POLYSCI DEGREES
Here's an interesting article about the value of polysci education and doing political science degrees. Aparently more and more people are considering doing these degrees so they can get involved in politics.
The way I see it, if you are absolutely gung-ho about a career in politics, then you can't go wrong by doing a political science degree. For one thing, you're more likely to be interested in the otherwise boring crap that serves as political science education, just because you like politics. A lot of the stuff I studied in these politics classes was really boring stuff from the dark ages of ancient Greece, but I enjoyed studying it because I was really into politics. As for whether the degree is practical, well, it isn't. But you can do practical internships and get real-world experience that way, plus you can always get a law degree or graduate journalism degree later if you really need some other credential.
They mention how it's possible to get into political positions by volunteering on campaigns and doing the grunt work. It kind of helps if there's ELECTIONS going on, though. Don't worry, there's some provincial votes coming soon in much of Canada, including Ontario. I was really fortunate to work on a number of high-level campaigns in leadership races and elsewhere, getting communications experience helping out at press events and doing media monitoring for campaigns. What these career counsellors do not tell you, though, is that working on campaigns only benefits you if your candidates win. If your candidate loses, or ends up on the opposition benches--- well, too bad, because there's no job for you.
I know plenty of political lifers who hitched their horse to the wagon of various local politicians who ended up losing, and the best jobs they could get afterwards were part-time gigs with municipal politicians and other low-paying jobs. Now, there's nothing wrong with working for municipal politicians, but part-time? Really, what good is that? Of course, there were lots of people who joined the winning Liberals here in Canada, thinking this was a sure ticket to political jobs for life, and of course they lost their gigs when their party got kicked out.
So choosing a winning team isn't easy, either, even if you're an unprincipled hack who's just interested in winning all the time.
It also helps to have other skills, like second languages. Being in Canada, the only way to get ahead in politics in this country is to know the French language. Which is a real struggle if you grew up in Western Canada where people speak no French, or live any length of time in Toronto where nobody speaks any French.
Also, you have to be careful to work for a candidate who won't quit your party. It really sucks if you are working for an MP and then one day he or she crosses the floor, so you have to turn in your resignation. I know lots of Conservatives who to this day cannot live down the fact that they worked for Belinda Stronach and tried to get that woman elected leader of the Tory party!
Having said all this I think it's important to get involved in politics and experience it for yourself, and then figure out whether it's something to pursue long-term.
Writing about this makes me realize: I miss politics.
posted by John Cairns at
7:15 PM
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