Why study political science? 12 reasons to do so?
A career that can excite you if you have the right character and interests.
Political Science studies the various power relationships between different types of authority and individuals (citizens, more specifically). (citizens, more specifically). Any professional with a degree in this field will be able to perform multiple tasks: teaching studies and research, advising groups, organizations and structures of a socio-political nature.
Year after year, the career of Political Science generates interest among many high school graduates who are thinking of taking the leap into the university world. But is it a good idea to study this career?
As a graduate in Political Science and Public Management, I will try to explain the advantages and benefits of studying this career. This post will be treated from a personal point of view, where I will explain my experiences and thoughts, along with a purely professional approach and taking into account the career opportunities offered by the career. I hope it will help you make up your mind.
- You may be interested in reading: "Why study Psychology? 10 reasons that may convince you".
What do you learn in Political Science?
Many people wonder... What is the object of study of Political Science? It is a study that allows students to acquire broad knowledge in various branches related to politics, such as Public Administration, Political Economy, Political Philosophy, International Relations, as well as Research and Analysis of the many and varied social and political phenomena that occur in our environment.
Although some people think or affirm that studying Political Science "is useless", they are very wrong. Few, if any, university degrees will provide you with such a broad and varied knowledge, in addition to being a subject that directly affects our lives as citizens.
Why study Political Science? 12 keys
We are political beings and as such we should be equipped with analytical tools. At the end of the day, everything that happens in politics changes our living conditions, whether in our working, legal, educational or health life...
Below I am going to propose 12 essential points that will allow you to reflect and find out if Political Science can be a field of study that matches your interests and expectations. and expectations.
1. Because you are passionate about politics
As with art, music, theater or sport, politics is pure passion, Heart and values.. Nowadays there is a tendency to believe that the most popular profession, that of the politician, is that of wanting to benefit from an appetizing position with an abusive salary for one's own benefit. In some cases this may happen, unfortunately, but in most cases it is not the case.
The interest is born from the concern to know how the world and power relations work, linked to ideas that we sympathize with and defend. It is not surprising, then, that many students of politics are themselves militants of political parties and vehemently defend their positions.
2. You are interested in discourse analysis
How many times have you listened to a speech and analyzed it twenty times? This is another trait linked to passion, which manifests itself from a very early age. Although at an early age we still have a vague idea of what politics in general is, we usually have a well-defined basis of our scale of values.
When we listen to a speech, we try to find that subliminal message that few know how to appreciate. If you are one of those people who like to detect contradictions or fallacies in the verbal maneuvers of public representatives, you are a serious candidate to study Political Science.
3. You are concerned about social needs
If you live constantly analyzing and researching the needs of the society in which you find yourself, detecting latent problems as well as those that are a priority for you and from a subjective point of view (this is where values and ideas come in), the Political Science degree can offer you even better tools and criteria for your own personal and professional development..
In addition, studying these studies will allow you to identify the policy measures that could remedy them.
4. You are organized (or you would like to be).
Political Science is a complex set of studies. Politics is, after all, about organizing and managing the daily life of a community, planning and being persistent in the work.
This profession is evaluated on a day-to-day basis, with every issue and with different political decision-making bodies. Depending on the decision that is chosen, the final result will be applauded or booed. If you are an organized person or you want to enhance this ability, nothing better than this career..
5. You want to drive change
You don't need to be a mass leader or an epic speaker, but if you have certain ideals you should be part of that force that wants to drive change. Either for one side, "the left", or for "the right" so that we understand each other.
It doesn't matter which side you choose, the important thing is to have a collective conscience and fight for the common good.. If you believe that your ideas could generate a more just, innovative and supportive society, you could be a good political scientist (and also a good politician if you like action more than analysis).
6. You prefer words as a method of solution
Politics is based on the power of the word and oratory to convince others, our public.. The more communicative capacity we have, the better we transmit the ideas and values that we want to apply to the political system.
The good politician faces the conflict through the gift of the word to solve any type of discrepancy. Thus, the communion between clarity of ideas and oratory resources are two of the essential competences of a politician who aspires to lead an organization or even a nation.
7. You think that everything is related to political science.
From the price of the coffee we pay to the distribution of goods in the streets of a city, everything has to do with Political Science. The name of the streets, the laws that regulate the different taxes, the influence of certain religious minorities, the power of the big companies, the hours that stores and stores must keep... everything depends on what happens in political life..
Nothing is left to chance. All laws comply with needs and solutions to live together in harmony. And the fact is that society, as Thomas Hobbes in "The Leviathan", is regulated by a social contract between the citizens and the power that governs them. If you are aware of all this, you will have developed the necessary criteria to study this career.
8. You are creative (or you like to practice divergent thinking).
Contrary to popular belief, policy is not just a strict decision-making guideline.. There is no infallible formula to apply in the face of a conflict or social problem.
In politics you have to be proactive and not reactive, and that is where creativity comes into play. Political science allows combining creativity, critical thinking and collective work. This characteristic in particular generates high levels of satisfaction for the professionals who dedicate themselves to it.
9. You feel a great interest in knowledge
On a personal level, I would like to stress this point. Just as a psychologist wants to know what is going on in the mind of his patient, or a sociologist is interested in the behavior of society, a political scientist longs, in a certain way, to know how institutions work, the relations between States, the processes that take place in local governments or the reason for a war.
If you have been interested in reading and informing yourself about these issues since you were young, you are likely to be a good political scientist in the near future, you are likely to be a good political scientist in the near future..
10. You want to know yourself better
I remember the first day of class. A classroom of 50 people, in some cases divided into groups of "thoughts or ideas". There were leftists, rightists, anarchists, statists, militarists, etc. It is incredible to breathe the atmosphere of such a collective, each person or group with their ideas defended with a knife. Often there were verbally harsh, but interesting confrontations.
In Political Science, one learns to know oneself better, to identify oneself and to polish one's knowledge, something that no other career offers..
11. Great, but... what career opportunities can this degree offer you?
The degree in Political Science will open the doors to a wide range of employment opportunities.. Most of the options available are usually well paid, as well as providing the satisfaction of being able to use your skills and critical sense.
Feeling that you are a necessary person, and not just a number: this is one of the main advantages of being a political scientist. NGOs, public administration or political advisor are some of the most attractive career opportunities in the sector.
12. You are looking for a varied and adventurous profession.
Related to the previous point, political science and its career opportunities are an interesting future project for those who reject routine and order.
As a politician or political scientist you will be in constant search of knowledge, you will explore different countries, you will work with people from all over the world, and you will work with people from all over the world.You will work with people from all over the world and no day will be the same as the previous one.
And if I don't do it, what do I do?
Don't worry or obsess about it. Many of us are passionate political scientists who do not count on the profession.
It is something common and that I would like to add in the article so as not to hide anything of the current reality. Those of us who have studied political science never cease to be interested in what is happening around us.
And although given the circumstances in which we are forced to work as scholarship holders, the future is promising, given the fact that we have to work as scholarship holders, the future is promising as we have to face new challenges following the evolution of modern society and the unresolved conflicts and unresolved conflicts, such as the refugee crisis and their integration into societies with radically opposing cultures.
(Updated at Apr 13 / 2024)