thinking skills, public-speaking and writing skills, and the ability to process complex issues and data points. They want creative thinkers who can work in teams, who are capable of research, and who understand the world in which we live. These are the skills one develops by a rigorous study of politics.
I imagine this guide as a companion piece along with an introductory or upper-level textbook in courses in American politics. It aims to be a powerful introduction to the job market in the field and to the variety of options that exist for the student who is interested in and passionate about politics. Many students, those who major in political science and those who simply have a passing interest in the subject, wish to learn more about career paths in the field. It is particularly difficult for them to navigate job opportunities in the field because the market is diffuse and open to so many pathways.
Making that first step is difficult. Indeed, launching a career in politics can be frustrating because of the peculiarities of this particular job market. There’s not going to be a table at job fair that reads, “American Politics.”
This book is designed to help alleviate some of the frustrations undergraduate students encounter by encouraging them to take the important first few steps into this world with a full understanding of how to develop a trajectory in politics and government that can yield important results later in their careers.
Plan of the Book
My hope is this guide will appeal to any student with an interest in the subject. Students find themselves in courses in this field because of their interest in politics, government, campaigns and elections, and current events. Very few choose to go directly into a Ph.D. program. Indeed, interim steps between undergraduate work and graduate school are often a requirement for some of the best Ph.D. programs in the field.
The book begins by encouraging students to think about their own stories and the problems in this world they hope to solve. It encourages them to think about this before worrying about an older question, “What do you want to be?” Students redirected away from this narrow question are much better prepared for many other questions this book will help them consider, for example:
What can you do with your interest?
How can you leverage your interests and academic work for employment after college?
What steps should you be taking now to ensure your professional readiness after graduation?
Chapter 1 begins the process of examining each of these questions, designed to help students with an interest in politics align their academic and co-curricular pursuits to skills and career readiness competencies that are in demand by employers in the field. It lays out an important checklist that students can use to begin this process, including resume review, a social media strategy, and what networking really means.
Chapter 2 focuses on helping students align their interests with the appropriate coursework, internships, work experience, and co-curricular opportunities, while Chapter 3 looks specifically at entry-level staff work and offers guidance on how to navigate this space. Chapter 4 looks at campaign work for candidates, parties, and issues. Chapter 5 discusses the variety of other pursuits open to the student of politics, from graduate school to professional school to nonprofit work, education, think tanks, and more.
Acknowledgments
I’ve had the pleasure of teaching hundreds of students at Stonehill College, and as they move on to a variety of career and service opportunities, and graduate and professional schools, they continue to reinforce my belief that a good, rigorous education in politics complements the demands of the twenty-first-century job market. My research assistant, Jenna Christiansen, helped me with some of the background research for this book. Jenna not only took advantage of multiple opportunities discussed here (course travel to DC, internships in DC and Boston, co-curricular leadership on campus), but matched her experiential components with rigorous academics and was the highest-ranking graduate in Bachelor of Arts at Stonehill in 2018.
I am particularly grateful to Robert P. Hager, Jr, Ray Silvius, Gilbert Gagné, Laurie Sprankle, Dave Benjamin, Rachael Vanessa Cobb, Maurice T. Cunningham, and John Kenneth White for their helpful comments when this guide was in proposal form and for encouragement I received from Monica Eckman at SAGE/CQ.
About the Author
Peter Ubertaccio is the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Stonehill College in Easton, MA, an associate professor of political science, former chair of the Department of Political Science and International Studies, and former director of the Joseph Martin Institute for Law & Society. For more than 10 years, he taught a travel course, Power, Politics, and Policymaking in Washington, that brought students to DC for two weeks of academic seminars with leaders of government, parties, think tanks, and journalism. He created Stonehill’s Hill to Hill networking program that brings fourth-year students to Washington for week-long networking opportunities and works with students to land their first job on Capitol Hill or Beacon Hill. He also oversaw the Stonehill in DC program for students wishing to intern in Washington for a semester. In addition to Washington, he has brought groups of students to New York City, Guatemala, Mexico City, Nigeria, and the United Kingdom. He helped establish Stonehill’s Model UN program and supervised dozens of international internships while on the faculty.
Chapter 1 Introduction and Getting Started
A standard career guide is a place where you simply learn how to apply for jobs. This is not that type of book. Consider this more of a guide to your story: who you are and what problems you hope to solve in this world. Here you will start to tell the story of your interests, passions, and aspirations. This story—one that is continuously changing and evolving—is the key to success once you complete your degree. This guide will help you think about how you fill in the details of the emerging story of who you are and where you are headed. It will help you navigate the next few years of your college experience and provide a path for the life and world beyond.
Chapter Objectives
Introduce the concept of telling the story
Discuss why this text focuses on the job market within American politics and the universe of career options that exist
Learn what to do with one’s interests and how to leverage such interests and academic work for employment after college
Develop those first few steps toward professional readiness after graduation
You chose this course in American politics for any number of reasons.
Perhaps you’re interested in American national elections and political parties. Maybe you’ve been moved by a social movement or how institutions of government respond—or don’t respond—to natural disasters. You might take in current events voraciously and want to match that interest with an academic subject. Perhaps you wonder why the policy preferences of your friends and colleagues don’t seem to find an appropriate outlet in your
