I have a B. A. in Political Science (with a concentration in International Relations). Straight out of college I got a job as a technical writer for a large software company, and have been doing that (for various different companies) for the last 24 years. I never once used the actual degree, but I don’t regret it since I realized about halfway though my four years of school that I didn’t really like it anyway, but I figured one liberal arts degree was as good as another and I didn’t want to start over. Things worked out well for me. YMMV.
I double-majored in political science and English literature, but I knew by the time I declared a major that I wanted to become a journalist (which I did). I wouldn’t recommend anyone getting into that business now, but eh, there are still newspapers technically out there so I suppose someone will be employed by them. Things have changed a lot since 1985, when I got my BA.
I’ve been in television for the last 20 years in various capacities, but I’ll echo Diosa and say that knowing how the world works politically has been worth the education. It’s shocking how little a lot of educated people are about political systems, political behavior and frankly how government basically works. I think this grasp of how society works has been a great boon to me as I’ve gone about my career. That and the fact that I have no problem asking a lot of questions. 
Admittedly my experience is based on a small sample size, and obviously subjective, but the people I have met who majored in Poly Sci did not seem all that passionate about the subject. When talking about their major, they usually said something along the lines of, “I didn’t know what I wanted to major in when I entered college. I was in Business for awhile, and then switched to Poly Sci.” Same goes for psychology and communications majors.
A person who majors in Poly Sci who is *genuinely *passionate about the subject will probably not regret their decision.
I think we agree that people shouldn’t pursue degrees they aren’t passionate about.
I have an international relations degree and a history degree. My god, I must be doomed!
Actually, I work in national security related fields and my education really prepared me for what I love to do. Provided that political science is indeed what really speaks to him, here are a handful of things I would recommend:
- If he has interest in foreign affairs, study a language. A hard language. And learn the hell out of it. Go to that country and practice it.
- Get internships.
- Write. Write papers, write articles, write op/eds, write for the school newspaper, find things to write about that people will read critically and provide feedback on one’s command of the language and way of advancing arguments. The stock and trade of those in political science-related fields is words, just like numbers and squiggly symbols are to mathematicians or ledger entries are to accountants.
- Get used to speaking in public. There’s not as much a need to speak well as to write well, but it’s a great skill to have.
- Keep out of trouble. A few indiscretions may not be a career killer in most fields, but when you’re dealing with a field that is in the public eye, don’t do stupid things that can come back to bite you.
There are other things that come to mind, but that’s the biggies on what I’d advise people who are following my career path to keep in mind.
I work in DC, and and probably half of my friends were PoliSci majors in undergrad. All of them are prosperous, stable 20-somethings with good careers. Most of them either work for the government in some capacity, or with NGOs. Mostly they do management type jobs- project and program management, program analysis, training design, etc.
In order to get past the 70k mark, most of them will probably eventually have to get a more targeted masters at some point. But they’ve got a good career, many of their jobs offer tuition benefits, and they will be in good shape to get a higher degree when they need it.
My biggest suggestion would be to give some serious thought to where you are going to live- DC is ground center for this sort of thing. Bakersfield probably isn’t. He’ll want to go where the jobs are as soon as he can.
And above all, he wants to work in the field during school- and if not in the field, in something that has the same environment (office, whatever). The jobs he get sin the future will be based on his career experience. Spending a few years now making copies means that by the time you graduate you’ll be a “rising professional.” If you can’t get a relevant job, volunteer and intern. Know the organizations you want to work for, and follow them. Keep track of the career related blogs and websites, and know the trends. Even on the lower rungs, jobs are no longer something you apply to. They are often something you have to make for yourself through making connections with the organizations that you are interested in.
So yeah, it is totally viable, but doing it right takes more than just showing up for class. The classes are the basic qualification, but real make it or break it factor is how he has shown he has applied the skills he learns in class in the workplace.
I have a bachelor’s in political science, and although I am not currently utilizing my degree, I did for a long time as a legislative/regulatory researcher/analyst. I live in the DC area, so poli sci grads have no trouble finding related jobs around here.
Certainly, many people in my class at law school had Poli Sci degrees. I did not (mine was in a modern language); and we had a variety of other disciplines represented as well.
Still, I’ve encountered many Poli Sci graduates in business. They are in fields such as communications, marketing, and politics. They are in industries such as banking, insurance, and technology. I would suggest that there are many uses for such a degree, though they may not be apparent.
Sorry if this sounds snarky, I promise it’s a genuine question which has been driving me nuts for a while: which are those? The only “PoliSci” course I had was about as scientific as homeopathy; my brother took about half the coursework needed for a degree in PoliSci as a sort of hobby thing, and I can see very little science in any of his notes/books. There seems to be a lot of “disregarding preexisting data”, which is the opposite of science.
My brother got a masters in Pol Sci with the intention of working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in New Zealand). I assume the path to working for an overseas embassy/consulate could be different in the US though.
In the end he didn’t get a position (even with a good masters degree) so has spent the past 15 years working for a company related to the oil industry. Completely unrelated to his degree but he seems happy enough.
He could run for local governement maybe? I don’t know if that’s necessarily a CAREER, but it might be the start of one and I’m sure being a poli sci major will help there. 
As so many have noted, you could go to law school and then go to work for the government. That’s what my sister and one of my childhood friends ended up doing.
It’s not for lack of trying. The field is full of would be data jockies who are hoping if they can just find the right data set and run the right regression, they can explain wealth and power.
Real life doesn’t work like that. We can measure if programs are effective, we can do some limited economic analysis, and we can do some very specific forecasting ( say, how many people will sign up for food stamps that month.) But using just data to predict large scale trends just doesn’t work. We are slowly making progress. But there are limits after which all you are going to get is bullshit with dubious numbers.
Is a given country free according to some criteria? We can answer that. Will it become more or less free if they do X? We might hazard a guess. What is freedom? Data cannot answer that.
And remember, many of the worst ideas humanity ever messed with were billed as “scientific”. Political scientists are careful with the term, which they were saddled with in the optimistic modernist era when we thought everything would soon be simply explained.
Most of the people I know who got Poli Sci degrees aren’t working directly in the field; those who are mostly ended up in the DC area. It’s a great second major if you’re interested in the subject. It involves critical thinking and writing skills that are a strong complement to many of the more “marketable” degrees. With a second major, you aren’t completely screwed if the job market has no room for a poli sci graduate in your area, or if you decide halfway through that it’s not your true passion. Many second majors can help you distinguish yourself from all of the other generic poli sci majors out there going for the same jobs (and there will be a lot of them, for the good jobs).
(BA with majors in Economics and Political Science, working in something not really connected to either, but the Econ degree was what got me the job. Don’t regret the Poli Sci one bit.)
There are several directions he could go in. George Mason and UVA both have Government Acquisitons programs which dovetail nicely with Poli Sci. He could minor in Economics, Public Speaking, journalism, creative writing, or International Relations (check out this program: http://scar.gmu.edu/ ).
It’s not a “Set your path for life” degree, which is often frightening for the parents who are paying for it. But my experience has been that any BA is better than none, and kids who study something that interests them, finish! He can set his direction more firmly in year 3 and 4 with minors, or later with a Master’s Degree.
My final note of advice would be to sit down with someone from the school’s guidance department, and ask about where students who earn that degree end up.
I will second that learning a language is absolutely critical if he plans to do any international work. Likewise, if he wants anything international he needs to study abroad, ideally in an unusual country that can differentiate himself from the crowd that spent a year in Paris. Many international jobs require X amount of time spent abroad, and once you graduate it becomes much more difficult to amass that time. A year abroad in school can keep a lot of options open.
He will want to research his language very carefully. For example, popular wisdom says that Chinese is a great language. I speak Mandarin, and it’s about the most useless thing I know how to do. China has more English speakers than the US and any international organization is going to have a large English-speaking staff at this point, and if not they can hire translators for a few bucks an hour. Unless you plan to live in China and need Chinese to navigate daily life, Mandarin probably won’t be the golden ticket. Likewise with Arabic- it was a free pass ten years ago when we suddenly engaged with the Middle East with almost no Arabic speakers who could get security clearances. These days that shortage is long gone, and while it is a useful language if you want to work with Arabic speaking countries, it’s not a deal-maker.
I advice young people to learn one of the big three- French, Spanish or Arabic. Most international organizations work in English and at least one of the above languages, and expect new hires to have two of their working languages under their belt. If you learn Spanish, you need to get absolutely fluent because there are so many native speakers in the US. If you learn French, you will have endless opportunity in Africa even if your French isn’t great- organizations are desperate for French speakers. I don’t know what the prospects are for Arabic, but they are going to be centered in the Middle East.
So spend some time looking at entry level jobs you’d like to have, and see what the language requirements are looking like. Then make your decisions. Your third language will come much easier, and that’s a great time to learn something exotic. I’d recommend Burmese, as Burma will probably see a lot of US action depending on how things ban out.
There are three people I’d be comfortable saying I know rather well who hold BAs in Political Science. One of them followed it with an MBA and has been chronically unemployed for the last 20 years - honestly I don’t think anyone thinks that’s due to his choice of degree.
The second one got a job shortly after college working for a county Board of Legislators. He’s moved up, and his position is not a political appointment so he has security. He’s been able to take leaves of absence to run local offices of two national campaigns.
The third knew in college that he wanted to work for the State Department. He double majored in PoliSci and a language other than English and minored in some other languages. He got a job with the State Department directly out of college and got a graduate degree (in Public Administratio, I think) while working. He has been posted in each of the countries he had as a goal when I first knew him along with several others.
So really, as far as I can tell, it could go a lot of different ways.
I just want to add that I have a BA in Political Science, and I run marketing and business development for a software company.
I know a couple. One nearly doubled in biology, and she’s working on a doctorate in Public Health now. The other is working as a stage manager in the theatre industry, something that she really does have a talent for.
Right, For example, to be a IRS Revenue Officer or Tax Auditor, all you need is a BA. In anything. Later, some accounting is needed, sure, but just the two basic classes. To be a Special Agent or Revenue Agent you need something like 24 units of accounting.
Accounting or Business as a Minor would work well.
Starting during summer as a unpaid intern at local government could be very helpful later.