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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 November 2022
Probably the main topic of conversation at most recent professional meetings of political scientists is the job market. For graduate students and professors alike, getting a job, keeping a job, or improving one's position take precedence over traditional scholarly concerns. Statistics gathered by APSA and presented in PS by the Association's official Cassandra, Tom Mann, point to a worsening job situation despite some success in the profession's holding its ground until recently. According to Mann, “the outlook for the next decade and a half is grim” in the face of such facts as a projected 25 percent decline in the college-bound population between 1980 and 1994, the prospect that almost all demand for academic political scientists will be replacement for those who retire, die, or move out of the profession, and the possibility that the production of new political science Ph.D.s will increase despite adverse demand.
The author, who received his Ph.D. in Political Science from The Ohio State University in 1975, is East European Affairs Analyst in the Office of Research, U.S. International Communication Agency. He wishes to thank Ms. Francis Kay Dolan and Mr. Thomas Kell of the Washington U.S. Civil Service Commission office for their cooperation in the preparation of this article. Any errors of interpretation are, of course, the responsibility of the author.
1 Mann, Thomas E., “Placement of Political Scientists in 1977,” PS: Political Science & Politics, Vol. XI, No. 1 (Winter, 1978), pp. 26 ff.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2 There are other options available, of course, such as commercial research firms, consulting, etc. A recent Washington Post article reported that while the federal government has some 2.8 million workers on its payroll, it actually pays the salaries of three to four million others through contracts, research grants, and matching payments to local governments. A thorough discussion of quasi-governmental alternatives can be found in Career Alternatives for Political Scientists by Thomas E. Mann, available through APSA.
3 Washington, D.C., is defined here as the Washington Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) which includes the District of Columbia, the cities of Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax, and Arlington in Virginia; the counties of Fairfax, Arlington, and Prince William in Virginia; and the Maryland counties of Charles, Montgomery, and Prince Georges.
4 These and the following data exclude the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. These two agencies are major employers, however, with estimated work forces of some 60,000.
5 Based on the following percentages taken from the 1976 Annual Report of the U.S. Civil Service Commission and using the October 1977 Washington area civilian government employment as the starting point:
Full-time white collar workers: 79.2%
Grades GS-9 to GS-12: 33.0%
Nontechnical positions: 59.4%
6 See U.S. Civil Service Commission, Bureau of Manpower Information Systems, Educational Attainment of General Schedule Employees by Minority Group and Sex, August 31, 1974, p. 10.Google Scholar These data are taken from the total Civil Service system and do not consider the generally higher concentration of highly educated workers in the Washington area. In addition, they exclude several agencies with large numbers of highly educated employees (see note 4 above).
7 Causey, Mike, Washington Post, August 17, 1977, p. C2.Google Scholar