All 3 of my poly sci friends went on to grad or law school. presumably it seems like a springboard degree that sends you to become a lawyer or politician or civil servant. But honestly, all degrees are pretty much all the same apart from STEM degrees.

>>17272723
MA in History here and going for my MA in Poli Sci. I want to teach but most Poli Sci guys go to law school.

>>17272723
>>17272861
>>17272946

Every last person told me that the only use for a PoliSci degree is to get into grad or law school. That involves getting into debt and I'm already 25,000 dollars in the hole. Plus my parents are dependent on my income to live because theyre unemployed and I do not make a lot money. I simply do not have the money, and my polisci degree is worthless despite living in DC because everyone has it.

>>17273541

>living in DC
Where's your degree from? If you're in DC, you're in the most fertile PoliSci grounds you're ever going to get. Get out there and grab every opportunity to kiss ass and network that you can take advantage of.

Also, aren't your parents on welfare or something? What about scholarship opportunities? It sounds like your family would qualify for quite a lot of financial assistance.

>>17273591
I tried applying to every PoliSci job out there when I graduated in 2012. No one wanted to reply back. That was every application. I had strong research and analysis and paper writing skills, but no one gave a shit.

Every attempt at networking failed because no one wanted to reply back. It's as if they're cliqued up. I ended up being in IT, which unfortunately due to the economy, I'm stuck there permanently.

>Also, aren't your parents on welfare or something?

My parents do not get social security until the age of 67, they're 51. There is no fucking welfare in America, even in the state of Maryland. They have been unemployed since October 2014, and they're out of unemployment.

>What about scholarship opportunities?

I do not know of any.

>It sounds like your family would qualify for quite a lot of financial assistance.

What financial assistance? There is none I can think of. I'm paying most of their rent which is preventing me from moving out.

poli sci senior here

I'm going to grad school because the degree by itself appears to be useless. maybe it can get you working for some political campaigns or something.

>>17273620
I don't know anyone. Seriously, I don't. I don't have the money or the social media clout or the social capital. I have various accounts on social media but I do not exist as in no one checks up on me or reply back to my messages.

I got a friend that freshly graduated college. He majored in PoliSci, minored in Foreign Affairs, and lives near DC. How will his prospects look in finding a job? He doesn't really know what kind of job to jump into with it either.

>>17273606

>I tried applying to every PoliSci job out there when I graduated in 2012. No one wanted to reply back. That was every application. I had strong research and analysis and paper writing skills, but no one gave a shit.
Well, I can't say that I don't know this feel. Have you broadened your search to include other communications positions? Advertising? Things like that?

>My parents do not get social security until the age of 67, they're 51. There is no fucking welfare in America, even in the state of Maryland. They have been unemployed since October 2014, and they're out of unemployment.
Are your parents disabled? If so, they should qualify for social security disability benefits. If not, why aren't they working ANYWHERE? I get that they aren't able to find full-time, career employment, but surely there would be temporary options of some kind. MD's unemployment rate is only 5.3% after all.

>What financial assistance? There is none I can think of.
Well I was thinking that one viable route you could take is to get certified for teaching, and as it happens:
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/sites/default/files/graduate-professional-funding-info.pdf
> Federal Pell Grant—A Federal Pell Grant, unlike
a loan, does not have to be repaid. You may be
eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant if you
are enrolled in a postbaccalaureate teacher
certification program. Amounts can change yearly.

Of course there's also the undergraduate Pell Grants, which it's very unfortunate you missed out on. Unless you checked and didn't qualify at the time. Anyway, I'd do some reading on Title IV assistance.

At any rate, it seems very unfair that you have to support you and most of your parents' expenses.

>>17272723
Poli sci from a reputable institution actually qualifies you for a lot. You can work in finance, HR, NGOs, nonprofits, really a lot of office jobs.

I think the most important thing to do is get internships while you're in school. This is where it really pays off to be going to a college that's known for a strong political science department. The internship board at my school was full of big names posting vacancies, and a lot of their "suggested majors" included political science.

Personally, I think anyone who studies poli sci should be euthanized for thinking about humanity the way they do, but that's just me.

>>17273684
They're not disabled. But they refuse to work a part-time job. The only way they'll get such a job is if I relocate via another job out of state. If I address the fact that they're still unemployed or even checking up on their job search they will get into a hissy fit. It does not help that I'm Black American, and they're more likely to see their immediate family members as welfare checks. They've gotten very comfortable not searching for work, and when they do they use monster.com/

I already used undergraduate Pell Grants when I was in college. They're not available for graduate degrees. I'm not qualified for teaching whatsoever.

>At any rate, it seems very unfair that you have to support you and most of your parents' expenses.

It is, and most people refuse to wrap their heads around the concept. I'm basically the only American who is stuck in this situation.

There's no charities for people stuck at home because their unemployed parents need financial support. No news media is covering this. No one gives a shit about what I'm going through. If someone would pay an entire years rent for my parents, I would at least be able to move out and save money for myself and finally pay my student loans, which I have not made a payment since Dec. 2012

>>17273769
What the hell, kick their ass to the curb and ship them off to a relative if they're not willing to find part-time jobs. Lazy parents like that shoving the workload onto their child's shoulders in the prime time of their life is selfish as fuck.

>>17273805
I can't just abandon them. Black families have different dynamics than white families. And besides my relatives for the most part have been unhelpful, and most of them have good paying jobs but they do not want to lift a finger to help us.

>>17273819
They're not disabled and can still work, but don't want to and are content leeching off of their child, and throw tantrums if asked to find a job. Sounds fucking entitled and selfish to me. You shouldn't let them use you like that, but good luck. Unless you cut them loose or convince them to help support the family you are not going to move forward in life, especially with all the debt.

>>17272723
It's a great field, you can do a lot with it both in government and the private sector. PR for a company will probably pay best, but you will be qualified for many other positions. And it leaves a lot of doors open in grad school.

>>17273837
The only fucking way that my parents will get a minimum job is getting a job out of state. But that's not happening because companies do not want pay a cent to out of towners.

My bud is a Poli Sci prof, but he's pretty sharp and so on.