Working in politics If you elect to pursue a career in politics, you’ll need to learn more about your options. Here’s a good place to start. any children dream of being President of the United by States, drawn to the idea of leading the country. Colleen D. Teixeira MHowever, the President is only one of many workers who help shape our Nation through politics. Jobs in politics exist at all levels of government: local, State, and Federal. Although the President is our most prominent official, many others—some elected, some not—help to create policy. In addition to legislators and their assistants, some workers lobby public officials and others help to elect candidates. Read on to learn about jobs in politics. You’ll find out about the Colleen D. Teixeira is an economist in work of legislators, staffs of legislators, lobbyists, and consultants. the Office of Occu- There’s also information about earnings, followed by descriptions pational Statistics and Employment of the ups and downs of working in politics. After reading Projections, BLS, some suggestions for getting into politics, you’ll find additional (202) 691–5157. information about these careers. Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Summer 2008 Jobs in politics and house of representatives, that mirrors the Federal system. At the local level, legislators Jobs in politics involve many different work- compose boards of selectmen, city councils, ers. Legislators and their staffs work directly county boards, or other groups. on bills and laws. Others, such as lobbyists, Process. Legislators have similar jobs at affect the lawmaking process by working all levels of government: They enact laws and to persuade legislators to support or oppose provide oversight of the executive branch. the proposed bills and laws. Still others are This work requires that they research how consultants who work on candidates’ election proposed laws, known as bills, might affect campaigns. their town or district and that they speak to Legislators other legislators to convince them to support Legislators exist at all levels of government. or oppose the bills. Towns, cities, counties, and States, as well as Legislators meet with constituents—busi- the Federal Government, have some type of nesses, individuals, or groups from their legislative body. district—and with lobbyists. Both constituents In the Federal Government, legislators and lobbyists might try to persuade legisla- form the U.S. Congress, which includes the tors to vote for or against a bill or to react to a U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Repre- particular issue. During this process, says Ala- sentatives. In every State except Nebraska, bama State Senator Arthur Orr, it’s up to leg- legislators make up a political body with two islators to gather information to balance their separate entities, such as the State senate perspective. “Lots of times, there isn’t anyone Summer 2008 • Occupational Outlook Quarterly making alternative arguments about a bill’s funds for colleges and universities. State legis- merits or shortcomings,” he says. “Those situ- lators may require statewide education exams ations require that legislators educate them- or might distribute funding among school selves about the opposition arguments so they districts. At the local level, officials might can make educated decisions.” determine teacher salaries and the specific In larger cities and at the Federal and curriculum taught in the district. State levels, a bill starts in a committee made Other tasks. Legislators are responsible up of legislators. During committee meetings to their constituents. In some cases, this and hearings, legislators may make remarks or responsibility includes helping constituents to ask questions of the bill’s advocates and oppo- resolve problems or to locate the government nents. They may also propose amendments to resources, such as social services, that can the bill. assist them. Legislators also need to commu- Issues. The way that bills are passed is nicate with their constituents about how these similar at every level of government, but the parties might be affected by the bills being issues vary. At the Federal level, Congress discussed and the laws being passed, and they may work on both international and domestic must respond to constituents’ letters, e-mails, matters. At the State level, legislators might and phone calls. deal with bills related to providing money for Responding directly to constituents may schools, roads, and public services; they also be most prominent at the local level. For ex- might try to pass bills to attract businesses ample, Greg Gerratana is an alderman for the and industries to the State. At the local level, city government of New Britain, Connecticut. aldermen and city councilors work on is- While much of his legislative work relates to sues such as traffic-light placement and noise budget issues, even that work focuses on con- ordinances. stituents. “We deal with constituents’ every- Although legislative issues vary by day problems, and sometimes we even create government level, some—such as education, new ordinances to deal with those problems,” public health, or transportation—overlap. For he says. “It’s not about lofty ideas, but practi- example, Congress may allocate education cal solutions.” Staff members assist Staffs of legislators legislators with a variety of Because legislators have many different com- mitments, they often need assistants to help tasks, such as coordinating them fulfill their duties. Staff workers provide appearances at events. this help to legislators, particularly those in Congress. A legislator’s staff generally works in a few different areas: legislation, com- munications, and administration. (For a brief description of some legislative staff titles, see the sidebar on the opposite page.) Legislation. Staff members who assist on legislative issues research bills that are proposed or that the legislator for whom they work is interested in proposing. They write questions for the legislator to ask during committee hearings, sometimes write open- ing remarks for hearings, and might suggest amendments to bills for the legislator to propose. They might also draft entire bills. The legislative staff tracks the progress of Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Summer 2008 Other occupational titles commonly held by staff workers in politics bills throughout the enactment process and keeps the Each legislator in Washington, DC, organizes his or her office. Fol- legislator informed. lowing is a list of titles commonly found in offices on Capitol Hill. Often, legislative staff members specialize in Not all of these titles are found in all offices, and some offices a particular issue or topic, sometimes working on may have alternative titles. committees that focus entirely on that issue. Special- Caseworkers respond to constituents’ requests and may ization allows them to become more familiar with also assist constituents in resolving problems related to Federal the intricacies and nuances of the topic. As they gain agencies, including problems with Social Security, Medicare, experience, staff members generally have more say about which issues they will cover. veterans’ benefits, or passports. Communications. Those who work in commu- Chiefs of staff are usually responsible for the overall office nications help their legislator get out messages to administration and the allocation of work among staff. They constituents. Doing so requires assisting the legis- report directly to the legislator. lator in developing the message. Communications Legislative assistants are usually assigned to a particular staff members also set up interviews with the media area of legislation, such as healthcare, taxes, or foreign policy. and draft press releases or newsletters that highlight These workers are responsible for following bills as they make the legislator’s accomplishments and bills that have their way through the legislative process and for researching the passed. As a result, they need to pay attention to all possible effects of a bill. They also may write questions or open- issues that the legislator works on. ing statements for the legislator to use in committee hearings, A legislator’s perceived effectiveness can hinge, and they may brief senior staff about bills pending in Congress. in part, on constituents recognizing his or her ef- Legislative correspondents focus on relaying information forts—especially the accomplishments. The com- munications staff works to report such news, but the to constituents. They may respond to constituents’ questions and complexity of legislation can make the job difficult. concerns regarding legislation or national policy, either over the “It’s challenging to find ways to communicate about telephone or in writing. Sometimes, forming an accurate and complicated legislative procedures in ways that thoughtful response may require doing research; other times, a people can understand and that keep them engaged,” form letter may cover routine questions. says Will Jenkins, communications director for U.S. Legislative directors usually monitor the legislative sched- Representative Tim Bishop of New York. ule and brief the legislator on bills and issues before Congress. Administration. Members of legislators’ ad- They also oversee legislative assistants. ministrative staffs work on a variety of tasks. Some Press secretaries communicate the legislator’s message of them answer telephone calls, welcome visitors, to constituents and the general public, often by writing