What Careers are in Political Science?
Careers in political science as well as other, closely related fields are not at all uncommon in today’s job markets. Political science is all about governance, institutional organization, and power. For those interested in this line of work, the opportunities are, in fact, quite abundant, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To get a better idea of what job opportunities lie within this realm, here’s a quick look to some of the most directly related vocations.
Lobbyist
A lobbyist is someone who essentially makes presentations of many sorts to different government representatives and officials. These professionals are ultimately interested in advancing the goals, ideas, or other agenda matters of their respective employers by way of government alliance and agreement with the cause. Lobbyists’ employers can range from corporations, to public advocacy groups and others.
Elected Official
Probably the most commonly associated career path for the political science major is that of the elected official. In some cases, graduates are able to head right into elected positions right after school. In other cases, the graduate is offered a job working for an elected official or office and, with time, is then able to pursue such office themselves. Building affiliation and experience often plays a substantial role here after graduation.
Policy Analyst
Public policy and governance can become extremely complex matters of strategy, trade-offs, and even absolute risk. Getting it right can save lives and improve the quality of life for countless, while getting it wrong can have the direct opposite effect. Enter the policy analyst.
Policy analysts can work for an elected official or for some other employer such as a media organization. Their job is to analyze political climates and the governing actions that can have various impacts on that climate. In fact, many politicians rely quite heavily on the input of such analysts for their day-to-day decision-making.
City Planner
City planners are employed by many cities and townships for the purpose of planning the most optimal, future utilization of city lands and structural properties. Efficiency, funding, heritage, culture, traffic, and overall societal benefit – these are all the types of issues that the planner must keep in mind while they do their specialty work of planning entire cities’ futures. In some cases, this position is referred to as an “urban planner.”
Teacher
Teaching is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when many people consider careers in political science. However, this is a directly applicable vocation in which the political science major can go on to bestow their knowledge to subsequent generations of political science achievers. High school and middle school offer many opportunities here as well as colleges and other, higher education institutions.
Related Resource: What is an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist?
Political science, in many ways, is what makes the world go around. It is the achievers in this field that become the next politicians, advocates, and societal organizers. These five occupations are just a few examples of the many careers in political science that can readily be found today.
