Political scientist
Also called pundit, war researcher, peace researcher
Political scientists study political behaviour, activity and systems, including the elements that fall therein. Their study of the field ranges from the origins and evolution of various political systems to topical matters such as decision-making processes, political behaviour, political trends, society, and power perspectives. They advise governments and institutional organisations on governance matters.
What you'd do
Philosophers, historians and political scientists · ILO- Researching, mostly by reasoning, into the general causes, principles and meanings of the world, human actions, experience and existence, and interpreting and developing philosophical concepts and theories
- Consulting and comparing primary sources, such as original or contemporary records of past events, and secondary sources such as archaeological or anthropological findings
- Extracting relevant material, checking its authenticity, and researching into and describing the history of a particular period, country or region, or a particular facet - for example economic, social or political - of its history
- Conducting research in such fields as political philosophy, or past and present theory and practice of political systems, institutions or behaviour
- Observing contemporary political institutions and opinions, collecting data on them from various sources, including interviews with government and political party officials and other relevant persons
- Developing theories, models and methods to interpret and describe the nature of human experience and historical and political events and behaviour
- Presenting findings and conclusions for publication or use by government, political parties or other organizations and interested persons
- Preparing scholarly papers and reports
- Indoors
- Sitting most of the day
- Lots of contact with people
- Good freedom to decide
- Often more than 40 hours a week
- Deadlines now and then
- Varied tasks, little repetition
Will there be jobs?
Average prospectsA typical number of jobs will need filling by 2035.
Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.
What does it pay?
Above averagePay depends a lot on the country: from about €1,800 a month (Bulgaria) to €8,800 (Luxembourg), before tax.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.
Among professionals in the EU, women earn 21% less per hour than men. Professionals · Eurostat
What do I need to study?
Usually a degreeA degree in political sciences and civics is the usual route.
927 institutions in the EU offer social science bachelor's degrees. Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.
Will AI change it?
ModeratelyAI could take on part of most tasks, but none fully.
Average task score 0.47 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).
See the score for each of the 8 tasks
Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for philosophers, historians and political scientists. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).