I’m at such a low point career wise

[u/emilyrosee35]

I got my bachelors degree in political science in December of 2024 and I feel like shit because I can’t find stable work. I’ve been working in retail/ cosmetic sales for the past 5 years and I can’t get out of it. I feel trapped. I wanted to get a job as a paralegal or a legal intake specialist or even a legal assistant. Every interview I went to, I got rejected because they picked someone else.

I’m not saying I regret my degree because I did learn a lot of useful stuff about society, culture, voting and government structures. I just wish my degree was enough to find a good job. I live in a small town with very little job options. I can’t afford to move to a big city and most of the legal assistant jobs I interviewed for that WAS in a big city, it only pays $19 an hour. The same amount I make at Sephora.

I want to go to law school someday but I’m feeling discouraged because competition is getting worse in terms of law school applications. I had a 3.3 GPA and my LSAT practice tests scores are awful. Application expectations for law schools are getting out of control where you basically have to get a 170+ to get accepted.

I’m 26 years old, I definitely thought I’d be at least starting my career by now. Don’t get me wrong I love makeup, it’s been a huge hobby of mine since I was 13 years old and I applied to Sephora 8 times before they fully offered me a job. I just don’t understand why every career feels impossible to achieve anymore.

[u/Substantial_Car4040]

Yeah…more people in this forum should be warning against majoring in political science. Your story is probably the vast majority of graduates in that field.

Government jobs are impossible to get. Paralegal jobs are impossible to get AND don’t pay well at all.

I graduated in 2012. I applied for hundreds of paralegal jobs. Never even got an interview. I worked for my family business while I applied for years. Never really made good money, about $40k/year in a HCOL area. I paid $16,000 toward my $31,500 student loans over a period of 8 years. The result? I now owe close to $34,000. It was paused for years during Covid and the flip-flopping of repayment programs from Biden and Trump. My (and my wife’s) student loans prevented us from buying a house in 2013 for $208,000. If not for that, we’d be set today, could have sold the (starter) house later for $450,000, paid off our student loans, and still had $175,000 to put down on the next (family) house. lol fml.

I see posts every day “what should I do with poli sci” “should I major in poli sci.” It’s a degree mill designed to make us poorer, not richer.

[u/emilyrosee35 → u/Substantial_Car4040]

I majored in it because I want to go to law school someday but idk it’s getting more and more competitive every year. My sister was a business major with a specialization in marketing…she’s now in nursing school.

[u/Substantial_Car4040 → u/emilyrosee35]

Business is another major that is very hard to break in to. My suggestion is living with your parents and commuting for an unpaid internship. Seems to be the only way to get experience right away.

Oh, and yeah I wanted to go to Law School too. At my alma mater’s Law School no less. Problem was the cost, I didn’t qualify for the full $100k in loans, and my family couldn’t pay the remainder. I majored in Poli Sci and minored in History. For my major, I targeted poli sci courses that were basically pre-law. For my minor, I targeted US History courses (but at least half were not US oriented).

As a freshman, I began as a Philosophy major, and then switched to Business before settling on Poli Sci from my Sophomore year on.

[u/Hot_Tennis2048]

one of my friends majored in feminist & gender studies & she worked at Sephora immediately after graduation in a sales manager role (they fired her for making a joke about unionizing😭😂) and then she went into a non profit (didn’t like it) and then moved into the admin side of education and is happy there so far

[u/emilyrosee35 → u/Hot_Tennis2048]

I work for Sephora as well🩷 I love it but I’m trying to move on. They over work us with little pay.

[u/Hot_Tennis2048]

I just came to say I made a post on this sub similar to this like a month or two ago. I graduated with poli sci in may 2024 and have been struggling to find a job/career path as well. When I graduated I wanted to go into the foreign service. The only jobs I’ve gotten after graduation have been through networking in my family/with family friends. I have a currently clerk at a law firm but the pay is so low (20/hr) no benefits or PTO I barely can pay my car/student loans, I have been thinking of going to nursing school just to have some kind of path/stability. I definitely understand where you’re coming from and it’s affected my mental health a lot since graduation.

[u/emilyrosee35 → u/Hot_Tennis2048]

Yeah I’m trying to be an attorney but the applications are getting more and more competitive. Also know some attorneys who can’t find work right now.

[u/Hot_Tennis2048 → u/emilyrosee35]

What drew you to the attorney path? Have you always known that’s what you wanted to do?

[u/emilyrosee35 → u/Hot_Tennis2048]

Personal life experiences on top of being someone who is passionate about politics along with justice. My mom had a car wreck injury and I vividly remember a lot from that case. I got to go to her attorneys office and see how they help their clients. Her attorney let me sit with her while they sign some paper work. My mom got very compensation for it, and the whole process made me realize, “I think I want to do that as a career”…I was about 12 when that happened. Also my childhood home continuously kept being flooded to a point it was unlivable, our real estate lawyer didn’t want to take the case, bullshit. The flood was coming due to an error on a farmers property next door causing about 5 inches of water in our basement. We eventually had to walk out of my childhood home because of that… so yeah I have my reasons why I want to be an attorney. Many people like my parents, don’t get justice in a fair way.

[u/Disciple_of_Bolas]

Have you interned & worked with elected officials / campaigns in your area? This election cycle would have been perfect - and it’s how I got my foot in the door for a career in politics & government. Networking is hugely important in the career ambitions you’ve highlighted

[u/emilyrosee35 → u/Disciple_of_Bolas]

Tried that. Also didn’t work. Plus a lot of the roles offered during election season in my state don’t pay and it’s volunteer work. You could know a shit ton of people and still not get a job. I’ve come to accept that maybe I won’t find something and have to change career paths. I’ve been going to interviews at least once a month if not more and still nothing.

[u/jjinxeddd]

Hi! I graduated with Poli Sci and English double and I’m currently doing compliance in the nonprofit sector in SF! I was job hunting for 2 months postgrad before I landed a litigation assistant role at a family law firm. Stayed there for six months but wanted to work in the public arena! We need more people in the nonprofit sector. Analyst positions are great as well.

[u/emilyrosee35 → u/jjinxeddd]

I had an interview for a non profit organization. It was for a legal intake specialist role and I was so excited because they had me do soo much for the interview and since my friend worked there I thought “bet I have connections and they seem interested yay”…I got rejected. I was so sad but it doesn’t surprise me with this damn job market.

[u/you-farted]

Op, where are located? There’s an easy in and it’s easier than you think.

Here in Canada, each province has its own election management body. Each province is required to deliver a provincial election every four years. Some provinces coves both municipal and provincial elections. Each election requires thousands of poll workers and the pay is half decent. It’s a short term commitment for a set amount of days. You get paid for training. If you are a super star and are rally good at your job, they will keep hiring you. A lot of the people working elections also work federal elections as well. More time to show off your skill and make connections. Eventually you’ll be in the mix and decide on the actual politicking side of it, or rise the ranks at the emb and enjoy watching democracy do its thing. On that side, you don’t care who wins, you just want people to get their butts out to the polls. Where you work and meet all kind of lovely and interesting people from all walks of life. Bonus points if you can speak more than one language too.

[u/StepEfficient864]

With a PolySci degree you have a good understanding of people and how to read them. And you probably also know how to communicate well. How about trying pharmaceutical sales, calling on doctors? Or selling insurance?