As the 2016 Presidential primaries heat up, you may be finding yourself more interested in politics than you normally are. While jobs in politics typically mean very long hours during the election period, they are also jobs that can be incredibly financially rewarding.
If you’re going to school for a Political Science degree, or if you’re considering a career in politics, there are a variety of different jobs with both non-government and government agencies. A career in the political realm requires tact, intelligence, and a ton of ongoing research throughout your career. You must be a good trouble-shooter, well-spoken, and possess the ability to make decisions that have an affect on a large range of people.
If you love politics you should consider these 10 careers.
This is where a lot of people get their start in politics. Canvassers are the people who help with voter registration or handing out literature and information on a particular candidate. Political Action Committees, or PACs, regularly hire hundreds of canvassers near election time. Canvassers are great sources of information on what a political candidate stands for and they can answer questions that a person may have during the voter registration process. If you have absolutely no experience in politics and didn’t go to college for it, canvassing is a great way to get your foot in the door.
Average Pay: $10-$15 hourly
If you don’t want to work for a third party but instead want to work directly with local government, you should look into becoming a political intern. As a political intern you will work directly with your town or city, working alongside council to help accomplish objectives. Being a political intern is great for networking and gaining the experience required to work on a political campaign.
Average Pay: $0-$25 hourly
As a volunteer coordinator, your primary job is to ensure turnout to the polls during election day. By organizing and setting up phone banks and canvassers, you are raising awareness for the election. A coordinator also needs to make sure that volunteers know when and where they need to show up in order to facilitate more people registering to vote.
Average Pay: $31,00 yearly
Are you the sort of person who is always organized? Campaign Scheduler may be your job then. As a scheduler, you’ll have to ensure that your candidate knows about events in the area that he is campaigning in. You coordinate with other organizations to strategically attend the most crucial events that will help your candidate get elected.
Average Pay: $31,000
Does public speaking get your juices flowing? Then Press Secretary may be the job for you. As the person in charge of a candidate’s media relations, it’s your job to set up interviews, and speak on the behalf of your candidate and campaign if they aren’t present. You write up press advisories and releases and interface with the media. You are the first line of defense against negative allegations or bad press.
Average Pay: $63,000
If being in the limelight isn’t for but you love politics, you should look into being a campaign researcher. Campaign Researchers are the ones who do the research behind the campaign, like tracking past decisions your candidate made that had positive effects, as well as doing counter-research against any opposition. You help formulate a campaign strategy by finding facts from the past and applying them to the current campaign message.
Average Pay: $72,000
Running a campaign can be incredibly costly. Campaign Accountants make sure that a candidate can afford expenses while on the trail. You need to manage a budget, as well as take care of any regulatory paperwork or payments that come with running a political campaign.
Average Pay: $73,000
Fundraising Directors are the ones who get the money for your campaign coffers so you can allocate it to advertising, event overhead, or travel expenses. As a fundraising director you need to maintain a good relationship with big donors, as well as run fundraising events that can produce grassroots funds for the campaign.
Average Pay: $92,000
If you think you have the brains to run a successful political strategy and win an election, you should pursue political consulting. You’re the person who develops the strategy behind a candidate’s campaign. You need to have a strong understanding of voter demographics, the media, and how to build a winning story for your candidate. Is the person running for office a champion of the working class, or helped with education? These are things you want to highlight during a person’s campaign.
Average Pay: $101,000
Just like any job, technology is a crucial part of politics. As the CIO you are in charge of everything technical like the website, social media, e-blasting, and organizing your voter database. If you like the digital side of politics and organizing, then you should consider striving to be a Chief Information Officer.
Average Pay: $165,000
There is a wide range of careers within politics that cover every education level. If you’re intrigued by campaign strategy, or want to pursue elected office yourself, the ten jobs above will give you the experience you need.
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish