What does a Political Scientist do?

Study the origin, development, and operation of political systems. Day to day that includes work like teach political science and Maintain current knowledge of government policy decisions.

What skills should a Political Scientist put on a resume?

O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Learning, Active Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Political Scientist list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Bare Bones Software BBEdit, CQ Press Political Reference Suite, Data visualization software, and DataMystic TextPipe Pro. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Political Scientist work?

O*NET records 21 titles for this occupation, including Citizen Participation Specialist, Government Affairs Researcher, Government Affairs Specialist, and Health Policy Analyst. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Political Scientist need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 88% reported their level of education as "Doctoral Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Political Scientist role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Political Scientist resume example

A resume for a Political Scientist needs to show the work itself: study the origin, development, and operation of political systems. Day to day that means work like this: teach political science; maintain current knowledge of government policy decisions. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Citizen Participation Specialist
Government Affairs Researcher
Government Affairs Specialist
Health Policy Analyst
Legislative Affairs Specialist
Legislative Analyst
Legislative Liaison
Legislative Policy Analyst
Local Governance Specialist
Medical Policy Analyst
Policy Advisor
Policy Analyst
Policy Officer
Political Advisor
Political Aide
Political Analyst
Political Consultant
Political Research Scientist

O*NET records 21 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Teach political science.
Maintain current knowledge of government policy decisions.
Develop and test theories, using information from interviews, newspapers, periodicals, case law, historical papers, polls, or statistical sources.
Disseminate research results through academic publications, written reports, or public presentations.
Advise political science students.
Collect, analyze, and interpret data, such as election results and public opinion surveys, reporting on findings, recommendations, and conclusions.
Interpret and analyze policies, public issues, legislation, or the operations of governments, businesses, and organizations.
Identify issues for research and analysis.
Serve on committees.
Forecast political, economic, and social trends.
Consult with and advise government officials, civic bodies, research agencies, the media, political parties, and others concerned with political issues.
Evaluate programs and policies, and make related recommendations to institutions and organizations.

14 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Teach political science, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Maintain current knowledge of government policy decisions, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Develop and test theories, using information from interviews, newspapers, periodicals, case law, historical papers, polls, or statistical sources, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Disseminate research results through academic publications, written reports, or public presentations, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe Acrobat
Bare Bones Software BBEdit
CQ Press Political Reference Suite
Data visualization software
DataMystic TextPipe Pro
EBSCO Publishing Academic Search Premier
EBSCO Publishing Political Science Complete
Email software
Europa World Plus
FedStats
Gale Expanded Academic ASAP PLUS
IBM SPSS Statistics
IDM Computer Solutions UltraEdit
Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) database

40 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Conference phones
Desktop computers
Digital audio recorders
Digital video disk DVD players
Handheld calculators
Laptop computers
Overhead display projectors

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Bare Bones Software BBEdit
CQ Press Political Reference Suite
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Reading Comprehension
02Active Learning
03Active Listening
04Speaking
05Critical Thinking
06Writing
07Social Perceptiveness
08Complex Problem Solving
09Judgment and Decision Making
10Instructing

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Law and Government
English Language
Education and Training
History and Archeology
Mathematics
Communications and Media
Sociology and Anthropology
Geography

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

88%Doctoral Degree
8%Master's Degree
4%Post-Doctoral Training

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Extensive Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Common questions

What does a Political Scientist do?: Study the origin, development, and operation of political systems. Day to day that includes work like teach political science and Maintain current knowledge of government policy decisions.
What skills should a Political Scientist put on a resume?: O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Active Learning, Active Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Political Scientist list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Acrobat, Bare Bones Software BBEdit, CQ Press Political Reference Suite, Data visualization software, and DataMystic TextPipe Pro. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Political Scientist work?: O*NET records 21 titles for this occupation, including Citizen Participation Specialist, Government Affairs Researcher, Government Affairs Specialist, and Health Policy Analyst. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Political Scientist need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 88% reported their level of education as "Doctoral Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Political Scientist role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.