Starting a career in politics can be very challenging because it is a field where you have to be in constant service to others. You don’t necessarily have to be a politician before you can make a career in politics; it entails so much more, and the career is broader for you to make a choice. Whether you want to run for office, manage political campaigns, or in any aspect you find yourself in, politics requires a lot of competition and high energy.
A political expert must have strong communication and networking skills. Most especially, communication, because political processes involve speaking and making your opinions heard by people; therefore, you must be a skilled communicator who understands the policy of the government of the day.
Get Up to $100,000 Student Loan for Your Master in US or Canada - Apply before 31 December 2024 to get as low as 9.99% interest rate
Table of Contents
6 Ways to Start a Career in Politics
To start a career in politics as a politician, campaign manager, or advocate for a special cause, you need to be well-informed about government policies both at the national and local levels of governance. If you want to start a career in politics, below are some of the ways to go about it.
1. Get a degree:
Getting a degree would definitely put you on edge in the political world. Although there are no specific bachelor degrees for starting a career in politics, degrees such as law, education, business, and so on can really put you on the right path for your future career.
2. Volunteer for any political campaign:
Volunteering in any political campaign would also help you to know what the political field is all about. You can start with as little as making phone calls on your party’s behalf, advocating for votes by going door to door, and so on. It may not be a big campaign, but being in it would give you an insight into how political campaigns are managed.
3. Join a nonprofit organization:
Nonprofit organizations generally focus on a specific cause, so volunteering with any organization would provide you with the necessary support you need when you want to campaign for a public position.
Read Also: 10 Reasons Why You Still Have Time to Change Your Career
4. Become visible in your local community:
If you want to really have a career in politics, you can start by becoming visible in the activities of your local community by participating in different areas. On election days, you can volunteer at polling stations, register voters, and do other small tasks. Doing all these makes you stand out and gives you an insight into how politics is done in your locality or area.
5. Be relevant to the happenings around you.
You can stay relevant by updating yourself with the latest news articles. You should also learn how to network with people because, in politics, you would need to know people so you can try to keep contacts you make for future political purposes.
6. Get a job related to politics.
If you want to venture into the political world, you can get a paid job in any political office. It could even be an internship. It is still a good head start for your career. If you want to throw yourself into the arms of politics, you can decide to run for office yourself. You can start as low as your constituent or local area and drive your way up the political ladder.
Read Also: 10 Best Careers to Pursue in London 2024
The Top 10 Career Paths in Politics
A political career is very broad and opens a wide range of other careers underneath the political career. Other career paths in politics may include, but are not limited to, journalism, political research, marketing, and so on. Here are explanations of the career paths in politics you may want to give a try if you don’t want to run for a political office.
1. Internship or political volunteer:
Getting a job as an intern or even a volunteer may not be what you want, but it is a good start for your career in politics. You can volunteer with a nonprofit organization or at a political campaign rally. Political interns and volunteers. If you are a college student or a fresh graduate looking for a way to start a career in politics, you should volunteer as often as you can. In doing this, you shouldn’t expect to be paid, or you might be lucky to get a small stipend, but what should be your best bet here is the experience you would get.
2. Legislative assistant:
A legislative staff member works directly with the communications administration or a legislator. A legislative assistant may focus on doing different research for the legislator they work for. Their job description includes writing and researching legislation, solving issues, and tracking bills as they proceed through the legislative process. Legislative assistants can also help to answer the phone, schedule appointments and meetings, organize calendars, and handle logistics.
3. Policy Analyst:
These sets of professionals work for the government specifically. They are the people who created and know all the details associated with the proposed policy. Policy analysts work to identify, create, and implement different government policies. Research and analysis are important ingredients associated with their job description. Other job descriptions include conducting research, surveying data, analyzing existing and proposed policies, and reporting information. Policy analysts can work either in a specific area of expertise or be more of a generalist, working on multiple areas.
4. Communications Coordinator:
These professionals work for political candidates, legislators, and different profit or nonprofit organizations, all of which are involved in various political processes. The job description here includes managing political and legislative communications, writing speeches, coordinating press newsletters, coordinating media relations, updating social media, and implementing communications strategies.
5. Pollster:
Political pollsters are the people who measure the effectiveness of a campaign and what voters think about candidates and issues. Pollsters are all about gathering information in a variety of ways, evaluating responses, analyzing and organizing data, doing statistical analysis, and presenting the results in a comprehensive format. Pollsters can work directly for a candidate or legislator, or they can work on a consulting or freelance basis. If you are interested in the numbers and how they can influence voters, consider pursuing a career as a political pollster.
Read Also: How to Start a Career in Telecommunication: A Complete Guide
6. Lobbyist:
Lobbyists are mostly retired politicians or those with vast skills in the political area. Lobbying can be said to be the most challenging career path in politics. To be a good lobbyist, you must have excellent persuasive and communication skills. A lobbying job provides the opportunity to spend your entire time contacting elected officials to get them to vote favorably for your candidate or to oppose legislation that isn’t in your organization’s best interests. Lobbyists can work independently with clients, for a lobbying or law firm, or for an organization or business that has a vested interest in legislative outcomes.
7. Campaign Manager:
The campaign manager is generally the champion of the campaign program. The campaign manager manages and oversees the details of all the campaign processes. Campaign managers on a broader level develop, plan, and implement resources in a political campaign. A campaign manager’s responsibilities and duties may include, but are not limited to, hiring and managing staff, budgeting, logistics, and technology, as well as getting out the vote.
8. Political Consultant:
Political consulting involves working on the campaigns of the political candidate running for a public office. The political consultant helps any politician, whether at the local or national level, see to the smooth running of their campaign, planning strategy, fundraising, and other aspects of running a successful campaign. If you have the right skills as a political consultant, it would be a great advantage for your career path in politics.
9. Media Strategist:
These groups of people are an essential part of any successful political campaign. They help political candidates promote themselves and assist with handling issues that arise during the course of their campaign process. As a media strategist, your job description includes planning, implementing, and presenting documents in person and through social media campaigns to promote their boss, which is the political candidate. A political media strategist may be responsible for organizing campaign events, liaising with the press, handling media relations, preparing the candidate for interviews and political debates, and also overseeing the creation and production of other politically related things.
10. Chief of Staff:
The chief of staff is like the right-hand man of a political candidate. He or she is responsible for the daily activities of the candidate. The job description of the chief of staff includes overseeing the hiring processes of the management team of the political party; he or she also oversees office management, budgeting, administration, and other day-to-day operations of anything political related to the job. All other employees report back to this chief of staff, either directly or indirectly.
Read Also: Top 10 Exciting Careers in Netherlands(Number 5 will shock you)
Watch: 10 Signs You Should Become a Politician
Tap here to watch.
Skills needed in politics
A career in politics is very intriguing and would require you to give it your all. To be able to function adequately in this field, there are some necessary skills that you need to possess to be a good political agent. These skills are necessary, whether you want to run for office or follow other career paths in politics.
- Communication skills (written and verbal)
- Intellectual independence and autonomy
- Teamwork skills
- A flexible and open-minded approach to work.
- Research and coordination skills.
In conclusion, politics is a very challenging field that requires patience and hard work in order for you to thrive. Although politics does not require so many academic degrees or certificates, it is still to your best advantage to get a degree in relevant fields to get a good head start. The career path is very broad in politics and, as such, creates good opportunities for future prospects.
Read Also: 15 Factors to Consider When Choosing a Career
