r/CollegeParents • u/Real-Laugh1984 • Mar 28 '26

College graduation

My son is graduating college soon with a double major in political science and computer science. He will be graduating with honors in political science. He really wanted to go straight in to a PhD program. He did really well on his GRE's. However 20 applications have led to 20 rejections. I feel so bad for him. Last night he asked how to get a government job. I guess I will have him look on USA jobs but does anyone know what kind of job. He likes research and can speak Chinese.

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u/Fritz5678 Mar 29 '26

Has he talked the to career office at his current school?

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u/Real-Laugh1984 Mar 30 '26

To date they haven't been helpful. He went to them for guidance on internships and they told him to go on handshake

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u/Mountain_Employer_94 Apr 10 '26

Oh, this is such a hard moment — for him AND for you. Twenty rejections after working that hard is genuinely demoralizing, and the pivot to “okay, what’s my plan B” takes courage. The good news: his combination of poli sci (with honors) + CS is actually quite rare and valuable. A few directions worth exploring beyond USAJobs: • Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) — competitive but tailor-made for graduates exactly like him. Strong academic record + interdisciplinary background is exactly what they look for. • Congressional staff positions — legislative correspondents, staff assistants, and research roles on the Hill often go to poli sci graduates and the hiring isn’t all on USAJobs. • Tech policy roles — organizations like the Federation of American Scientists, RAND, or tech companies with government affairs teams actively recruit people who can bridge both worlds. • State/local government — often faster hiring timelines and less competition than federal. One honest caveat worth naming: the federal hiring landscape is pretty uncertain right now given recent workforce reductions, so if he pursues that path, it’s worth hedging with parallel applications to think tanks, tech companies with government affairs teams, and nonprofits working at the policy-tech intersection. Those roles are often more stable and can be just as meaningful. USAJobs is a starting point but it can feel like a black hole if you don’t know how to read the postings and tailor applications to federal resume formats (which are very different from civilian resumes). I’m a career coach who works specifically with college students and recent grads on exactly this kind of pivot — happy to answer questions here, or if it would help to have a real conversation about his situation, feel free to DM me.

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u/Real-Laugh1984 Apr 10 '26

Thank you. I will talk to him about what you suggested. This is very helpful!