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Science19-3094.00Specialization

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.

$132,350
Median Pay
6-12 years
Training
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In Transition
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View Social Scientists

This is a specialization of

Social Scientists

AI Impact Assessment

AI Resilience Score

Score 2/6: declining job demand indicates this career is being transformed by AI

🟠In Transition

How we calculated this:

AI Exposure
Medium+1

48% of tasks can be accelerated by AI

Job Growth
Declining+0

-3% projected (2024-2034)

Human Advantage
Moderate+1

EPOCH score: 16/25

Total Score2/6
Methodology: v2.0 - GPTs are GPTs / BLS / EPOCH Additive ScoringUpdated: 2026-01-09
View full methodology →

Key Responsibilities

  • Teach political science.
  • Maintain current knowledge of government policy decisions.
  • Develop and test theories, using information from interviews, newspapers, periodicals, case law, historical papers, polls, or statistical sources.
  • Disseminate research results through academic publications, written reports, or public presentations.
  • Advise political science students.
  • Collect, analyze, and interpret data, such as election results and public opinion surveys, reporting on findings, recommendations, and conclusions.
  • Interpret and analyze policies, public issues, legislation, or the operations of governments, businesses, and organizations.
  • Identify issues for research and analysis.
  • Serve on committees.
  • Forecast political, economic, and social trends.

Education & Training

Typical Entry Education

Doctoral degree

Time to Job Ready

6-12 years

Based on Job Zone 5. For formal education duration only, see education_duration.

Technology Skills

Statistical software (Stata, R, SPSS)Microsoft OfficeSurvey softwareData visualization toolsResearch databases

Key Abilities

Written ComprehensionOral ComprehensionOral ExpressionWritten ExpressionInductive ReasoningSpeech ClaritySpeech RecognitionDeductive ReasoningProblem SensitivityNear Vision

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Find jobs and training programs for political scientists- Median salary: $132K/year

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Compensation Details

$72,470
10th Percentile
$132,350
Median
$183,500
90th Percentile

Based on 5,580 employed workers

Also Known As

Citizen Participation SpecialistGovernment Affairs ResearcherGovernment Affairs SpecialistHealth Policy AnalystLegislative Affairs SpecialistLegislative AnalystLegislative LiaisonLegislative Policy AnalystLocal Governance SpecialistMedical Policy Analyst

Data from O*NET 30.1 and BLS Occupational Employment Statistics

O*NET Code: 19-3094.00