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Career Exploration

Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary

Also called: Associate Professor, Political Science Instructor, Political Science Professor, Professor

What they 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.

On the job, you would:
  • Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as classical political thought, international relations, and democracy and citizenship.
  • Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
  • Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
On the job, you'll need:

Arts and Humanities

  • English language
  • history and archeology

Safety and Government

  • law and government

Education and Training

  • teaching and course design

Math and Science

  • sociology and anthropology

Basic Skills

  • talking to others
  • reading work related information

Problem Solving

  • noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Social

  • teaching people how to do something
  • changing what is done based on other people's actions

Verbal

  • read and understand what is written
  • communicate by speaking

Ideas and Logic

  • make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
  • use rules to solve problems

Social

People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking.

  • Independence
  • Analytical Thinking
  • Achievement/Effort
  • Persistence
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Initiative

Word processing software

  • Google Docs
  • Microsoft Word

Computer based training software

  • Learning management system LMS
  • Moodle

Analytical or scientific software

  • Empirisoft MediaLab
  • W-NOMINATE

Video courtesy of CareerOneStop.

Job Outlook

The job outlook for this position is Average.

New job opportunities are likely in the future.

Median Annual Salary: $83,770

Education

Doctoral degree is usually needed.