CAREERS

Federal Government
State and Local Governments and Tribal Governments
Interest Groups and Associations
Law
Overseas with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's)
Foundations
Professional Political Scientist
Resources in the Career Services Office

What In the World Can I Do With a Political Science Major?

Believe it or not, you can do a great deal in the world with a political science major. The content of a political science major and the skills developed in political science courses provide the foundation for many careers. As a political science major, you study government and politics, both in the United States and around the world, how public policies are formed, the ideas and theories that shape those policies, and how people act in their roles as citizens. But along the way you also acquire analytical skills, administrative competence and communication abilities that are valued in diverse occupations.

Here are some examples:

CAREERS FOR POLITICAL SCIENCE MAJORS

Following are a few of the major career areas for political science majors. And be sure to take advantage of the services provided by the Careers and Callings Office located in Walton Hall

For more general information about careers for political science majors print out this handout:
http://www.bc.edu/offices/careers/meta-elements/pdf/majors/political.pdf

For descriptions of a variety of positions in public affairs and administration visit this Web site sponsored by the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration:

http://www.naspaa.org/students/careers/alumni.asp

Federal Government

There are 4.2 million civilian and military federal government employees working in federal departments and agencies, ranging from Cabinet-level departments such as Defense, State, Homeland Security and Education, to non-Cabinet agencies such as the Social Security Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U. S. Postal Service. Examples of a position in a federal agency would be associate director of communications for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), desk officer for Turkey at the State Department, or attorney in the Criminal Justice Division of the Department of Justice. Working for a federal department or agency does not require one to live in Washington, D.C. In fact, only about 12% of federal civilian employees work in Washington; the other 88% work in the 50 states, in foreign countries, and American territories.

You might consider working for either a member of the U. S. Congress on his/her personal staff or for a congressional committee. Personal staff members track legislation for the members, provide constituency service, and help draft legislation. There are about 11,500 personal staffers. Committee staff members organize hearings, also help draft legislation, and meet with lobbyists. House and Senate members maintain offices in Washington, as well as in their home states and districts. Working on a candidate’s campaign may lead to a position if that person is elected to Congress so think ahead.

For more information, visit these Web sites:

www.usajobs.opm.gov (USAJobs—Official Job Site of the U. S. Federal Government)

www.ourpublicservice.org (Partnership for Public Service)

www.rcjobs.com (Job Site for Roll Call, Capitol Hill newspaper)

http://www.house.gov/cao-hr/ (U. S. House of Representatives Employment Opportunities)

http://www.governmentjobsearch.com/ (Federal Job Search)

State and Local Governments and Tribal Governments

There are 18.6 million state and local public employees across the country. Examples of state and local government positions include township manager, wildlife supervisor for a state department of natural resources, or commissioner of mental health. Members of state legislatures, like their counterparts in the U. S. Congress, also have personal staffs. American Indian tribes have their own government staff. An Eastern alumnus is now an attorney for the Nez Perce tribe in Idaho.

For more information, visit these Web sites:

www.ajb.dni.us (America’s Job Bank)

www.ourpublicservice.org (Partnership for Public Service)

http://www.ncsl.org/public/joblegis.htm (National Council of State Legislatures Jobs Clearinghouse)

http://jobs.icma.org/documents/careers_brochure_2003.cfm?cfid=44472&cftoken=54565437 (International City/County Management Association brochure on Local Government Management)

http://www.naco.org/ (National Association of Counties—click on Jobs Online)

http://www.aspanet.org/scriptcontent/Custom/CareerCenter/jobseeker/ViewAllJobs.cfm (Job Listings for the American Society for Public Administration)

http://www.tribal-institute.org/lists/justice.htm (Tribal Court Clearinghouse)

http://www.firstgov.gov/Government/Tribal.shtml (Official U. S. Government website for tribal governments and Native Americans)

Interest Groups and Associations

The AFL-CIO, the National Rifle Association, the Sierra Club, the National Right to Life Committee, the National Abortion Rights Action League, the National Council of Churches, the Family Research Council, the Pennsylvania State Education Association—all are examples of interest groups that are attempting to influence public policymaking at the federal and state level.

If you care deeply about a particular area of public policy and want to impact that policy area, then consider working for an interest group. Although the word “lobbyist,”  has negative connotations, a lobbyist’s role is an important one because lobbying is another way in which the people communicate their views with their elected leaders. Not all interest groups are created equal; some groups have far more money and members than the groups that represent the other side on an issue. This inequality is a problem in American democracy; however, interest groups and associations represent the First Amendment’s right of association in action.

Examples of positions with interest groups and associations are program director for the Christian organization, Center for Public Justice, executive director for a state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), or chief lobbyist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The last example reflects the fact that businesses and corporations have government relations offices that track legislation affecting their industries and lobbyists to represent their interests at the state and federal level. This is a growing area of employment. Also, several church denominations have government relations offices located in Washington, DC so that they can voice their views on issues. If you are especially interested in how religion and politics intersect, consider an internship with one of these church offices.

Related links:

http://www.pagr.org/employment.shtml (Pennsylvania Association for Government Relations)

http://www.alldc.org/career.htm (Lobbying as a Career)

http://www.wgr.org/ (Women in Government Relations)

Church Denomination Websites

http://capwiz.com/pcusa/home/ (The Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church, US)

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3654_ENG_HTM.htm?menu=menu3649 (Episcopal Public Policy Network)

http://www.elca.org/advocacy/federal/ (Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs)

http://www.nationalministries.org/mission/ogr/ (American Baptist Office of Government Relations)

http://www.usccb.org/ (U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops)

http://www.umc-gbcs.org/area/index.php?area=1 (United Methodist General Board of Church and Society)

www.mcc.org/us/washington (Mennonite Central Committee Washington, DC Office)

Careers in Law

Law is one of the fastest growing professions in the United States; we now have about 750,000 lawyers. Lawyers may be solo practitioners, helping clients with a range of issues, from personal injury claims, to writing wills, to selling a house.

Others may work in a small firm that specializes in labor law or personal injury law. Many work for large firms that focus on corporate and tax law.  Some lawyers practice criminal law, either as a criminal defense attorney (private attorney or as a public defender) or as a prosecutor (a local district attorney or for the U. S. Department of Justice).

An Eastern alumnus, Bryan Stevenson, heads the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama. (http://www.eji.org/) which represents indigent clients on death row. Other attorneys work in the areas of human rights, American Indian law, immigration, and other public interest law.

If you are interested in a career in the law, the University of Pennsylvania provides an excellent overview of different areas of the law:

http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/gradprof/law/law_career.html

Careers Overseas with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

In foreign affairs, NGOs are increasingly important actors. For example, when the tsunami hit Southeast Asia in 2004, NGOs such as the United Nations, World Vision, Doctors Without Borders and other relief agencies were instrumental in bringing aid to the devastated areas. NGOs have an ongoing role in the crisis in Sudan. Positions in these organizations often concern development assistance, environment issues, issues revolving around health and population, education, humanitarian relief and research.

For more information, visit these Web sites:

https://jobs.un.org/elearn/production/home.html (United Nations Human Resources with vacancies listed)

http://www.fpa.org/jobs_contact2423/jobs_contact.htm (Foreign Policy Association Job Board)

www.idealist.org

www.ngo.org (NGO Global Network)

Foundations

Foundations are private, nonprofit organizations that provide grants to nonprofit organizations to support their activities. One of the largest foundations in the United States, the Pew Charitable Trusts (http://www.pewtrusts.com/) , is located in Philadelphia. Other foundations include the Rockefeller Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Foundations are also known as grantmakers since they provide money to nonprofit organizations.

For information on positions with foundations, as well as with other types of non-profit organizations, visit:

http://philanthropy.com/jobs/ (Chronicle of Philanthropy job listing)

http://www.cof.org/index.cfm?containerID=113&orglink=47 (Council of Foundations Career Center)

http://fdncenter.org/pnd/jobs/ (Foundation Center job listing)

Professional Political Scientist

Most who pursue a career in political science find a teaching and/or research position in colleges and universities. For these positions, a Ph.D. is nearly always a prerequisite. Teaching positions at community colleges may not require a doctoral degree. Besides teaching, political scientists may work for professional research organizations, such as The Heritage Foundation or the Brookings Institution, for survey research organizations such as the Gallup Organization, or for foreign affairs research organizations such as the Council on Foreign Relations.

Visit these Web sites for more information:

http://www.apsanet.org/section_419.cfm (The Graduate School Connection of the American Political Science Association)

http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/profiles/dayInLife.asp?careerID=122 (A Day in the Life of a Political Scientist)

Career Resources

Resources in the Careers and Callings Office

Axelrod-Contrada, J. (2003).Career opportunities in politics, government, and activism.

Baxter, N. J. (2001). Opportunities in government affairs.

Willsea, J. S. (Ed.). (2003). Alternatives to the Peace Corps: a directory of global volunteer opportunities.

The Careers and Callings Office subscribes to Opportunities in Public Affairs, a publication that lists openings in congressional offices, government relations offices and nonprofit organizations.

News Resources

Christian Science Monitor - http://www.csmonitor.com/
New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/
Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com/
The Economist - http://www.economist.com/
CNN - http://www.cnn.com/
BBC News - http://news.bbc.co.uk/
Le Monde - http://www.lemonde.fr/
C-Span - http://www.c-span.org
Philadelphia Inquirer - http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/
Newspapers across the U. S. - http://www.newspaperlinks.com/voyager.cfm

Government Resources

Congressional Information - http://thomas.loc.gov/
U. S. House of Representatives - http://www.house.gov/
U. S. Senate - http://www.senate.gov
White House - http://www.whitehouse.gov
U. S. Supreme Court - http://www.oyez.org/oyez/frontpage
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/
Contacting the Congress - http://www.visi.com/juan/congress
The U. S. Government’s Official Web Portal - http://www.firstgov.gov
National Conference of State Legislatures - http://www.ncsl.org
National Governors’ Association - http://www.nga.org
Pennsylvania State Government - http://www.state.pa.us/
Pennsylvania’s Local Governments’ Websites - http://sites.state.pa.us/govlocal.html?papowerPNavCtr=%7C30207%7C
State and Local Governments on the Net (all 50 states) - http://www.statelocalgov.net

Foreign Affairs

United Nations - http://www.un.org/english/
U. S. Department of State - http://www.state.gov
The World Factbook - http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
Country Studies - http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html
U. S. Department of Defense - http://www.defenselink.mil/
Elections around the world - http://www.electionworld.org
European Union - http://www.europa.eu.int/index_ns_en.htm
Columbia International Affairs Online - http://www.ciaonet.org
Foreign Affairs magazine - http://www.foreignaffairs.org
Foreign Policy magazine - http://www.foreignpolicy.com
African Politics - http://www.africapoliticsonline.com
Asian Government and Politics Sources on the Internet - http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/por/asiabase.htm
Middle East Government and Politics Sources on the Internet - http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/por/mebase.htm

Christians and Politics (This list reflects just a sampling of the range of Christian groups intersecting with politics.)

Focus on the Family - http://www.family.org
Friends Committee on National Legislation - http://www.fcnl.org
Concerned Women of America - http://www.cwfa.org
Faithful America - http://www.faithfulamerica.org
Traditional Values Coalition - http://www.traditionalvalues.org
Progressive Christians Uniting - http://www.progressivechristiansuniting.org
Family Research Council - http://www.frc.org
Sojourners - http://www.sojo.net
Bread for the World - http://www.bread.org
Evangelicals for Social Action - http://www.esa-online.org
Christian Alliance for Progress - http://www.christianalliance.org/site/c.bnKIIQNtEoG/b.592961/k.ABD2/About_the_Alliance.htm
Christian Coalition - http://www.cc.org
Pax Christi - http://www.paxchristiusa.org/
Catholics for Faithful Citizenship - http://www.catholicsforfaithfulcitizenship.org/
Christian Peacemaker Teams - http://www.cpt.org/
National Council of Churches - http://www.ncccusa.org/
National Association of Evangelicals - http://www.nae.net/

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