When you redirect yourself away from a narrow focus (“I want to be a lawyer.”) to a broader focus on a problem or set of problems (“I want to reduce inequality in America.”), then you open a broader range of possibilities for the outcomes you’ll encounter when you’re done with college. It is also reasonable to believe that you will become a lawyer! But a broader focus on your studies will make you better prepared for your future career path even if you come full circle.
Focusing on a problem or set of problems you wish to solve also makes sense given the job market you will enter when college is over. Today’s job market is continually churning with rapid advances in technology changing the basic contours of our economy. Somewhere in your family history is a story of a person who worked for one company or one entity his or her entire life and retired, perhaps with a pension.
That world no longer exists. Your world will be one of many jobs and multiple career paths. A rigorous and robust college education is the critical first step to navigating an ever-changing job market. This guide exists, in part, to help you find the right path. One key to successfully doing so starts in this course in American politics.
Telling your story.
“The question used to be ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ Now it should be ‘What problem do you want to solve?’”
—Jaime Casap
The first step to a successful outcome is knowing who you are. Follow Casap’s advice above and think about the types of problems in American politics you hope to solve.
Take a moment here to jot then down. Don’t hold back! Worried about low voter turnout? Concerned about money in politics? Think taxes are too high and regulations too burdensome? Jot it all down.
What does it mean to study American politics?
American politics is a broad term, meant here to encompass the study of institutions (Congress, the presidency, political parties); political behavior (voting and elections, social movements); public policy and administration; and constitutional law. These studies are related, and your college or university very likely offers specific courses in one or all of these areas. The study of American politics and government is typically one element of a well-rounded major in political science.
A student of politics will have an opportunity to engage all the other subfields of the discipline: international relations, comparative politics, and political theory. What distinguishes a student pursuing American politics is a passion for the study of political life in the United States. And if you recognize this interest in yourself, then well done! You’ve accomplished the primary task in this book’s objective to get you to tell your story: understanding your interests and passions.
Helpful Links
Want to learn more about political science and the study of American politics? Check out these organizations:
American Political Science Association (www.apsanet.org)
Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society (http://office2248.wixsite.com/pi-sigma-alpha)
Political Studies Association American Politics Group (www.american-politics-group-uk.net)
The Roosevelt Institute (http://rooseveltinstitute.org)
So, you’ve established that you have an interest in American politics and government. Let’s demonstrate how this can be used from the very beginning with the most basic element in launching a career: the resume. Although the job market has changed dramatically and will continue to do so during your time in college, there is one constant in the process of getting a job, and that’s a well-developed resume. Consider that workers from Generation X (born between 1965 and 1984) changed jobs about twice during their first 10 years out of college. Millennials changed jobs four times or more during the same time frame. There are jobs and career options today that did not exist just a decade ago, such as social media managers, sustainability coordinators, or app developers.
The job market will continue to churn during your time in college. This guide will help you prepare for that.
Remarkably, many undergraduates wait until they need to apply for something vital before they think about putting together a resume. You should consider your resume to be a work in progress and, as such, let’s get to work!
Developing Your Resume
It begins with the easy stuff: name, address, education, and interests. We’ll revisit the resume in the succeeding chapters and fill it in as we go:
Casey E. Student
20 Main Street
Springfield, IL 03636
Phone number
Education
B.A. in (Fill in the name of your actual major), expected 2022
GPA: 3.2 (overall), 3.6 (major) (You should be able to get this information from your school’s degree audit or your academic advisor.)
Objective: To begin my career in American politics by (Write down the problem you want to solve. Write down more than one!)
Okay, we’ve established your interests, and you’ve given some thought to the problems you want to solve. Know that it is okay at this point for your interests to be broad. In fact, think broadly. Perhaps you want to end inequality in America, improve public education, help craft a regulatory environment that allows small businesses to thrive, upgrade American infrastructure, or protect migrants from mistreatment. These are all broad and admirable goals, and the people currently invested in trying to solve these problems need people like you who are thinking along these lines.
As you move through your curriculum, co-curriculum, internships, and the first steps in your postgraduate life, you will learn how to tailor your broad interests (which you should never lose!) into actual career objectives.
The B.A. in Politics
Graduates with a degree in politics have opportunities across many fields: law, education, nonprofit and corporate work, service, and government service. Consider the following list of individuals who studied global politics and note the range of career outcomes:
Answering Your Questions
What can you do with a B.A. in political science? Check out the many varied career paths of those who followed your academic interests in college.
Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs CEO
Anderson Cooper, CNN journalist
Mia Hamm-Garciaparra, professional soccer player, and Olympic medalist
Larry Hogan, governor of Maryland
Barack Obama, former president of the United States
Janet Napolitano, president, University of California
Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State and academic leader
Anne Rice, author
Career Outcomes in American Politics