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Article Excerpt
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Many children dream of being President of the United States, drawn to the idea of leading the country. However, 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 work of legislators, staffs of legislators, lobbyists, and consultants. There's also information about earnings, followed by descriptions of the ups and downs of working in politics. After reading some suggestions for getting into politics, you'll find additional information about these careers.
Jobs in politics
Jobs in politics involve many different workers. Legislators and their staffs work directly on bills and laws. Others, such as lobbyists, affect the lawmaking process by working to persuade legislators to support or oppose the proposed bills and laws. Still others are consultants who work on candidates' election campaigns.
Legislators
Legislators exist at all levels of government. Towns, cities, counties, and States, as well as the Federal Government, have some type of legislative body.
In the Federal Government, legislators form the U.S. Congress, which includes the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. In every State except Nebraska, legislators make up a political body with two separate entities, such as the State senate and house of representatives, that mirrors the Federal system. At the local level, legislators compose boards of selectmen, city councils, county boards, or other groups.
Process. Legislators have similar jobs at all levels of government: They enact laws and provide oversight of the executive branch. This work requires that they research how proposed laws, known as bills, might affect their town or district and that they speak to other legislators to convince them to support or oppose the bills.
Legislators meet with constituents--businesses, individuals, or groups from their district--and with lobbyists. Both constituents and lobbyists might try to persuade legislators to vote for or against a bill or to react to a particular issue. During this process, says Alabama State Senator Arthur On-, it's up to legislators to gather information to balance their perspective. "Lots of times, there isn't anyone making alternative arguments about a bill's merits or shortcomings," he says. "Those situations require that legislators educate themselves about the opposition arguments so they can make educated decisions."
In larger cities and at the Federal and State levels, a bill starts in a committee made up of legislators. During committee meetings and hearings, legislators may make remarks or ask questions of the bill' s advocates and opponents. They may also propose amendments to the bill.
Issues. The way that bills are passed is similar at every level of government, but the issues vary. At the Federal level, Congress may work on both international and domestic matters. At the State level, legislators might deal with bills related to providing money for schools, roads, and public services; they also might try to pass bills to attract businesses and industries to the State. At the local level, aldermen and city councilors work on issues such as traffic-light placement and noise ordinances.
Although legislative issues vary by government level, some--such as education, public health, or transportation--overlap. For example, Congress may allocate education funds for colleges and universities. State legislators may require statewide education exams or might distribute funding among school districts. At the local level, officials might determine teacher salaries and the specific curriculum taught in the district.
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Other tasks. Legislators are responsible to their constituents. In some cases, this responsibility includes helping constituents to resolve problems or to locate the government resources, such as social services, that can assist them. Legislators also need to communicate with their constituents about how these parties might be affected by the bills being discussed and the laws being passed, and they must respond to constituents' letters, e-mails, and phone calls.
Responding directly to constituents may be most prominent at the local level. For example, Greg Gerratana is an alderman for the city government of New Britain, Connecticut. While much of his legislative work relates to budget issues, even that work focuses on constituents. "We deal with constituents' everyday problems, and sometimes we even create new ordinances to deal with those problems," he says. "It's not about lofty ideas, but practical solutions."
Staffs of legislators
Because legislators have many different commitments, they often need assistants to help them fulfill their duties. Staff workers provide this help to legislators, particularly those in Congress. A legislator' s staff generally works in a few different areas: legislation, communications, 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 opening 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 bills throughout the enactment process and keeps the legislator informed.
Often, legislative...
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