Political Scientists vs Economists
Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index
A factual, source-backed comparison of Political Scientists and Economists on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”
At a glance
| Dimension | Political Scientists | Economists |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $139,380 | $115,440 |
| Employment | 5,950 | 15,880 |
| Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection | Declining (-3.1%) | About average (+1.2%) |
| Annual openings · BLS projection | 500 | 900 |
| Typical education · O*NET | Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree). | Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree). |
| AI exposure · published exposure studies | High · 99th pct | High · 94th pct |
| Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk | 85th pct · 47% of tasks | 93rd pct · 55% of tasks |
| Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index | Augmentation-leaning (72.9%) | Augmentation-leaning (67.5%) |
| Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman | Yes | Yes |
Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.
Skills
Shared: Written Comprehension, English Language, Education and Training, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Active Learning, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Writing, Critical Thinking, Written Expression, Inductive Reasoning, Speech Clarity, Speech Recognition, Social Perceptiveness, Deductive Reasoning, Complex Problem Solving, Judgment and Decision Making, Problem Sensitivity, Near Vision, Learning Strategies, Instructing, Mathematics, Information Ordering, Systems Evaluation, Fluency of Ideas, Originality, Category Flexibility, Mathematics, Coordination, Service Orientation, Systems Analysis, Computers and Electronics.
Specific to Political Scientists
- Law and Government
- History and Archeology
- Communications and Media
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Geography
- Philosophy and Theology
Specific to Economists
- Economics and Accounting
- Mathematical Reasoning
- Number Facility
- Monitoring
- Persuasion
- Time Management
Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).
Tools & technology
Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Electronic mail software , Presentation software , Word processing software , Analytical or scientific software , Data base user interface and query software , Object or component oriented development software , Business intelligence and data analysis software , Data base management system software , Desktop publishing software .
Specific to Political Scientists
Full profiles
This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Political Scientists or Economists — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.
More comparisons
Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.
- Political Scientists vs Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary
- Political Scientists vs Sociologists
- Political Scientists vs Law Teachers, Postsecondary
- Political Scientists vs Legislators
- Political Scientists vs Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary
- Political Scientists vs Climate Change Policy Analysts
- Political Scientists vs Economics Teachers, Postsecondary
- Political Scientists vs Environmental Economists
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Singulariki. "Political Scientists vs Economists." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/political-scientists-vs-economists
Singulariki. (2026). Political Scientists vs Economists. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/political-scientists-vs-economists
@misc{singulariki-political-scientists-vs-economists,
title = {Political Scientists vs Economists},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/compare/political-scientists-vs-economists}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.