What does a political analyst do?
Political analyst responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real political analyst resumes:
- Manage and update early engagement processes daily through SharePoint.
- Review data files for errors comparing current information provide by clients to historical data contain in database and fix them utilizing SAS
- Coordinate donor-country efforts to encourage refugee returns to Sarajevo and eastern Bosnia.
Political analyst skills and personality traits
We calculated that 11% of Political Analysts are proficient in Government Officials, Political Analysis, and Statistical Analysis. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Analytical skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Political Analysts that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Government Officials, 11%
Interview key political figures, government officials, and experts in the field of politics and policy.
- Political Analysis, 11%
Recognized as top-grade analyst with more than 3 years of experience in South American and Southeast Asia Economic and Political analysis.
- Statistical Analysis, 7%
Use statistical analysis to interpret research findings.
- International Relations, 7%
Lectured on international relations at the Diplomatic Academy.
- Foreign Policy, 7%
Produced a broad range of finished intelligence products in support of US foreign policy and national security objectives.
- Public Policy, 6%
Provide professional writing and in-depth industry and market research to public relations and public policy firms.
"government officials," "political analysis," and "statistical analysis" are among the most common skills that political analysts use at work. You can find even more political analyst responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a political analyst to have is creativity. Their role and responsibilities require that "political scientists must continually explore new ideas and information to produce original papers and research." Political analysts often use creativity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "assisted the president and co-founder with strategically designing an erp system resulting in leading-edge inventory analysis capabilities. "
Analytical skills. Another essential skill to perform political analyst duties is analytical skills. Political analysts responsibilities require that "political scientists often use qualitative and quantitative research methods." Political analysts also use analytical skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "developed a crucial pre-election threat analysis that led to the mitigation of all security threats prior to national polls. "
Communication skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of political analysts is communication skills. This skill is critical to many everyday political analyst duties, as "political scientists often collaborate with other researchers when writing reports or giving presentations." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "work with political campaigns and non-profit organizations across the united states, aiding in fundraising, communications, and research. "
The three companies that hire the most political analysts are:
- Johns Hopkins University1 political analysts jobs
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Compare different political analysts
Political analyst vs. Government affairs specialist
In private companies, a government affairs specialist serves as the company's liaison when it comes to communicating with government agencies and officials. Their responsibilities typically include preparing and processing documents, handling calls and correspondence, attending meetings and gatherings to represent the company, and building positive relationships along the way. They may also participate in conceptualizing and preparing proposals, presenting reports to managers regularly. Moreover, a government affairs specialist typically works with other specialists, which requires an active communication line for a smooth and efficient workflow.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a political analyst are more likely to require skills like "comprehensive assessments," "government officials," "political analysis," and "statistical analysis." On the other hand, a job as a government affairs specialist requires skills like "powerpoint," "government affairs," "regulatory issues," and "government agencies." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Government affairs specialists tend to reach lower levels of education than political analysts. In fact, government affairs specialists are 16.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.7% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Political analyst vs. State-federal relations deputy director
Analysts are employees or individual contributors with a vast experience in a particular field that help the organization address challenges. They help the organization improve processes, policies, and other operations protocol by studying the current processes in place and determining the effectiveness of those processes. They also research industry trends and data to make sound inferences and recommendations on what the company should do to improve their numbers. Analysts recommend business solutions and often help the organization roll out these solutions. They ensure that the proposed action plans are effective and produce the desired results.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real political analyst resumes. While political analyst responsibilities can utilize skills like "comprehensive assessments," "government officials," "political analysis," and "statistical analysis," state-federal relations deputy directors use skills like "external stakeholders," "trade associations," "medicaid," and "state government."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. State-federal relations deputy directors tend to reach lower levels of education than political analysts. In fact, they're 8.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for political analysts in the next 3-5 years?
Donald Zinman Ph.D.
Professor at department of Political Science, Grand Valley State University
Political analyst vs. Analyst
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, political analysts are more likely to have skills like "comprehensive assessments," "government officials," "political analysis," and "statistical analysis." But a analyst is more likely to have skills like "customer service," "troubleshoot," "data analysis," and "management system."
Analysts make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $79,330. On the other hand, political analysts are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $96,645.Most analysts achieve a lower degree level compared to political analysts. For example, they're 13.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 6.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Political analyst vs. Political researcher
Types of political analyst
Updated January 8, 2025
