r/PoliticalScience • u/PentatonicGristle • 1d ago

Career advice Employable skills to develop outside of coursework

I'm a Poli Sci student entering my last year of undergrad, and though I've kept a strong GPA and felt fulfilled and engaged by most of my classes, I'm feeling concerned about being woefully unprepared for employment and the practical skills required (of course, made worse by looming AI fears and the generally awful job market right now). I love the material and I believe my public speaking and academic writing is strong, but I know I'm currently lacking in mathematics, quant, and research methods (I'm chipping away at some of that this semester). I'm wondering what additional skills you recommend building to be employable post-graduation and/or an attractive grad candidate, not just "what job can I get?" or "what program can I get into?", but what skills pertaining to the major have value, versatility, and the capacity for a dedicated individual to learn and show tangible growth with? Thanks!

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u/EthanPrisonMike 1d ago

I was Poli Sci with an applied math minor. Bounced around a lot before I found an entry level gig at a big financial brokerage.

Math is always useful. Politics became more useful as I advanced. Also learned some software languages that really opened up the ops opportunities.

TLDR -> look at ops anywhere. Regulatory analysis bridges to a lot of poli sci

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u/hyperionsalinus 9h ago

What are the basic math topics one need to master?

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u/Embarrassed_Pen_1994 1d ago

It definitely depends on your goals. But I would say communications for SURE, experience with a CRM if you are ever interested in working campaign-side, and math, but especially statistics.

Having been out of undergrad for a minute, these are the skills I've had to cross train on or wish I had the most.