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.
Analysing5
Assess public opinion and voting patterns
+Map recent survey results and official turnout records to identify turnout, partisan swing, and demographic…
Assess public opinion and voting patterns
+Map recent survey results and official turnout records to identify turnout, partisan swing, and demographic vote shifts in the last three elections in Ohio and Pennsylvania, test significance, and produce charts and a two-page memo for the department head by next Tuesday.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft ExcelESCOjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Compare different political systems
+Produce a two-column table comparing parliamentary, presidential, and mixed systems across executive…
Compare different political systems
+Produce a two-column table comparing parliamentary, presidential, and mixed systems across executive selection, legislative-executive relations, party discipline, and accountability, with three empirical examples and a 900-word analytic summary for the journal club on Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft VisioESCOjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Gather data through surveys and empirical research
+Draft a survey instrument and field plan to measure voter attitudes on housing and tax policy in Detroit,…
Gather data through surveys and empirical research
+Draft a survey instrument and field plan to measure voter attitudes on housing and tax policy in Detroit, including sampling frame, 1,000-sample target, question wording, consent text, and a timeline for two-week fieldwork beginning June 1.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelIBM SPSS Statisticsjob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
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Evaluate the impact of policies and laws
+Estimate the causal impact of last year’s rent-control law on eviction filings by compiling administrative…
Evaluate the impact of policies and laws
+Estimate the causal impact of last year’s rent-control law on eviction filings by compiling administrative eviction records, matching treated and control neighborhoods, running difference-in-differences with robustness checks, and write a 1,500-word policy brief for the city council by July 15.
The tools that do the workPythonMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsO*NET
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Conduct media commentary on political issues
+Prepare three brief talking points and a 600-word op-ed draft on the midterm results focused on polarization,…
Conduct media commentary on political issues
+Prepare three brief talking points and a 600-word op-ed draft on the midterm results focused on polarization, policy implications, and likely legislative gridlock, plus two short rebuttals to expected counterarguments for tomorrow morning's radio slot.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsO*NET
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Learning1
Teach political science.
+Design the week-long syllabus and three lecture slidesets that introduce comparative institutions, electoral…
Teach political science.
+Design the week-long syllabus and three lecture slidesets that introduce comparative institutions, electoral systems, and quantitative polling methods for the undergraduate course starting September, include readings, assessment rubrics, and a 1,200-word first-week lecture note.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft Wordjob descriptionsO*NETWikipedia
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The daily work14
Scientific research methodology
+Draft the methods section explaining the sampling frame, variable operationalization, measurement…
Scientific research methodology
+Draft the methods section explaining the sampling frame, variable operationalization, measurement instruments, and the stepwise statistical tests I will run so a reviewer can reproduce the study and I can pre-register the design by Friday.
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Report analysis results
+Produce the results chapter summarising descriptive statistics, regression tables with standard errors and…
Report analysis results
+Produce the results chapter summarising descriptive statistics, regression tables with standard errors and model fit, interpretation of effect sizes for policy relevance, and a one-page non-technical summary for the minister.
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Publish articles and give presentations on research findings
+Draft and submit the journal article on public housing outcomes for peer review, attach the cleaned dataset…
Publish articles and give presentations on research findings
+Draft and submit the journal article on public housing outcomes for peer review, attach the cleaned dataset and analytic appendix, and schedule a thirty-minute departmental seminar next Wednesday to present the findings to faculty and PhD students.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft PowerPointjob descriptionsO*NET
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Identify issues for research and analysis.
+Scan recent council minutes, budget reports and election surveys to list five candidate research questions…
Identify issues for research and analysis.
+Scan recent council minutes, budget reports and election surveys to list five candidate research questions about urban service delivery and equity, rank them by policy relevance and data availability, and email the shortlist with a one-paragraph rationale to my department head by Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft Exceljob descriptionsO*NET
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Conduct research using quantitative methods
+Run the pre-registered quantitative study on policy compliance: clean the administrative dataset, run…
Conduct research using quantitative methods
+Run the pre-registered quantitative study on policy compliance: clean the administrative dataset, run descriptive stats and the specified regression models, produce tables of coefficients with robust standard errors, and save the replication files for repository upload.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsPythonjob descriptionsWikipedia
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Serve on committees.
+Prepare the committee memo for Thursday: summarise agenda items, include my recommended vote with two…
Serve on committees.
+Prepare the committee memo for Thursday: summarise agenda items, include my recommended vote with two evidence-based reasons, attach the draft minutes from last meeting, and circulate to committee members with a reminder to RSVP three days before the meeting.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft OutlookO*NET
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Prepare legislative proposals for government
+Draft the legislative brief proposing a mandate on data-sharing for city agencies: state the policy goal,…
Prepare legislative proposals for government
+Draft the legislative brief proposing a mandate on data-sharing for city agencies: state the policy goal, present three evidence-based options with projected impacts, include economic and equity considerations, and send the draft to the policy sponsor and legal counsel by Tuesday noon.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordMicrosoft Exceljob descriptions
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Use statistical methods to interpret data
+Analyse the household survey using the agreed methodology: compute weighted means, run subgroup comparisons…
Use statistical methods to interpret data
+Analyse the household survey using the agreed methodology: compute weighted means, run subgroup comparisons with significance tests, interpret effect sizes in policy terms, and produce a one-page findings summary for the minister's briefing.
The tools that do the workIBM SPSS StatisticsMicrosoft Wordjob descriptions
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Interpret constitutions and legal frameworks
+Interpret the constitution of Country X and the 2018 constitutional amendment text, identify any conflicts…
Interpret constitutions and legal frameworks
+Interpret the constitution of Country X and the 2018 constitutional amendment text, identify any conflicts with international human rights obligations, and draft a two-page briefing for the justice minister summarising legal risks and recommended remedial clauses by Wednesday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft WordWikipedia
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Examine topical matters such as decision-making processes
+Map decision-making flows for the cabinet committee on energy, analyse who holds veto points and information…
Examine topical matters such as decision-making processes
+Map decision-making flows for the cabinet committee on energy, analyse who holds veto points and information bottlenecks, and produce a one-page diagram plus a 900-word memo recommending three procedural changes before the next sitting on Friday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft VisioMicrosoft WordESCO
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Advise governments and institutional organisations on governance matters
+Prepare an advisory note for the education ministry that evaluates current governance structures, compares…
Advise governments and institutional organisations on governance matters
+Prepare an advisory note for the education ministry that evaluates current governance structures, compares them with two OECD models, and lists five implementable governance reforms with costs and timelines to present at the steering board on Monday.
The tools that do the workMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft WordESCO
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Government policy
+Draft a policy paper outlining the government policy on informal sector taxation, include stakeholder…
Government policy
+Draft a policy paper outlining the government policy on informal sector taxation, include stakeholder impacts, probable revenue estimates for year one, and three monitoring indicators for implementation to be ready for the minister’s office by Tuesday.
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Government policy implementation
+Create an implementation plan for the new social protection policy detailing milestones, responsible…
Government policy implementation
+Create an implementation plan for the new social protection policy detailing milestones, responsible agencies, measurable outputs, and a risk register with mitigations, and deliver it as a five-page plan to the permanent secretary by Friday noon.
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Apply statistical analysis techniques
+Run statistical tests on the 2016–2024 survey data to assess predictors of voter turnout, produce regression…
Apply statistical analysis techniques
+Run statistical tests on the 2016–2024 survey data to assess predictors of voter turnout, produce regression tables, check multicollinearity and heteroskedasticity, and write a concise results section with interpretation and caveats for the journal submission.
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Built on public evidence: O*NET®, ESCO, Wikipedia, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ILOSTAT. All sources & licenses