Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
ENC 2135
science concerned chiefly with the description and analysis of political and especially
governmental institutions and processes. At first glance, one could assume political science is
simply keeping up with politics, no different than being a sports analyst. But upon further
examination, one learns that political science not only keeps up with politics, but also examines
how politics affects current and future events, society, and our day to day lives.
I first became truly interested in the study of political science around freshman year of
high school. From a young age, I had a higher than usual interest in following politics than most
children, and my parents regularly joked about me becoming the president one day. As I grew
older and decided I want to pursue a political career, I began to realize I didn't really know what
political jobs there were besides being a politician. This was perhaps one of the driving factors in
researching job opportunities in the political field, not only for the sake of the project, but also
because I still didnt know what I could do with my degree. This essay, however, not only helps
clarify post-graduation opportunities, but also how a political science degree will aid in the
acquisition of a job. After completing the assignment, I not only learned what was available to
me, but what skills would be needed to find a job, and how to harness those skills into being
successful in my future career. In addition, the essay also covers the basics of a political science
degree; what students are learning, what skills are being taught, and how political science degree
out what political science was. Through secondary sources, as well as interviewing those familiar
with the field, an image began to form that depicted the complex world of politics. In short,
political science is exactly what it sounds like: the science of politics. But looking further,
political science takes many different forms, and can focus on many different subjects. Political
scientists can study healthcare, revolutions in third-world countries, elections, the environment
the list goes on and on. Political science is so wide a field, because anything that can be affected
by policymaking and the government falls under its umbrella. Political Scientists also come in
many different forms; the can be teachers, news commentators, reporters, etc. All in all, pretty
understanding the major of political science. I examined a study conducted by person that
compared degree programs from colleges all around the country. By looking at studies like this
one, I could compare the schools programs with FSUs and get a general idea of the current
ideas, teachings, and mindsets of political science teachings. The study created a general outline,
similar too the mapping process of FSU, that highlighted what those researches thought was the
Part of understanding the major, however, is also being able to understand how to use
that degree to get job and be successful in it. I began looking at studies to find out how
successful political science majors were in finding a job, and I also looked at jobs in the political
science field in general. Moving away from scholarly articles, I began to focus more on my
professional sources; career guides, newspaper articles, etc., that all covered how you could use a
articles to annual job reports; basically anything that talked about post-graduation opportunities.
When it came time to choose who to interview, I thought it would be difficult to choose
who to talk to. Being such a vast field, it seemed as if there would be endless options on who to
speak with. But after talking with those that were familiar with the field, I was able to use the
connections I had to find interviewees, and the process was actually much easier than I thought it
would be than when I first set out. The first person I knew I really wanted to talk to, who would
be able to greatly help me out, was my public policy professor, Charles Barrilleaux. Not only
was he a professor who would have an understanding of the major, but he was also the author of
several popular papers, give examples, and the textbook Democratic Policymaking. I knew that
speaking with him would allow me to gain a better understanding of how I could use the degree
to succeed after graduation, as well as let me hear his thoughts on political science as a whole.
The next person I decided to speak with was Kimmy McMillin, a student here at Florida
State who is also a political science major. Kimmy and I have known each other since I was a
freshman and she was a junior in high school, and we both had a passion for politics. I went with
Kimmy because not only is she a political science major, but is also extremely engaged in the
political sphere outside of the classroom. I knew she would have enough knowledge to answer
The final person I interviewed was Jared LastName, who is an employee for the Attorney
Generals office here in Tallahassee. Jared would be an ideal candidate to interview because he
worked regularly with one of the figureheads of the Executive Branch for Floridas government.
The attorney generals office works with all three branches of government, as well as the
bureaucracy which allows them to have a unique understanding of the functions of many aspects
When I was completing my research, many of the results were surprising and shocking to
me, and definitely werent what I was expecting to find. The most shocking thing to me was that
the number of political science jobs has decreased in the past ten years. In a time where politics
are more heated and popular than ever, my assumption was that the number of jobs would be
normal, if not increased. But the study found that they had been steadily declining, and were at a
10 year low.
In conclusion, jobs in the political science industry vary greatly, and encompass just