<p>My sibling just received BA in Political Science with concentration in International Politics from UVa. We are just concerned about her getting a job. Note that we live in NOVA and my sister is willing to get job in greater DC/NOVA area. I had few questions </p>
<ol>
<li>What types of job can she expect?</li>
<li>Does Pol Sci graduates get job easily or a large portion remain unemployed?</li>
<li>What type of salary she can expect?</li>
<li>Other than regular job site such as Washington post, dcjobs monster etc, is there any particular place/site that helps to find job for UVa students exclusively?</li>
</ol>
<p>I think there are consulting type jobs available for political science majors. One of my friends got a consulting internship for this summer, another got an unpaid internship with Eric Cantor, and yet another, who just graduated, got an actual consulting job. The graduate’s wage is comparable to my internship wage at around $16.50/hr and my friend who has the internship is actually making $18.00/hr. I’m a math major btw. Both their jobs are in NOVA however, which is obviously a more expensive than Richmond where my internship is (so I’m probably coming out ahead). </p>
<p>The problem with a political science major is that there a lot of 'em and not enough jobs on the market for all of them. The skills associated with the major aren’t all that unique or in demand either. Political Science, History, English, (insert a culture) Studies, Sociology, Classics and Philosophy more or less all share the common skill set of critically thinking about and understanding the moral, philosophical and geopolitical problems/outcomes in literature, history or the real world and then writing a paper about it. Now critical thinking skills, comprehension skills and communication skills are very important, but the fact of the matter is that the desired level of competency in these skills sought by employers are possessed by majors that also offer more technical skills. </p>
<p>Statistics, Mathematics, Engineering, Economics, Computer Science, Business are what is hot right now. They have enough reading, writing and thinking skills to get by, but offer so much potential in terms of their specialty skills (math, coding, designing, etc.)</p>
<p>Anyway, look at the political science major part of CC to find some more insight on this subject.</p>
<p>It’s going to be hard getting a job nowadays without a math/science/engineering degree, and even a business degree wont guarantee anything unless you go to a top school. The humanities are basically dead with very few jobs, most of which are low paying. I really never understood why people would major in the humanities knowing that it would be hard to get a good paying job. I know people say to study what you love, but love wont pay the bills.</p>
<p>My first reaction was that it’s rather late to be asking these questions! Your sibling should be working with UVA’s career center to figure out her options. UVA should have employment statistics available for their graduates including where polysci majors accepted jobs, average salaries etc. A good number won’t be working directly in politics…some may go on to graduate school…others sales etc. The career center will be a great resource for UVA students.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Politics BAs get all kinds of jobs. Their prospects have a lot more to do with their personal qualities, ambition and overall resume than mere possession of a degree. There almost certainly are politics getting offers from top consulting firms (McKinsey, Bain, etc), investment banks, media firms, etc. You aren’t among them because it sounds like you don’t know what you want to do and you did nothing to prepare yourself for entering the real world.</p></li>
<li><p>A large portion (majority?) of recent college graduates are unemployed, even from good schools. Politics majors are among the worst off. Combining an undesirable major with a lack of planning, ambition and savvy is a recipe for disaster.</p></li>
<li><p>With a good deal of hustle, a Politics major from UVa could land at a firm like McKinsey and make $80,000 right out of school. In the absence of planning, ambition and savvy? I don’t know - what does Starbucks pay? </p></li>
<li><p>There are two resources for UVa alumni to use in the job hunt:</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Cavlink is the official career portal of the career center. Employers who recruit on grounds (you apparently didn’t know about this) use it for resume drops, and many others use it to advertise positions to UVa alumni in general. It is very useful.</p>
<p>HoosOnline is UVa’s online alumni directory. It has job listings. It also has numerous alumni listed by UVa major, extracurriculars and current firm - VERY useful for networking (something you need to explore).</p>