What it pays
Government survey numbers — not estimates, not ads.
Half of all Political Scientists in the U.S. earn more than $142,080 a year — the middle 80% land between $83,350 and $195,190. About 5,540 people in the U.S. do this work. Figures are for the U.S. occupation group “Political Scientists”. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey, published 2025.) In India, Professionals earn about ₹38,298 a month on average — around ₹4.6 lakh a year (government PLFS survey via ILOSTAT, occupation-family figure).
$142,080typical pay / year
5,540people in this work
$195,190+top 10% earn
₹4.6 lakha year in India (family avg)
Think you get this job?Six quick questions on how it really works — with a hint and the reason behind every answer.
Test yourself →The work, task by task
These are the real jobs-to-be-done, not a wish list. Each task shows where we found it, and the prompt underneath is written for that exact task.
Convincing2
Assess public opinion and voting patterns
+Assess recent public opinion polls and turnout records in Michigan and Wisconsin, merge demographic and…
Assess public opinion and voting patterns
+Assess recent public opinion polls and turnout records in Michigan and Wisconsin, merge demographic and precinct-level vote data, run chi-square and logistic regressions to spot who shifted support since 2018, and summarise implications for our next targeting memo.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft ExcelESCOjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Teach political science.
+Design this semester's introductory lecture series: draft three lecture outlines on elections, institutions,…
Teach political science.
+Design this semester's introductory lecture series: draft three lecture outlines on elections, institutions, and policy-making, create five seminar questions tied to recent case studies, and prepare a one-page reading list and a 1,200-word course blurb for the department.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft PowerPointjob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
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Analysing4
Compare different political systems
+Compare parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential systems by building a three-column brief that…
Compare different political systems
+Compare parliamentary, presidential, and semi-presidential systems by building a three-column brief that lists decision-making rules, executive-legislative conflict risks, party system effects, and real-world examples from UK, France, and Brazil, concluding with consequences for coalition strategy.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordESCOjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Gather data through surveys and empirical research
+Draft a survey plan to measure voter attitudes on healthcare and taxation: define target sample quotas by…
Gather data through surveys and empirical research
+Draft a survey plan to measure voter attitudes on healthcare and taxation: define target sample quotas by age, income and region, write twenty validated questions including Likert scales and turnout intent, specify data cleaning rules and a timeline for fieldwork and analysis.
The tools that do the workPythonMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
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Evaluate the impact of policies and laws
+Evaluate the 2023 housing law by assembling outcome indicators—eviction rates, rental prices, housing…
Evaluate the impact of policies and laws
+Evaluate the 2023 housing law by assembling outcome indicators—eviction rates, rental prices, housing starts—compare before-and-after trends with control regions, run difference-in-differences and produce a two-page policy brief with recommendations for amendment.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsO*NET
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Conduct media commentary on political issues
+Prepare a 90-second media commentary on the new budget: craft a clear opening line, three evidence-backed…
Conduct media commentary on political issues
+Prepare a 90-second media commentary on the new budget: craft a clear opening line, three evidence-backed talking points about distributional effects, anticipate two counterarguments and one headline-friendly closing; deliver the script and timing notes for broadcast.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsO*NET
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The daily work14
Publish articles and give presentations on research findings
+Draft and publish three op-eds and a 12-slide presentation summarising our vaccine uptake study, assign…
Publish articles and give presentations on research findings
+Draft and publish three op-eds and a 12-slide presentation summarising our vaccine uptake study, assign authorship to Mara and Jamal, embed two charts and an executive summary, then schedule a public webinar for next Thursday evening.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsO*NET
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Identify issues for research and analysis.
+Map the top five policy problems from constituent feedback and briefing notes, rank them by political…
Identify issues for research and analysis.
+Map the top five policy problems from constituent feedback and briefing notes, rank them by political salience and data availability, list draft research questions with responsible analyst and a recommended 8-week study start date.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsO*NET
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Conduct research using quantitative methods
+Run the agreed quantitative study: clean the survey dataset, compute descriptive stats and regression models…
Conduct research using quantitative methods
+Run the agreed quantitative study: clean the survey dataset, compute descriptive stats and regression models to test the three hypotheses, produce tables and a one-page methods note for peer review within two weeks.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Serve on committees.
+Prepare my committee brief: summarise agenda items, note our recommendations, attach evidence links and a…
Serve on committees.
+Prepare my committee brief: summarise agenda items, note our recommendations, attach evidence links and a two-paragraph opening remark, circulate to committee members and the clerk by Tuesday noon so they can amend before the meeting.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft OutlookO*NET
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Prepare legislative proposals for government
+Analyse the latest administrative dataset to estimate program impact: select variables, run matching and…
Prepare legislative proposals for government
+Analyse the latest administrative dataset to estimate program impact: select variables, run matching and multivariate regressions, produce coefficient table with confidence intervals and a plain-language one-page interpretation for the director by Friday.
The tools that do the workPythonIBM SPSS Statisticsjob descriptions
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Use statistical methods to interpret data
+Take the raw survey and administrative files, clean and merge them, calculate means, variances and subgroup…
Use statistical methods to interpret data
+Take the raw survey and administrative files, clean and merge them, calculate means, variances and subgroup comparisons, create visualisations of the key indicators and write a short appendix explaining statistical assumptions.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions
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Scientific research methodology
+Design a rigorous study protocol to test whether the carbon pricing pilot reduces emissions from public…
Scientific research methodology
+Design a rigorous study protocol to test whether the carbon pricing pilot reduces emissions from public transport in Greater Manchester over 12 months, include hypothesis, sampling frame, variables, measurement instruments, pre-analysis plan, and power calculation so a council research team can implement it.
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Report analysis results
+Produce a clear results report summarising the carbon pricing pilot evaluation for council leaders: executive…
Report analysis results
+Produce a clear results report summarising the carbon pricing pilot evaluation for council leaders: executive summary, key statistical findings with confidence intervals and effect sizes, visuals of trends and subgroup analyses, methodological caveats, and two policy recommendations for Friday morning.
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Interpret constitutions and legal frameworks
+Read the constitution and recent constitutional court rulings, extract clauses that limit executive emergency…
Interpret constitutions and legal frameworks
+Read the constitution and recent constitutional court rulings, extract clauses that limit executive emergency powers, compare them to the draft bill, and produce a two-page memo for Minister Rao explaining legal constraints and recommended redlines by Thursday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordWikipedia
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Examine topical matters such as decision-making processes
+Map the ministry's current decision-making steps for infrastructure approvals, identify bottlenecks and where…
Examine topical matters such as decision-making processes
+Map the ministry's current decision-making steps for infrastructure approvals, identify bottlenecks and where authority is unclear, and produce a one-page flow diagram and 600-word briefing for Director Singh before Monday's stakeholder meeting.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft VisioMicrosoft WordESCO
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Advise governments and institutional organisations on governance matters
+Review the governance code and the agency's last annual report, identify three governance weaknesses that…
Advise governments and institutional organisations on governance matters
+Review the governance code and the agency's last annual report, identify three governance weaknesses that raise corruption or capacity risks, and write an action plan with timelines and who should own each fix for Deputy Director Ahmed by next Wednesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordESCO
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Government policy
+Draft a policy brief that synthesises current evidence on urban transport subsidies, estimate fiscal impact…
Government policy
+Draft a policy brief that synthesises current evidence on urban transport subsidies, estimate fiscal impact over five years under three scenarios, and recommend a preferred policy for Cabinet submission on the 10th.
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Government policy implementation
+Turn the implementation plan into a checklist of required approvals, staffing and procurement steps, assign…
Government policy implementation
+Turn the implementation plan into a checklist of required approvals, staffing and procurement steps, assign deadlines and risk flags, and deliver a one-page tracker for the project manager by Friday noon.
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Apply statistical analysis techniques
+Run statistical tests on the household survey to estimate treatment effects on voter turnout, produce a…
Apply statistical analysis techniques
+Run statistical tests on the household survey to estimate treatment effects on voter turnout, produce a cleaned dataset, a short methods note, and a results table with p-values and confidence intervals for Professor Lee by Tuesday.
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Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses