Political Scientists
Study the origin, development, and operation of political systems. May study topics, such as public opinion, political decisionmaking, and ideology. May analyze the structure and operation of governments, as well as various political entities. May conduct public opinion surveys, analyze election results, or analyze public documents.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 12 of its 14 tasks, and jobs are projected to shrink 2.0% by 2035. In the most exposed occupations, the squeeze shows up first among early-career workers. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 3.2% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Miscellaneous social scientists and related workers”
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 4.3 hires for every 10 job openings in government, which employs about 77% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.4.3 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $108,770 | $81,200 to $159,120 | 50 |
| Colorado | $127,260 | $82,540 to $175,530 | 30 |
| District of Columbia | $152,530 | $128,610 to $180,480 | 3,070 |
| Florida | not published | not published | 90 |
| Illinois | $103,780 | $85,570 to $117,590 | 110 |
| Maryland | $153,380 | $115,650 to $183,080 | 100 |
| Massachusetts | $133,930 | $106,960 to $170,110 | 170 |
| Michigan | $86,290 | $78,950 to $109,580 | 180 |
| New Hampshire | $74,560 | $51,370 to $159,730 | not published |
| New York | not published | not published | 130 |
| Ohio | $119,370 | $94,700 to $135,620 | 40 |
| Oregon | $119,460 | $113,550 to $119,460 | not published |
| Pennsylvania | $140,020 | $89,750 to $169,580 | 70 |
| Texas | $114,050 | $101,900 to $128,320 | 160 |
| Washington | $147,060 | $95,240 to $193,450 | 110 |
Nationally: $142,080. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 12 of its 14 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Teach political science. | Not published |
| AI + software | Maintain current knowledge of government policy decisions. | Not published |
| AI + software | Develop and test theories, using information from interviews, newspapers, periodicals, case law, historical papers, polls, or statistical sources. | Not published |
| AI alone | Disseminate research results through academic publications, written reports, or public presentations. | Not published |
| AI + software | Advise political science students. | 0.02% |
| AI + software | Collect, analyze, and interpret data, such as election results and public opinion surveys, reporting on findings, recommendations, and conclusions. | 0.01% |
See all 14 tasks
| AI + software | Interpret and analyze policies, public issues, legislation, or the operations of governments, businesses, and organizations. | 0.01% |
| AI alone | Identify issues for research and analysis. | 0.02% |
| Not much | Serve on committees. | Not published |
| AI + software | Forecast political, economic, and social trends. | 0.03% |
| AI alone | Consult with and advise government officials, civic bodies, research agencies, the media, political parties, and others concerned with political issues. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Provide media commentary or criticism related to public policy and political issues and events. | Not published |
| AI alone | Evaluate programs and policies, and make related recommendations to institutions and organizations. | Not published |
| AI + software | Write drafts of legislative proposals, and prepare speeches, correspondence, and policy papers for governmental use. | under 0.01% |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 7 of the 14 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 14 tasks fall under 14 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #4 Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise
- #5 Provide information or assistance to the public
- #18 Research historical or social issues
- and 1 more, in the table below
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advise others on legal or regulatory matters | |||
| Maintain current knowledge in area of expertise | |||
| Provide information or assistance to the public | |||
| Research historical or social issues | |||
| Present research or technical information | |||
| Teach academic or vocational subjects | |||
| Evaluate programs, practices, or processes | |||
| Analyze market or industry conditions |
Show all 14 activities
| Advise others on educational or vocational matters | |||
| Develop scientific or mathematical theories or models | |||
| Develop research plans or methodologies | |||
| Prepare legal or regulatory documents | |||
| Analyze data to improve operations | |||
| Serve on organizational committees |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- An explanation or answer36%
- An analysis or summary19%
- A document or report15%
- An academic paper or thesis7%
- A plan or strategy5%
How they worked with Claude
12% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for political scientists specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 19,310 moves out
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 11%
- 2 Chief Executives Very high +3.2% 9%
- 3 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 7%
- 4 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 6%
- 5 Postsecondary Teachers, All Other Very high +2.0% 5%
Where people moved in from
of 25,196 moves in
- 1 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 11%
- 2 Chief Executives Very high +3.2% 5%
- 3 General and Operations Managers High +5.0% 5%
- 4 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 3%
- 5 Postsecondary Teachers, All Other Very high +2.0% 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 8% master's
- 88% research doctorate
- 4% post-doctoral training
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 26 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 4% high school
- 5% some college
- 1% associate's
- 40% bachelor's
- 33% master's
- 2% professional degree
- 14% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Miscellaneous social scientists and related workers” · 628 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in the Census group “Miscellaneous social scientists and related workers”
13 programs, such as International/Globalization Studies, History and Political Science and Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.
See all
- International/Globalization Studies
- History and Political Science
- Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
- Public Policy Analysis, General
- International Policy Analysis
- International Relations and Affairs
- National Security Policy Studies
- International Relations and National Security Studies, Other
- Political Science and Government, General
- American Government and Politics (United States)
- Canadian Government and Politics
- Political Economy
- Political Science and Government, Other
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeships: DOL's list of apprenticeable occupations doesn't include this one.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS · Brynjolfsson, Chandar and Chen, Stanford (Aug 2026)
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