The U.S. Department of Labor reports that median annual earnings for political scientists were $132,350 in May 2019. The lowest 10 percent earned $72,470 or less and the top 10 percent earned $183,500 or more. Mean annual salaries for political scientists who worked for the U.S. Postal Service were $142,390. Political scientists who were employed by scientific research and development services firms averaged $135,620 per year, while those who worked for local government employers (excluding schools and hospitals) made $94,810 per year. College political science teachers had mean annual earnings of $104,910. Salaries ranged from $51,610 to $172,910 or more.
Employers offer a variety of benefit packages, which can include any of the following: paid holidays, vacations, and sick days; personal days; medical, dental, and life insurance; profit-sharing plans; 401(k) plans; retirement and pension plans; and educational assistance programs.
- Adapted Physical Education Specialists
- Adult and Vocational Education Teachers
- Ambassadors
- Anthropologists
- Archaeologists
- Art Teachers
- Athletic Directors
- Aviation Safety Inspectors
- Bailiffs
- Bank Examiners
- Biophysicists
- Book Editors
- Border Patrol Agents
- Campaign Workers
- Career and Employment Counselors
- Career and Employment Technicians
- Citizenship Reclamation Specialists
- City Managers
- Civil Engineers
- College Administrators
- College Professors
- Community Nutrition Educators
- Computer Trainers
- Congressional Aides
- Conservators and Conservation Technicians
- Construction Inspectors
- Cooking Instructors
- Cryptographic Technicians
- Curriculum Coordinators
- Customs Officials
- Dance School Owners and Managers
- Demographers
- Deputy U.S. Marshals
- Distance Learning Coordinators
- Driving School Owners and Instructors
- Economists
- Education Directors and Museum Teachers
- Edupreneurs
- Elementary School Teachers
- Emergency Management Directors
- English as a Second Language (ESL) Teachers
- Environmental Education Program Directors
- Environmental Lobbyists
- Environmental Planners
- EPA Special Agents
- Ethnoscientists
- FBI Agents
- Federal and State Officials
- Fish and Game Wardens
- Flight Instructors
- Foreign Service Officers
- Fraud Examiners, Investigators, and Analysts
- Futurists
- Genealogical Researchers
- Genealogists
- Geographers
- Guidance Counselors
- Health and Regulatory Inspectors
- Health Educators
- Historians
- Historic Preservationists
- Instructional Coordinators
- Instructional Designers
- Intelligence Officers
- Interpreters
- Journalism Teachers
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- Land Trust or Preserve Managers
- Learning Innovations Designers
- Lexicographers
- Library and Information Science Instructors
- Linguists
- Lobbyists
- Mathematics Teachers
- Medical Ethicists
- Military Recruiters
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- Music Teachers
- National Park Service Employees
- Nursing Instructors
- Occupational Safety and Health Workers
- Park Rangers
- Physical Education Teachers
- Policy Analysts
- Political Columnists and Writers
- Political Consultants
- Political Reporters
- Political Speechwriters
- Preschool Teachers
- Press Secretaries
- Public Opinion Researchers
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- Recycling Coordinators
- Regional and Local Officials
- School Administrators
- School Nurses
- Secondary School Teachers
- Secret Service Special Agents
- Sociologists
- Special Education Teachers
- Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists
- Speech-Language Pathology Assistants
- Statisticians
- Teacher Aides
- Traffic Engineers
- Translators
- Transportation Planners
- Tutors and Trainers
- Urban and Regional Planners