WHETHER your ambition is to rule the country, direct a company or build your own business empire, it helps to understand the intricacies of power, conflict and decision-making. A degree in politics will have given you an insight into these issues while equipping you with skills, such as research, debating and critical analysis, that can be applied to a variety of careers. “It’s not just about learning facts,” says Dr Jim Buller, the undergraduate admissions tutor for politics at the University of York. “It’s about being able to analyse those facts and appraise those facts, to judge whether arguments that they come across are plausible, persuasive or rubbish.”
Popular destinations for politics graduates include the Civil Service, law, accountancy and the media. Management is also high on the list, says Dan Hawes, co-founder of the Graduate Recruitment Bureau.
“General management training schemes often look for graduates with humanities or business degrees,” he says. “They are almost the perfect kind of person for those roles. They have a good core level of skills and are there to be trained or moulded and developed to the recruiter’s needs.”
Although the degree is non-vocational, some students do go on to pursue a career in politics. The York course counts Harriet Harman, the constitutional affairs minister, the former MP Oona King, Harry Enfield, the comedian, and Greg Dyke, the former BBC Director-General, among its high-profile alumni.
But today’s politics graduates should not rely on their brains alone to land them a job, Dr Buller says. As more students get 2:1 degrees, employers look for things that will set them apart, such as volunteer work, involvement in student societies and holiday jobs. “To get that edge you need to show that you have that practical experience of working in the real world,” Dr Buller says.