Politics – the oldest drug known to mankind.
And if you are pursuing a graduation in political science, chances are that the political bug has bit you too. Now that your degree is coming to an end, you must be wondering – what the heck should I do after this?
We can imagine your pain. You must be going through various resources on the internet, only to find that they are all useless.
Until you came to this website.
We did all the research, talked to various stakeholders, and now we bring to you the authoritative guide to career options after B.A in Political Science – With salaries, job profiles and growth opportunities included:
Budget Analyst
An amazing option for you if you have just graduated after completing a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science is to become an Budget Analyst. Good salary, great growth opportunities, opportunity to apply all that political knowledge, and some travel sprinkled here and there. What more can a B.A political science graduate need?
If you don’t know, Budget Analysts apply expert analytical and mathematical skills to advise businesses, as well as local and federal government offices on how to organize their budgets. They also write and audit reports, and use such data to make recommendations to organizational leaders.
In the government sector, Budget Analysts sometimes assist with policy analysis and in providing advice to law makers regarding budget regulation decisions.
The work profile often varies with the company and your position in the organizational chain, but your major work is going to be this only. Leadership and management opportunities are available in ample once you attain a certain level of experience, if that is an important factor for you in choosing a career.
You can expect your starting salary to be around 3,00,000 rupees per annum, but this is not a hard and fast rule. If you are applying to a bigger company and are able to adequately display your skills, you can get a much higher package. And as for growth prospects, the same rule applies. If you are good at what you do, you can expect quicker promotions and more leadership opportunities.
Work-life balance varies from government sector to private sector, but in general, your weekends are going to be holidays and working overtime is going to be a rarity.
Public Relations and Fundraising Manager
One more underrated career option for political science graduates is becoming a Public Relations and Fundraising Manager. Think about it, you have studied political science for 3 years. Is there anyone else who is more applicable to become a Public Relations and Fundraising Manager than you? Not if you ask us.
Public relation managers are essential to the organizations that they support. They are responsible for trending social, economic, and political issues that have a direct effect on the organization. They also make recommendations based on such trends that directly and positively enhance the public image of organizations.
Fundraising Managers coordinate campaigns, formulate fundraising strategies, and plan events that would generate donations towards such campaigns.. Some parts of the job profile may differ from company to company, and the same goes for work-life balance. Some companies make sure that their employees have a great work-life balance; other companies not so much.
If you are a fresher in this field, you can expect to get a package of anywhere around 5,00,000 rupees at your first job. Monetary growth is slow, but quite steady. But keep in mind that this is never going to be a profession where you can get huge amounts of money. The money is good enough to maintain a decent lifestyle. Nothing more, nothing less.
The job market is brimming with aspiring public relation managers, so it might be a little difficult to break in, but if you really loved studying political science, then you can be sure that you are going to love being a Public Relations and Fundraising Manager.
Legislative Assistant
A slightly unique or offbeat career option for students of B.A. Political Science is Legislative Assistant. But being unique does not mean that the work is not good or that the pay is not that high. It just means that there are not a lot of people who tread this path, for whatever reason it may be.
So, what are the responsibilities and work profile of an Legislative Assistant, you may ask? Worry not, we have the answer. Senators, Assembly Members, Representatives, and other elected officials at all levels of government hire assistants to help them in carrying out their duties.
As you can see, the work is very interesting, especially if you are interested in attaining political office over time. But a word of warning if you are not particularly a ‘jugaadu’ guy (or girl), please don’t get into this profession as you would be miserable most of the time. Don’t say that we didn’t warn you!
And of course, how can we not talk about salaries. Starting salaries are roughly in the range of 2,50,000-2,70,000 rupees. Mostly employment would be found in cities, so if you are from a rural or semi-urban area, be ready to relocate.
Growth prospects (both monetary and otherwise) are great at the moment (we wouldn’t be recommending this to you otherwise, would we?). So, to stress the original point of this article, becoming a Legislative Assistant is a great option for BA political science graduates.
Political Scientist
Another option that you may not have thought of, being a political science graduate, is becoming a Political Scientist. Okay, sarcasm aside, becoming a Political Scientist is actually a really good idea. There is a reason that people automatically assume that if you graduated in political science, you are going to become an Political Scientist. This career is safe, with steady demand and steady salaries.
If you paid zero attention during your degree, here is what a Political Scientist does – Political Scientists examine various aspects of the governmental system, including the ways towns, cities and countries operate and interact, and make policy decisions.
They research and analyze how government administrations and private organizations exercise power and react to change and accordingly suggest possible solutions to problems and issues that subsequently arise.
To help make sound recommendations, Political Scientists evaluate public opinion polls, election results, and how changes in legislation can affect the political, social and economic climate.
Salaries are good in this profession, with a decent amount of money being offered to freshers. Monetary growth is slow, but quite steady. There is not a lot of travel involved in this job, but you may be subjected to a few transfers here and there. Excited? Great, start applying to Political Scientist jobs. Not your cup of tea? Read on, we got a few more options to help you along.
Political Campaign Manager
Another career option that’s been on the rise lately is Political Campaign Manager. Due to the advancement of humankind into the internet age, campaign managers have become a necessity for most political candidates. And that’s where you come in.
So, what does a Political Campaign Manager actually do? Very simple. They hire, supervise, and delegate various tasks to campaign staff and volunteers. Upon analyses of political polls, they organize campaign strategies that involve marketing, communications, PR, and fundraising. Campaign managers are in charge of everything their candidate publicly says or does.
For achieving this, Political Campaign Manager needs to have complete knowledge of various technical skills, such as social media marketing, along with creative problem-solving skills. There are many courses that you can do to learn the different technical skills involved in this profession; one Google search would give you more than 100,000 results.
And as for the problem-solving skills, one can only gain them from experience. It is because of this reason that most experienced Political Campaign Manager recommend beginners to get started as soon as possible. Start with candidates who are running in panchayati elections, and who knows where you might end up.
Salaries are highly variable in this profession (like most others), but on average, you can expect to earn anywhere around 2,50,000 rupees in the beginning of your career.
So these were some of the highest-paying professions that you can go for after completing a B.A. in Political Science. Did you like the article and found it informative? Then please share it with fellow political science students so that they can make well-informed decisions about their professional life. Subscribe to our newsletter to get a weekly update about the different career options added on the website.