Politics and international relations jobs encompass roles in government. They include civil service, intelligence and diplomatic work. The non-profit sector attracts politics graduates, too, mainly in consultancy and media roles. Which careers are the most popular or the most in-demand? This chart outlines the top politics and international relations careers, as listed by Aberdeen University's International Study Centre.
| 💼Career | 🔎What it Involves | 💰Average Salary/year (estimated) |
|---|---|---|
| The Diplomatic Corps | Representing British interests abroad. Serving British expats' needs. | £47 606 |
| Immigration Specialist | Interview immigration applicants. Help them navigate the immigration system. | £41 410 (in London) £34 612 (elsewhere across the UK) |
| Lobbyist | Represent special interest groups' initiatives to political bodies. Advise politicians on their constituents' political positions. | £35 000 |
| Business representative | Help secure trade deals. Help businesses plan global strategies. | £30 967 |
| International Logistics Manager | Negotiate passage of goods through international territories. | £44 991 |
| Intelligence Analyst | Conduct threat assessments. Advise on global political developments. | £37 527 |
| Public Relations | Present their employers in a positive light. Help the public understand the entity's mission. | £41 780 |
| Charity Work | Help coordinate global relief efforts. Fundraising and helping ensure smooth operation. | £45 358 |
| International Development Consultant | Analyse geopolitical conditions. Advise clients of risks and opportunities. | £41 139 |
| Work With an NGO | Contribute to resolving or improving specific issues. Work for social improvement and improving living conditions worldwide. | £35 982 |
The Diplomatic Corps
Joining the Foreign Service is the obvious first stop for politics and international relations careers. As a diplomat, you'll represent British interests abroad while ensuring the safety and wellbeing of British expats in your host country.
1. Promoting British culture abroad. Assuring embassy operations, including issuing visas.
2. Forging agreements with the host country's government.
3. Promoting peace and positive relations.
Of course, you'll have to work your way up through the ranks and learn how to be a diplomat. You'll start your career in the UK, undergoing training in various job aspects. You might consider learning a second language to improve your chances at landing a post in the host country of your choice.
Consulate Official
These specialists focus solely on British citizens who live, work, and travel abroad. Besides handling visas and other official documents on their behalf, consular officers protect citizens' rights. They help citizens who might have trouble with the law in their host country or perhaps a medical emergency.
Immigration Specialist
You might think these positions would be better suited to a graduate of law studies (and you'd be right!).
However, politics graduates have a lot of work to do in this field, too. For instance, you might interview immigration applicants for their suitability for work in the UK. Or you might filter the applicant's case through a geopolitical lens to reinforce their petition for refugee status.
Your duties will include screening candidates for suitability for immigration, helping them fill out paperwork, and ensuring applicants comply with all relevant laws. You may also host seminars about legal standards for immigration and encourage acceptance of immigrants.
A double degree in political science and law increases your potential for hire as an immigration specialist. Pairing language studies with politics works well, too.
Lobbyist
Depending on where your sensibilities lie, lobbyists are either the greatest political invention ever or politics' greatest evil. Lobbyists represent groups or entities - organisations, businesses, and special interests- to ensure matters that concern them are protected by law.
In many cases, lobbyists act as political advisors. They don't just speak with politicians about the issues they lobby for; they must also be able to present the issues' economic, political, and social advantages. These conversations often sway politicians towards writing laws in support of the issues they lobby for.
The term 'lobbyist' was born in the British Parliament. Originally, it described interested parties that would corner lords in their House lobby to present issues vital to their cause. This practice continues today, but lobbying is heavily restricted in the UK Parliament.
Business Representative
You might be surprised to learn that many international businesses hire political science graduates. The knowledge you bring to these concerns is crucial for those companies to plan their global strategies.
Today's global trade difficulties underscore the urgent need for political wisdom in business.
As a business representative, you can help companies understand and navigate complex foreign policy and trade rules. You may work with corporations' legal departments to challenge unfair trade practices and put your diplomatic skills to work to secure advantageous trade deals.
Politics graduates are ideally suited for positions in business, especially in areas like risk analysis and international logistics. If nothing else, think tanks that focus on policy analysis and international affairs offer you a chance at greater influence on businesses' political and economic impacts.
International Logistics Manager
If politics graduates are useful in business, they must also work well to ensure the safe transportation of goods. Not that you'll pilot the ships or drive the lorries. Your job will entail negotiating safe passage for internationally traded goods.
To do that effectively, you must keep up with all geopolitical happenings. You'll have to know where conflict hotspots are and possibly route your company's shipments around them. You may even broker a deal for safe passage of goods through such zones. For that, you'll have to have nerves of steel and have all your wits about you.
Glassdoor UK sets this salary range from £ 31,487 to £ 64,288.
Intelligence Analyst
Now, we veer away from the commercial possibilities of politics and international relations careers and closer to the types of jobs politics graduates choose their majors for. Think MI6 or, if you've a mind to, James Bond, and you'll have the right idea. In this position, your duties may include:
Working as an intelligence analyst positions you for a second career as a political analyst. This is the pathway many former intelligence officials take once they've completed their service. In that capacity, you might help businesses gain political favour, discuss geopolitical events on television, or advise governments on political trends abroad.
Public Relations
Taking a job in public relations might sound like a shallow option after reading about the intrigue of intelligence gathering. That's a very limited view of public relations specialists' work. For this career, you must be as intelligent and intuitive as you are personable and relatable. You also have to have a firm grasp of today's digital communications trends.
Public relations specialists ensure the entity they represent is always viewed positively.
Making sure corporate and/or government values hit properly depends on how well you understand the sociopolitical climate your target audience lives in. You must also take historical events into consideration and their impacts. For example, imagine representing a foreign company or country after such a disaster as this one.
That event forced many changes to global manufacturing agreements and production systems. Public relations specialists were there, every step of the way, to help manage the fallout and emphasise the progress those negotiations made. With your political science degree, you have the mental agility to meet such moments.
Charity Work
People tend to associate charity work with volunteerism - unpaid labour. Indeed, charities are renowned for their expansive volunteering initiatives. However, volunteerism isn't the sum total of charity career opportunities.
Charities like the Red Cross and Amnesty International are global initiatives. They're massive bureaucracies that need hundreds of thousands of people to keep them running smoothly. Positions range from fundraising and administrative work to project coordinators and programme managers.
Your politics degree makes you an ideal candidate for a career in international relations positions. You'll draw on your knowledge of geopolitics to coordinate efforts around the world, planning suitable initiatives for specific regions.
It might seem strange that starting your career in charity work could serve as a guide to your political career. But then, what are politics other than discussions cloaked in empathy? A stint with a well-established charity won't just look good on your Curriculum Vitae (CV); it will teach you lessons no school ever could.
International Development Consultant
By now, you likely have the idea that politics and international relations are closely intertwined. So, it should come as no surprise that international development is totally within your wheelhouse.
As with other globe-spanning enterprises, development involves the careful analysis of geopolitical considerations. Any candidate for these jobs must not only have a firm grasp on current political and economic conditions but must also be able to project how those conditions will play out.
That ability relies on deep knowledge of past events and their conclusions, as well as current interests that drive the concerned parties. Flashing back on the clip above: India is always seeking development opportunities but is wary of exploitation, considering its history.
As an entry-level international development consultant, you'll compile and analyse data and uncover weaknesses in the parties' positions. That includes the host country's regulatory framework, as well as the business's strategies. You'll then get to work resolving them, advising your employer every step of the way.
A double degree in politics and economics makes you more qualified for these positions.
Work With an NGO
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) fill the gap between government operations and charity work. NGOs may be for-profit or non-profit, and they cover a wide range of initiatives at home and abroad. Top NGO names include:
- Oxfam
- British Red Cross
- Amnesty International
- Save the Children
- WaterAid
- SolarAid
- World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF)
- ChildHope
- The World Refugee Council
- Anti Slavery International
- The Aegis Trust
- Macmillan Cancer Support
- Equal Rights Trust
- The British Cancer Foundation
Non-profit work can be immensely rewarding, especially working with a high-profile NGO. Politics graduates often look to combine their passion to do good and the academic learning they have just completed. NGOs give them the perfect way to hit all their early career goals.
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