A degree in politics opens doors to a wide range of careers, including social and political research, political work, HR, marketing, journalism and more. With a degree in politics, you can find opportunities to work in several career paths that are directly related to your degree or other roles where your degree might come in handy. If you are interested in politics or political science and want a career where you can make a difference in a variety of different ways, then a bachelor’s or master’s degree in politics might be an ideal choice for you.
What Career Options Are Available?
With a degree in politics, you can get into a wide range of career options that are directly related to your degree choice including roles as a social researcher, public affairs consultant, politician assistant, political risk analyst, policy officer, government social research officer, or other civil service jobs. A degree in politics can also be useful in getting into other careers including public relations officer, market researcher, marketing executive, detective, charity officer, forensic accountant, local government officer, marketing executive, business development manager, stockbroker, newspaper journalist and more.
Studying politics at university can help you get into a wide range of both related and unrelated career paths as many employers will accept candidates with a degree in any field. If you are interested in getting into a lucrative political career, you may be interested in getting a politics masters in the UK after you study politics at university at the undergraduate level. A politics master’s degree from a UK university can open up further opportunities for working in higher-level roles in politics, public relations, research, marketing, journalism, HR and more. Check out the politics courses at Stirling University if you are interested in the option to study politics in the UK. Stirling University is based in Scotland and offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate study options for students interested in politics.
Getting Work Experience
Before heading to university to study politics, you may be interested in determining the work experience that you will be able to get either before or during your degree study to help you prepare for your future career. You can often find work experience that is relevant to your education and choice of future career at charities and non-profit organisations. These could include various different charities, the Citizens Advice Bureau, local, national and global conversation and environmental organisations, political parties and campaigns, and global development bodies.
If you want to get into an international career after graduating with a politics degree, pressure groups, campaigning organisations, and various UK charities that have an international presence are ideal choices for work experience. As a student, you may also want to get experience running for office in the Students Union or voluntary experience through relevant student societies and the university community. This can help you add valuable experience and skills to your CV that demonstrate initiative and leaderships skills, along with giving you the chance to further develop your oral and written communication skills. It may also be worth choosing a course that offers the option to get work experience with a sandwich year or work placement.
Where You Can Work
As a graduate with a degree in politics, you can work for a wide range of organisations including media organisations, local and national governments, retail companies, councils, law firms, charities, commercial businesses, and financial, accountancy and banking organisations. Politics graduates are also hired by the Civil Service, the United Nations, the general public sector, non-governmental organisations, and lobbying, campaigning and voluntary organisations.
Skills You Will Develop
Getting a degree in politics will give you the chance to develop specific subject knowledge on how different political systems work, get a deeper understanding of organisations such as the United Nations and World Trade Organisation and how they operate, and develop the ability to better interpret global events and political issues. When getting your degree in politics, you will also have the chance to develop a range of useful and desirable transferable skills that you can take with you to many different career options including excellent written and oral communication skills, team working skills, the ability to research, source, and examine information, critical analysis skills, constructing coherent arguments, intellectual autonomy and independence, and a flexible, open-minded approach to the work that you do.
Further Study Options
After getting a degree in politics at either the undergraduate or postgraduate level, there will also be several options for you to study further with a variety of courses, certifications and diplomas designed to help you take your knowledge further in a subject that you are interested in. For example, you may be able to take your knowledge and learn more about human rights, political campaigning and communication, international security, international relations, environmental politics and more.
A degree in politics can take you far in a broad range of career paths including politics, public relations, journalism, HR, business and more.
