Frank is right, I'm a poli sci guy and I wish I had done econ. If you're transferring from JC to a 4-year university please do yourself a favor and pick something like econ instead. I know you're a huge English guy so I wouldn't tell you to drop that, but if I were in your shoes I'd do poli sci/econ all the way.

But PE, you don't know no math. How you do econ?
It not like you can convince for professor to give you an A as you support him into Mordor.

Political Science is fine so long as you're going to law school and don't mind a decade of thankless work, if you're lucky. It's a good major to get through the work of law school, but at the end you're basically just someone who can competently read documents. Not exactly competitive. Without law school, you can go be a slave in DC for any of the countless government jobs and lobbying groups. That's about it, but if you work hard things will probably work out just in time to have kids. Adding a language helps. Or at least, I hope it does.

that reference was partly a joke and to show the character's ignorance. too bad people misinterpret it. but why do any arts degrees at all? you can buy toilet paper from the supermarket for pretty cheap these days.

Why not take Philosophy?

obi can't handle the math to be an econ major. Not trying to be rude, just saying...

Why the sudden interest in PoliSci? You always struck me as Ivory Tower Incarnate; ready to get your hands dirty? : )

As an econ major who also took several poly sci courses, I can attest to the superiority of economics. Much more practical as well, not to mention interesting.

abgemacht's very right. I wasted a year in econ, and did quite well, before the beast known as Calc II reared its head. My close friend who got an econ degree said that he never really used that kind of stuff again, but you still have to get through it and I knew I never could. You're probably in the same boat.

I think its easier to handle the math once you have a motivation to study it.

Also, don't political science students need to be good at math or at least stats? I think a lot of papers published in polisci journals are stuff like this: http://afs.sagepub.com/content/11/4/581.short

I was trying to be funny before, but to back up abge's point, it is not a minor undertaking to really do economics. It does require a good understanding of mathematics, calculus and statistics at the very least.

I think political science is the best course of study for understanding power dynamics and learning how those dynamics can be altered through agency.

Econ is much more stats intense than Calc. I never had to take anything past calc 1, but needed several stats courses, including econometrics.

Political scientists need a good understanding of math. If you're just getting the degree, you really just need to understand Prisoner's Dilemma and what a majority in a legislature is.

Prisoner's Dilemma? Is that the one about getting clean or not using the soap? :)

2ndWhiteLine, I almost wish I went to your university now. I guess "go" would be the word, for a few weeks at least.

I actually had the choice of taking a B.S. in Econ or a B.A., the difference being accounting and calc for the B.S. versus statistics and history for the B.A. Easy choice.

Yeah, I also agree with the others that economics is a valuable tool for understanding how the world works and broadens career prospects.

You could also always major in one and minor in the other. Some programs are more like hybrids and encourage you to take a core of political science, but also take a number of courses in econ, foreign language, history, philosophy, etc.

Go read Freakonomics. You'll never go back to poly sci :)

@Frank:

Because after I pass Stats this term, I never want to see another equation again...

And even if I see them in PoliSci, I have to assume I'll be allowed to use my words and not just numbers and equations...

@mapleleaf:

Because I'd like to eat...and have a roof over my head...

And with my blazers and books and goatee and smug mug, I can still enjoy all the facets of Philosophy without majoring in something that will just allow me to question WHY I wound up a fry cook at 39.

(Note: The preceding was intended in good humor so all Philosophy majors, take it as such...or recall Aristotle's theory of fluids and get ride of that excess of black bile because you're clearly too gloomy and grumpy for even my taste.) ;)

@Invictus:

I do plan on going to Law School now, I think...

The thing is--

I'd rather be a writer/speechwriter/politically involved than be a lawyer...

But I'd also rather be a lawyer than a teacher.

So at worst, I'l get through Law School and be a lawyer, I guess...and if I ever become a famous lawyer or someone wants a good speechwriter...all the better. :)

@abgemacht:

Damn right I can't handle that math! +1!

:D

@Whoever asked, I forget...

I'll be transferring to CSUN, that is, Cal-State: Northridge.

Why?

1. My dad went there, so
2. That's the only place he'll pay for a 4-year degree because
3. He hates the idea of student loans as viscerally as I hate Stephenie Meyer, plus
4. I'll be going to Grad/Law school afterward, so I suppose the thinking is
5. THEN I'll be able to go tto a UC-level college, or go out of state, so
6. Cal-State Northridge it is...it's not the best, or worst, but it's better than Community College

*famous WRITER, not lawyer, for the Invictus comment (though either'd be nice.)

Go to history and get an analyst job.

People here will tell you that's not tenable but it really is, if you're good at history anyway. Study recent history of East Asia, Africa, or the Middle East and you're in.

and make sure you get internships and have a language proficiency relevant to your field, otherwise it'll probably be a bust.

"So at worst, I'l get through Law School and be a lawyer, I guess..."

This seems like a very good mentality to *not* make it through law school...

What would be a better mentality? :)

It just seems like you're going to law school for a lack of something better to do...

No, I genuinely do like politics...just like I genuinely like English and literature...

Being a lawyer just doesn't seem as dynamic a career as I'd like...I don't want to spend my life haggling in family court for someone or arguing misdemeanor or felony cases...

I'd rather be counsel to a company or, even better, to a political organization or person, or combine a legal background with a background in writing and try and be a speechwriter or have something to do with policy somewhere...



The same way I wouldn't want to write just to write, I wouldn't want to be a lawyer just for a good salary or nice car...

I'd want to be doing something I felt was somewhat unique and certainly worthwhile.

Like immigration law--THAT is something I care deeply about, and would like to work on, representing people, or trying to support those in favor of views on immigration I feel would be more progressive and, for lack of a better word, compassionate (I know, an odd term to use in the same sentence as "law"...)

Or LGBT rights...

Or abortion cases and laws...

And so on.

I'd rather work for causes rather than just work cases, and that's what I mean by "at worst, I guess I'll be a lawyer," at worst, I guess I COULD always do those civil and misdemeanor and felony cases...

But just like, if I were to write something, I wouldn't want it to just be a fun book series or something of that sort, I'd want it to be ABOUT something...

If I were going to go the legal route, I'd want to be arguing for a CAUSE, for SOMETHING...

Not just someone who'll pay me well, or for the state just so I can look good.

"Econ is much more stats intense than Calc. I never had to take anything past calc 1, but needed several stats courses, including econometrics."

I hate you lol. I'm going for Econ and I have to take 3 or 4 semesters of calc, 2 upper level stats, and then any math course that has 3 semesters of calc as a prerequisite.
oh, and then apparently i have to write a thesis, too.
man, maybe i should switch to an art history-cartography double major or something.

Unless you're planning on enrolling in an economics Ph.D. program, you don't need all the calculus.

That depends on the school, especially on the way it handles Macroeconomics. The flip side is that all other subjects will look ridiculously easy after undergoing such training.