WHAT COMES NEXT? Is political science a good fit for me? Why is a major really a minor?... PSC is only 32-36 hours of the 128 you need to graduate What are PSC 1010/11 designed to do? What are the major fields in political science? What courses in them do our majors/minors have to take? What should you as a PSC major/minor while you are at HPU? Come to DC with us… or to on your own… or go with the Washington Center… Get an internship… preferably one “locally” (wherever local is) and then in DC Get ready to move! Half of college grads…and even more of the best ones… are moving to 20 metropolitan areas. Make your connections now!

Do I really need to take statistics, finance, Mandarin, programming, calculus and/or advanced economics? ½ of 2013 grads were not working FT 6 mos after graduation; ½ of those in positions that don’t require a degree… Skills matter 60% (college BA/BS) x 25% (communicates well enough in writing to work as a high-level manager or independent contractor) = 15% x 60% (speaks well) X 20% (a valued, rare, specialized skill) = 3%... X second skill of this type = .3%.

What employers want

Why do I need those skills?

What do PSC majors (BA only) do?

What do PSC majors with an MA do?

What do PSC majors with a PhD or terminal degree do?

Recession-level Unemployment

Recession-level Salaries

WHY GRAD SCHOOL? Average pay boost of approx 50% for PSC and INR… but think about causality… Only the really smart ones go to grad school, right? Nope: 46% percent of PSC/INR grads go on to higher degrees Which one? PSC, law school, public policy/administration, applied politics, MAT, area studies, theology environmental affairs, economics*, international affairs* What test stands in your way? GRE, LSAT, GMAT What kind of school record matters? GPA, rigor of schedule, very strong writing samples, activity depth & intensity, study abroad, internships How long does graduate school take? Is it really worth it?

WHERE TO GO TO GRAD SCHOOL?

START GETTING A PROF. JOB… NOW Start writing a good résumé… right now. And get Linked-in, business cards, thank you cards, and a cleaned up FB page. Two awesome examples: http://www.briaynakcuffie.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/briaynacuffie Build skills that can get you through the door matter even more! SPSS, Excel, Access. You can teach these to yourself!!! You must get an internship! Better yet, get two of them… Even if you are going to grad school (credit vs. non-credit) What do we hear from our graduates about what matters most in getting and keeping a great job? Neworking, skills, constant movement, and more education