Life, Physical, and Social Science · Holland code IAE

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 19-3094.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $142,080; Middle half earn $114,030 to $174,180. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Doctoral Degree; 88% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: -3% · Decline; 6,500 jobs in 2024, projected 6,300. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Political scientists".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.3 / 5
Active Listening4.1 / 5
Speaking4.1 / 5
Active Learning4.1 / 5
Writing4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking4.0 / 5

Knowledge areas

Law and Government4.7 / 5
English Language4.4 / 5
Education and Training4.3 / 5
History and Archeology3.4 / 5
Mathematics3.4 / 5
Communications and Media3.3 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic0
Investigative95
Artistic48
Social40
Enterprising44
Conventional42

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

political affairs officer · DE Politikreferent/Politikreferentin · FR spécialiste des questions politiques
political campaign officer · DE Manager für politische Kampagnen/Managerin für politische Kampagnen · FR chargé de campagne politique/chargée de campagne politique
sociologist · DE Soziologe/Soziologin · FR sociologue
political scientist · DE Politologe/Politologin · FR politologue
political journalist · DE Politikjournalist/Politikjournalistin · FR journaliste politique

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Newspaper, periodical and broadcast editors (2491)43,100 employed
Newspaper and periodical broadcast journalists and reporters (2492)45,100 employed
Business, research and administrative professionals n.e.c. (2439)104,500 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.42. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (19-3094).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test