Political Scientists
Study the origin, development, and operation of political systems. May study topics, such as public opinion, political decisionmaking, and ideology. May analyze the structure and operation of governments, as well as various political entities. May conduct public opinion surveys, analyze election results, or analyze public documents.
- O*NET-SOC code
19-3094.00 - Preparation Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$142,080
Employment, U.S.5,540
Median hourly wage$68.31
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $83,350 | $114,030 | $142,080 | $174,180 | $195,190 |
By state (15)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 50 | $108,770 | 0.42 |
| Colorado | 30 | $127,260 | 0.32 |
| District of Columbia | 3,070 | $152,530 | 122.81 |
| Florida | 90 | Not available | 0.25 |
| Illinois | 110 | $103,780 | 0.49 |
| Maryland | 100 | $153,380 | 1.05 |
| Massachusetts | 170 | $133,930 | 1.30 |
| Michigan | 180 | $86,290 | 1.12 |
| New Hampshire | $74,560 | ||
| New York | 130 | Not available | 0.36 |
| Ohio | 40 | $119,370 | 0.22 |
| Oregon | $119,460 | ||
| Pennsylvania | 70 | $140,020 | 0.33 |
| Texas | 160 | $114,050 | 0.32 |
| Washington | 110 | $147,060 | 0.83 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary | 5 | 0.986 |
| 2 | Sociologists | 5 | 0.968 |
| 3 | Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 5 | 0.963 |
| 4 | History Teachers, Postsecondary | 5 | 0.961 |
| 5 | Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary | 5 | 0.957 |
| 6 | Law Teachers, Postsecondary | 5 | 0.957 |
| 7 | Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary | 5 | 0.951 |
| 8 | Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary | 5 | 0.950 |
| 9 | Anthropologists and Archeologists | 5 | 0.950 |
| 10 | Geography Teachers, Postsecondary | 5 | 0.949 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Political Scientists, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | Time Management | 0.87 | 0.963 |
| History Teachers, Postsecondary | Time Management | 0.87 | 0.961 |
| Anthropologists and Archeologists | Management of Personnel Resources | 1.00 | 0.950 |
| Geography Teachers, Postsecondary | Instructing | 1.25 | 0.949 |
| Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | Time Management | 0.87 | 0.942 |
| Communications Teachers, Postsecondary | Instructing | 1.38 | 0.942 |
| Equal Opportunity Representatives and Officers | Persuasion | 1.00 | 0.940 |
| Special Education Teachers, Middle School | Time Management | 1.00 | 0.935 |
| Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary | Instructing | 1.38 | 0.930 |
| Economists | Mathematics | 1.13 | 0.926 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Political Scientists, excluding software Political Scientists already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Desire2Learn LMS software | 16 of 20 | 18.9x |
| Blackboard Learn | 16 of 20 | 18.5x |
| Learning management system LMS | 16 of 20 | 15.7x |
| Image scanning software | 15 of 20 | 18.7x |
| Course management system software | 15 of 20 | 18.2x |
| DOC Cop | 15 of 20 | 18.2x |
| Sakai CLE | 15 of 20 | 18.2x |
| iParadigms Turnitin | 15 of 20 | 18.2x |
| Collaborative editing software | 15 of 20 | 17.8x |
| Google Docs | 16 of 20 | 7.0x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 4.25 | 4.88 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.75 |
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.62 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 4.12 | 4.12 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.75 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 4.00 | 4.62 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.62 | 3.88 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.62 | 3.75 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 3.50 | 3.75 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 3.50 | 3.50 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.38 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.50 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 2.88 | 3.50 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Science | Essential skill | 2.62 | 3.00 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.50 | 2.38 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.75 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.50 | 0.75 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.50 | 0.62 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.50 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Law and Government | 4.65 | 5.38 |
| English Language | 4.42 | 5.69 |
| Education and Training | 4.27 | 5.65 |
| History and Archeology | 3.42 | 4.65 |
| Mathematics | 3.38 | 4.73 |
| Communications and Media | 3.28 | 4.38 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 3.19 | 4.96 |
| Geography | 3.12 | 4.58 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 3.08 | 4.58 |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.00 | 4.12 |
| Administration and Management | 2.77 | 4.04 |
| Foreign Language | 2.52 | 3.42 |
| Administrative | 2.42 | 3.58 |
| Economics and Accounting | 2.42 | 2.35 |
| Psychology | 2.38 | 3.12 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.31 | 3.50 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 1.96 | 2.00 |
| Public Safety and Security | 1.77 | 1.54 |
| Telecommunications | 1.65 | 1.15 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.58 | 1.38 |
| Transportation | 1.35 | 0.88 |
| Sales and Marketing | 1.27 | not rated |
| Biology | 1.23 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.23 | not rated |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1.23 | not rated |
| Production and Processing | 1.23 | not rated |
| Engineering and Technology | 1.20 | not rated |
| Chemistry | 1.19 | not rated |
| Design | 1.19 | not rated |
| Physics | 1.19 | not rated |
| Mechanical | 1.15 | not rated |
| Building and Construction | 1.12 | not rated |
| Food Production | 1.08 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Written Comprehension | 4.62 | 4.88 |
| Oral Comprehension | 4.12 | 4.88 |
| Oral Expression | 4.12 | 4.88 |
| Speech Clarity | 4.00 | 4.88 |
| Written Expression | 4.00 | 4.88 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.62 | 3.75 |
| Near Vision | 3.62 | 3.62 |
| Information Ordering | 3.25 | 3.38 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.12 | 3.75 |
| Originality | 3.12 | 3.50 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.12 | 3.38 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Memorization | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Selective Attention | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Far Vision | 2.50 | 2.62 |
| Time Sharing | 2.38 | 2.25 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.25 | 2.38 |
| Number Facility | 2.12 | 2.25 |
| Perceptual Speed | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Visualization | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Auditory Attention | 1.88 | 1.50 |
| Trunk Strength | 1.75 | 1.25 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 1.62 | 0.88 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Finger Dexterity | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Depth Perception | 1.38 | 0.38 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 1.25 | not rated |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 1.00 | not rated |
| Control Precision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Dynamic Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
| Explosive Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
| Extent Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Coordination | 1.00 | not rated |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.00 | not rated |
| Manual Dexterity | 1.00 | not rated |
| Multilimb Coordination | 1.00 | not rated |
| Night Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.00 | not rated |
| Rate Control | 1.00 | not rated |
| Reaction Time | 1.00 | not rated |
| Response Orientation | 1.00 | not rated |
| Sound Localization | 1.00 | not rated |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.00 | not rated |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.00 | not rated |
| Stamina | 1.00 | not rated |
| Static Strength | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Microsoft Excel in demand
- Microsoft Office software in demand
- Microsoft Outlook in demand
- Microsoft PowerPoint in demand
- Microsoft Word in demand
- Adobe Acrobat hot
- IBM SPSS Statistics hot
- Microsoft Access hot
- Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP hot
- Microsoft SharePoint hot
- Microsoft Visio hot
- Python hot
- R hot
- SAP software hot
- SAS hot
- Tableau hot
- Bare Bones Software BBEdit
- CQ Press Political Reference Suite
- Data visualization software
- DataMystic TextPipe Pro
- EBSCO Publishing Academic Search Premier
- EBSCO Publishing Political Science Complete
- Email software
- Europa World Plus
- FedStats
- Gale Expanded Academic ASAP PLUS
- IDM Computer Solutions UltraEdit
- Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) database
- JSTOR database
- JudgeIt II
All 39
- Library of Congress E-resources Online Catalog
- Microsoft Publisher
- Oxford Reference Online
- ProQuest Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS) database
- ProQuest Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
- Sage Reference Online
- StataCorp Stata
- Structure query language SQL
- WinBUGS
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 3,700 | 33.11 | $156,730 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 190 | 1.95 | $133,930 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 110 | 0.33 | Not available |