What is Political Science?
Many occupations today require a college educated individual who can write and speak well, solve problems, learn new information quickly and work well with others on a team. This means that Political Science graduates use their education in a wide variety of fields, and your future career may relate more to your personal career interests, work values and transferable skills than any specific academic major. Obtaining experiences within a particular field is extremely important in preparing students for life after college. These experiences can be in the form of internships, part-time jobs, or volunteer positions. Regardless, they allow students to develop specific knowledge and skills that both help a student solidify their career choice, and improve their chances of employment in that field following graduation. The following list contains a representative sample of job titles of former graduates with Political Science major. Use this as an idea list, and remember that it represents some, but certainly not all, of the careers you might consider.
Students obtaining employment immediately upon graduation are usually those with the best college records and a willingness to relocate to find a job. Some of these jobs also require education beyond a bachelors' degree.
CWU Political Science Department
| Federal Government | State & Local Government |
|---|---|
| Civilian Consultant to... | County Treasurer |
| Assistant Secretary of State for... | Advisor |
| Deputy Undersecretary of... | County Council Member |
| Officer, FBI | Chief of Staff |
| Secretary, Department of... | Deputy Secretary |
| Teacher, Overseas School for... | Assistant Chief of Police |
| Program Analyst | Program Director |
| Management Auditor | Legislative Coordinator, Mayor's Office |
| Tax Inspector | State Personnel Officer |
| Researcher | Juvenile Justice Specialist |
| Foreign Service Officer/Specialist | State Chief Purchasing Officer |
| Ambassador | City Planner |
| Archivist | Supervisor, State Department ... |
| Budget Analyst | Labor Relations Specialist |
| Historian | City Project Coordinator |
| GAO Evaluator | Senior Criminologist |
| Public Affairs Specialist | Assistant Budget Examiner |
| Intelligence Specialist, CIA | City Housing Administrator |
| Staff Aid, Congressional Committee | City's Coordinator of... |
| Information Technology Manager | |
| Nonprofit Organizations | Campaigns and Polling |
| Director, Nonprofit Agency | Campaign Manager/Consultant |
| Field Officer, Human Rights Campaign | Political Director |
| Public Relations Specialist | Survey Researcher |
| Director, Fund Raising | Political Reporter |
| Research Analyst | Pollster |
| Political Director | Fundraiser |
| Budget Analyst | Director, Political Action Committee |
| Program Manager | Press Officer for Candidate |
| Lobbyist | Issue Analyst |
| Political Consultant | |
| Law | Journalism |
| Paralegal | Writer/Editor |
| Deputy Secretary to the Governor | Producer, Local Television News |
| Research Consultant | Director of Corporate Public Affairs |
| Assistant Chief of Police | Information Manager |
| Public Interest/Consumer Advocate | Television Reporter |
| Broadcast/Newspaper Reporter | Press Officer |
| Public Policy Analyst | Public Affairs Research Analyst |
| State Legislator | Director of Surveys, Television |
| Mediator | Network |
| Judge | |
| CIA Inspector | |
| Criminologist | |
| Commissioner | |
| Juvenile Justice Specialist | |
| Labor Relations Specialist | |
| Assistant Budget Examiner | |
| Politician | |
| Labor Union Official | |
| Attorney | |
| Corporate Legal Counsel | |
| Law Professor | |
| International | Education |
| Peace Corp Volunteer | Government/Politics Teacher |
| International Banker | Curriculum Developer/Supervisor |
| Analyst, CIA | Researcher |
| International Research Specialist | Education Reporter |
| Foreign Service Officer | College Professor |
| Press Officer | Student Affairs Administrator |
| Strategic Planning Specialist | |
| Translator | |
| Instructor | |
| Director of International Marketing | |
| Policy Analyst | |
| Lobbyist | |
| Field staff | |
| Agent, International Bureau, FBI | |
| Consultant to Multinational | |
| Corporations | |
| International Correspondent | |
| Related Major Skills | |
|---|---|
| Oral & written communication | Decision-making |
| Problem-solving | Analytical thinking |
| Research skills | Leadership abilities |
| Interact with diverse populations | Able to develop & market ideas |
| Understanding of community needs | Computer literate |
| Team worker | Work well under pressur |
Job & Internship Search Links
Federal Government Jobs, http://www.dcjobsource.com/fed.html
Federal Job Search, http://www.federaljobsearch.com
Federal Jobs Net, http://www.federaljobs.net
FedJobs, http://www.fedjobs.com/
FirstGov, http://firstgov.gov/
Government Departments and Agencies,http://www.firstgov.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml
Govtjobs.com, http://www.govtjobs.com
U.S. Government Manual, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/gmanual/index.html
State & Local Government
Council of State Governments, http://www.statenews.org
GovJobs, http://www.govjobs.net
GovSpot, http://www.govspot.com
International City/County Management Association, http://www.icma.org
Local Government Institute, http://www.lgi.org
National Association of Counties, http://www.naco.org
National Conference of State Legislatures, http://www.ncsl.org
National Governors Association, http://www.nga.org
National League of Cities, http://www.nlc.org
State and Local Government on the Net, http://www.statelocalgov.net
State and Local Governments, http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/stategov/stategov.html
U.S. Conference of Mayors, http://www.usmayors.org
American Society of Association Executives, http://www.asaenet.org
Corporation for National and Community Service, http://www.cns.gov
Idealist, http://www.idealist.org/career
Internship Programs, http://www.internshipprograms.com/
Internships in Political Science,http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/dhedge/internshipmainpage.htm
Internweb, http://www.internweb.com
American Association of Political Consultants, http://www.theaapc.org
American National Election Studies, http://www.umich.edu/~nes/
American Presidency Project, http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/
CCPS's Courses, http://spa.american.edu/ccps/institutes.php
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, http://www.dccc.org
Democratic National Committee, http://www.democrats.org
GWU's Semester in Washington, http://www.gwu.edu/%7Esiw
National Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, http://www.nrcc.org
Political Resources on the Net, http://www.politicalresources.net/usa1.htm
Project Vote Smart, http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm
Republican National Committee, http://www.rnc.org
UA's Certificate Programs, http://www.uakron.edu/bliss
WCS's Training Sessions, http://www.wcsyale.org
American Bar Association Career Corner, http://www.abanet.org/lsd/resources/
Association of American Law Schools, http://www.aals.org/
American Judges Association, http://aja.ncsc.dni.us/
Association of Trial Lawyers of America, http://www.atlanet.org/
Attorney Jobs, http://www.attorneyjobs.com
Counsel.net, http://counsel.net/jobs/
Lawyers from the Occupational Outlook Handbook, http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos053.htm
FindLaw, http://careers.findlaw.com
Internet Legal Rasearch Group, http://www.ilrg.com/pre-law.html
LawInfo Career Center, http://jobs.lawinfo.com
LawJobs, http://www.lawjobs.com
Lawyers Weekly Jobs, http://www.lawyersweeklyjobs.com
Legal Employment, http://www.legalemploy.com
National Association for Law Placement, http://www.nalp.org
National Bar Association, http://www.nationalbar.org
National Center for State Courts,http://www.ncsc.org/
National Federation of Paralegal Associations, http://www.paralegals.org
NC Bar Association, http://www.ncbar.org/
U.S. Courts, http://www.uscourts.gov/employment.html
WashLaw, http://www.washlaw.edu
Washington State Bar Association, http://www.wsba.org/
Washington State Courts, http://www.courts.wa.gov/index.cfm
American Journalism Review, http://www.ajr.org
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, http://www.aejmc.org
Broadcast Education Association, http://www.beaweb.org
JournalismJobs, http://www.journalismjobs.com
TV Jobs, http://www.tvjobs.com
Foreign Policy Association, http://www.fpa.org
IE3 Global Internships , http://ie3global.ous.edu/
International Affairs Resources,http://www2.etown.edu/vl/
Union of International Associations, http://www.uia.org
YMCA International, http://www.ymca.int/
American Political Science Association,http://www.apsanet.org/content_3478.cfm?navID=8
Center for Civic Education, http://www.civiced.org
Close-Up Foundation, http://www.closeup.org
Constitutional Rights Foundation, http://www.crf-usa.org
National Association of Independent Schools, http://www.nais.org
National Association of State Boards of Education, http://www.nasbe.org
Teaching Political Science,http://www.apsanet.org/section_168.cfm
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management,http://www.appam.org/careers/index.asp
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, http://www.cbpp.org/
Global Policy Forum
Moving Ideas (Jobs in Policy), http://www.movingideas.org/content/en/jobs.htm
Public Agenda, http://www.publicagenda.org/pages/
Think Tanks, http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/psthink.html
Society for Political Methodology, http://polmeth.wustl.edu/
Southern Political Science Association, http://www.spsa.net/
Congressional Research Service, http://www.loc.gov/crsinfo/
Cato (Think Tank), http://www.cato.org
Institute for Public Policy Research*, http://www.ippr.org.uk/jobsandinternships/?id=83
The Washington Center, http://www.twc.edu
Presidential Management Fellowship, https://www.pmf.opm.gov/Index.aspx
The Fund for American Studies*, http://www.dcinternships.org
Jefferson Consulting Group, LLC, http://www.jeffersonconsulting.com
Public Policy & International Affairs Fellowship Program,http://www.ppiaprogram.org/programs/jsi.php
Washington Internship Institute*, http://www.ielnet.org/
World Affairs Councils of America, http://www.worldaffairscouncils.org/
Riley Guide Jobs in Public Service, http://www.rileyguide.com/public.html
Calling Students to Public Service Careers, http://www.naspaa.org/students/students.asp
American Society for Public Administration,http://www.aspanet.org/scriptcontent/index.cfm
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, http://www.aei.org/
Teacher-Postsecondary from the Occupational Outlook Handbook,http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos066.htm