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Jobs for Former Political Science Teachers

Political Science Teachers build instructing, complex problem solving and judgment and decision making skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Political Scientists (91%).

Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers

Skills you enjoy

Pick the skills you want to keep using. The list re-ranks.

Sorted by skill match.

25 careers that use your skills

  1. 91%
    Median pay
    $142,080
    Pay change
    +45%
    Extra educationNone
  2. 86%
    Median pay
    $106,030
    Pay change
    +8%
    Extra educationNone
  3. 73%
    Median pay
    $77,440
    Pay change
    −21%
    Extra educationNone
  4. 71%
    Median pay
    $104,590
    Pay change
    +7%
    Extra educationNone
  5. 70%
    Median pay
    $193,950
    Pay change
    +98%
    Extra educationNone
  6. 70%
    Median pay
    $97,870
    Pay change
    0%
    Extra educationNone
  7. 69%
    Median pay
    $97,550
    Pay change
    Not compared
    Pay for the broader BLS group “Registered Nurses”
    Extra educationNone
  8. 69%
    Median pay
    $105,870
    Pay change
    +8%
    Extra educationNone
  9. 68%
    Median pay
    $124,720
    Pay change
    +27%
    Extra educationNone
  10. 67%
    Median pay
    $100,040
    Pay change
    +2%
    Extra educationNone

Compared with Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary, median $98,070. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.

Your transferable skills

How important each skill is in work as political science teachers (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).

Instructing4.00
Complex Problem Solving3.75
Judgment and Decision Making3.25
Coordination3.12
Persuasion3.12
Social Perceptiveness3.12

Skills to learn

The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.

  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Systems Evaluation
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Management of Material Resources

Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.

Your top 3 moves, up close

A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.

Political Scientists

91% skill match · $142,080 · +45% pay

First step

  • Most common education: Doctoral Degree (89% of workers).
  • On-the-job training: none or short demonstration.

Skills to add

Social Perceptiveness · Systems Evaluation · Judgment and Decision Making

Is this right for you?

No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.

Sociologists

86% skill match · $106,030 · +8% pay

First step

  • Most common education: Doctoral Degree (50% of workers).
  • A certification can help.
  • On-the-job training: over 4 years, up to and including 10 years.

Skills to add

Social Perceptiveness · Programming · Systems Evaluation

Is this right for you?

No work-context factor stands out as unusually hard in O*NET data.

Instructional Coordinators

73% skill match · $77,440 · −21% pay

First step

  • Most common education: Master's Degree (60% of workers).
  • A professional certification is often expected.
  • On-the-job training: over 2 years, up to and including 4 years.

Skills to add

Coordination · Social Perceptiveness · Management of Material Resources

Is this right for you?

  • Tight deadlines are common

Similar roles in the same field

If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.

Free help near you

Questions former political science teachers ask

What jobs can former political science teachers do?

The closest matches are Political Scientists (91% skill match, median $142,080), Sociologists (86% skill match, median $106,030) and Instructional Coordinators (73% skill match, median $77,440), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.

Which political science teacher career changes pay more?

Among the 25 matches, 11 pay more than political science teachers at the median. The biggest increases: Industrial-Organizational Psychologists (+98%, $193,950), Political Scientists (+45%, $142,080) and Training and Development Managers (+36%, $133,000).

Do former political science teachers need another degree?

25 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.

How is the skill match calculated?

We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.

Keep exploring

Sources. Skills, tasks and education: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Data Sources & Licenses