Compare votes across places and years
Build a spreadsheet of votes by place and year, and check surprising results against the original source document.
Career profile
Political Scientist
Political scientists study how government decisions are made and which public policies shift over time.
Why did voters change how they voted? You build an explanation from records and data, then test whether the evidence holds.
A day in the life
Test your own explanation
Read historical records and newer policy papers, searching for evidence against your account of a government's shift.
Trace a policy brief's claims
In legislative research, you look into any figure that seems off before a congressional staffer depends on it.
Walk colleagues through a chart
Tell colleagues what the chart supports, where the evidence is thin, and how that shapes the conclusion.
Quick facts
Master's degree
United States
$142,080/year
United States · May 2025
2% decline
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Master's degreeTypical entry education; requirements vary by employer.
Pay
$142,080/yearNational median for political scientists, equivalent to $68.31 an hour.
Outlook
2% declineAbout 400 openings a year are projected despite declining employment.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy checking whether evidence supports an argument.
- You can stay curious when the answer is uncertain.
- You like explaining complicated findings clearly.
Things to weigh
- Report deadlines can mean extra hours.
- In nonpartisan congressional research, your analysis must withstand review regardless of your personal political views.
Where AI may help
For survey work, artificial intelligence can help sort written answers into categories. Research trials show that accuracy depends on the model and task.
What people still lead
You choose the research question and check whether the categories preserve what respondents meant.
What we can’t predict yet
How much survey reading can be automated reliably remains unsettled, especially across languages and complex political topics.
Pay in context
Earnings
Use the national figures as a reference, not a promised starting salary.
The median and spread
Political scientists had a median wage of $142,080 a year, equivalent to $68.31 an hour. The 10th and 90th percentiles were $83,350 and $195,190 annually. These mark positions in the wage distribution, not beginner and experienced pay levels.
Openings in a shrinking occupation
Employment is projected to fall 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 400 openings annually on average. Openings can occur as workers leave even when the total number of jobs falls.
Getting started
Build graduate research skills
- What the route involves
- Complete a master's in political science, public administration, public policy, or a related field.
- What it can lead to
- This meets the typical education level for entering political scientist work.
- What to check
- Some employers prefer a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), requiring further study.
Target bachelor's-level positions
- What the route involves
- Earn a bachelor's degree in political science and develop research skills through school projects or internships.
- What it can lead to
- Some government or political campaign employers consider bachelor's graduates for entry positions.
- What to check
- This option does not meet every political scientist job's education requirements.
Graduate study is the usual route, with a narrower bachelor's-level option.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Contribute to a project
At a research institute, start by completing part of a team study and learning how your work fits the final report.
Build a research focus
Develop a portfolio in a policy area. Take on projects that deepen your expertise and prepare you to lead a study.
Lead studies or a program
An experienced researcher may lead project teams, propose new research, and help secure funding. Program management is another possible direction.
Where you can work
Congressional research
At the Congressional Research Service, legislators' questions shape the timetable. You work with confidential requests and multiple layers of review, keeping analysis nonpartisan.
- Office
Policy research institutes
At RAND, project teams bring together researchers from different disciplines. You may help develop proposals and pursue funding within the institute's research agenda.
- Office
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Compare official results from two elections in one community. Write two possible explanations for a change, then name the evidence you would need to distinguish them. Notice whether testing the explanations interests you as much as the result.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Political Scientists — 19-3094.00. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Political Scientists. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics: national estimates, SOC 19-3094. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment Projections Table 1.2, 2025–2035: SOC 19-3094. Accessed 2026-09-29.
- Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service Careers: Values. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- RAND. Research Careers at the RAND Corporation. Accessed 2026-10-10.
- Leah von der Heyde, Anna-Carolina Haensch, Bernd Weiß, and Jessika Daikeler. AIn't Nothing But a Survey? Using Large Language Models for Coding German Open-Ended Survey Responses on Survey Motivation. Accessed 2026-10-10.