Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary
What Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary Do
Teach courses in political science, international affairs, and international relations. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
- Self-employed
- 0.3%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 5 of 5Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Experience
- Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
- Job training
- Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- English Languageimportance 4.6/5
- Law and Governmentimportance 4.5/5
- Education and Trainingimportance 4.3/5
- History and Archeologyimportance 3.6/5
- Sociology and Anthropologyimportance 3.3/5
- Geographyimportance 3.0/5
- Philosophy and Theologyimportance 3.0/5
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 2.9/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- E-Mail5.0/5
- Freedom to Make Decisions4.8/5
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled4.7/5
- Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals4.7/5
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.5/5
- Public Speaking4.2/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- History Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
- Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
- Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
- Education Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
- Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
- Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary99% skill match
- Communications Teachers, Postsecondary98% skill match
- Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary98% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Instructingimportance 4.0/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.8/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.3/5
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.1/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.1/5
- Persuasionimportance 3.1/5
- Service Orientationimportance 3.0/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.0/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
In-Demand Technologies
Other Software Used
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Intellectual Curiosity
- Dependability
- Social Orientation
- Integrity
- Achievement Orientation
- Cooperation
- Innovation
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- SocialHigh
- InvestigativeHigh
- ArtisticMedium
- EnterprisingMedium
- ConventionalMedium
- RealisticLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where political science teachers, postsecondary make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Amherst Town-Northampton, MA14.00× national avg
- 2Ithaca, NY12.10× national avg
- 3College Station-Bryan, TX8.59× national avg
- 4Harrisonburg, VA7.00× national avg
- 5Ann Arbor, MI6.04× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Political ScientistsCareer Change
- Sociology Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
- History Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
- Philosophy and Religion Teachers, PostsecondaryLateral Move
See the full career path from Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary →
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Political Economy
- University of California-Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)grads earn ~$74,202
- Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL)grads earn ~$68,059
- University of California-Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)grads earn ~$75,128
- University of Washington-Seattle Campus (Seattle, WA)grads earn ~$72,487
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI)grads earn ~$66,148
International Relations and National Security Studies, Other
- Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD)grads earn ~$114,716
- George Washington University (Washington, DC)grads earn ~$76,751
- American University (Washington, DC)grads earn ~$97,808
- American University (Washington, DC)grads earn ~$73,865
- George Washington University (Washington, DC)grads earn ~$100,024
Education Policy Analysis
- Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)grads earn ~$129,978
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC)grads earn ~$74,403
- Duke University (Durham, NC)grads earn ~$103,071
- Duke University (Durham, NC)grads earn ~$109,274