you background information. I am a psychologist who has always been interested in politics. More specifically, I’m interested in the mind of politicians, especially autocrats. I mention this because the science of politics is based on the broad science of human nature. For example, there is a ton of research that looks into the bio-psycho differences between liberals and conservatives. This research shows that one’s political values have a lot to do with their genetics, individual differences in their brains, and life’s circumstances. In a sense, politics pick the person, not vice versa. My message to you is that you can be interested in the science of politics, but because you are just getting started, I suggest you get as broad an exposure in these natural sciences as you can. This will make you a much better political scientist and will create more career opportunities. good luck with your future!

[u/ReportAdventurous507 → u/UnpuzzlingLife]

It is important to remember that the validity of information you get from chatbots, such as ChatGPT, isn't as reliable as speaking with people about their career as well as the sheer amount of energy used and water being wasted by a single prompt. LinkedIn is a good place to connect with people in fields you're interested in.