Political Science + Computer science?

[Joy929292]

Hi,

I'm sure everybody thinks about future jobs and positions before applying to grad schools or while studying. This is what bothering me right now.

I'm a 1-st year graduate student at PhD Political Science program, though I'm not into research too much right now (it's my first semester).

I love computer stuff, I enjoy programming (C++/Python mostly), I know how to handle databases and networks. I feel like I'm pretty fluent with using software and hardware. But since grad school is a time consuming thing, I take this computer stuff as a hobby and I don't have any degree in CS. 

The question that bothers me is how can I incorporate, or, better to say, combine computer skills with research and analytic skills, which we all obtain during our grad programs? What kinds of jobs should I aim at in order to increase my chances after graduation? Or do you think these 2 things cannot be connected so I should look for 'pure' jobs, like Political Science teaching position, or smth like this?

[vertices]

You can definitely use your programming skills to boost your quantitative analysis. Think about big data you would want to analyze. Figure out if you can get it. Your PS know-how will give you the edge to build good models and interpet the results. Not having to rely on a tech expert will allow you iterate faster. Think about FiveThirtyEight and PolicyViz.

 

You may also consider simulation and how you might be able to explore situations through that.

 

PS isn't my field, but you might want to look into think tanks that hire PS people. Intern there and see what kind of jobs there you would like -- or what kind of job there you would want to create with your programming skills.