Also called: Oppo Researcher, Research Director
Digs through public records to find everything about a candidate's opponent (and their own candidate).
Oppo researchers read old votes, court filings, business records, and decades of news clippings to find weaknesses before the other side does. They also vet their own candidate so there are no surprises. It's investigative journalism for campaigns.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in political science, history, or journalism.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Political Science, Journalism, History, Law.
Growing about average. Campaign jobs follow the election cycle: busy in even years, quieter in between.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI searches court records, votes and old news in minutes, so campaigns need fewer researchers to dig and verify.
Classes: AP U.S. History, AP U.S. Government, Journalism, AP English Language.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-3099.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.