1. WHAT COMES NEXT? Is political science a good fit for me? Why is a major really a minor?... 32-36 hours of the 128 you need to graduate What are PSC 1010/11 designed to do? What are the major fields in political science? What courses in them do our majors/minors have to take? What do you need to do while at HPU? Come to DC with us… or on your own… or with the Washington Center… Get ready to move! Half of college grads…and even more of the best ones… are moving to 20 metropolitan areas. Make your connections now

2. Do I really need to take statistics, finance, Mandarin, programming, calculus and/or advanced economics? ½ of 2013 grads not working FT 6 mos after graduation; ½ of those in positions that don’t require a degree… Skills matter 60% (college BA/BS) x 25% (communicates well enough in writing to work as a high-level manager or independent contractor) = 15% x 60% (speaks well) X 20% (a valued, rare, specialized skill) = 3%... X second skill of this type =.3%.

3. Why do I need those skills?

4. What employers want

5. Recession-level Unemployment

6. Recession-level Salaries

7. Major and Salaries What do you think you will make as a starting, experienced, and graduate-school trained professional?

8. How much is grad school wroth?

9. Jobs

10. Sector

11. GRAD SCHOOL? Average pay boost of approx 50% for PSC and INR… but think about causality… Only the really smart ones go to grad school, right? Nope: 46% percent of PSC/INR grads go on to higher degrees Which one? PSC, law school, public policy/administration, applied politics, MAT, area studies, theology environmental affairs, economics*, international affairs* What test stands in your way? GRE, LSAT, GMAT What kind of school record matters? GPA, rigor of schedule, very strong writing samples, activity depth & intensity, study abroad, internships How long does graduate school take? Is it really worth it?

12. WHERE TO GO TO GRAD SCHOOL?

13. START GETTING A PROF. JOB… NOW What kind of jobs do social science majors get? – Working for an interest group… low pay, long hours, great experience – Working for the government has big ups… salary isn’t one of them – Analytical and problem solving position – How about my job? Start writing a good résumé… right now. And get Linked-in, business cards, thank you cards, and a clean FB page. Two awesome examples: http://www.briaynakcuffie.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/briaynacuffie http://www.briaynakcuffie.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/briaynacuffie Skills that can get you through the door matter even more! SPSS, Excel, Access, You must get an internship! Better yet, get two of them… Even if you are going to grad school (credit vs. non-credit) What do we hear from our graduates about what matters most in getting and keeping a great job? Network, skills, constant movement, and more education