Jobs on the Hill

[lacanadiense]

I recently had a revelation that I would love to work for a member of congress, doing research or press-related stuff on policy issues. I am now trying to make a final school decision with that in mind as a possible goal. I realized, however, that I have very little knowledge of how one even gets such jobs! So I am reaching out to all you gradcafe denizens who may have superior knowledge in this realm!

 

If you want to be a congressional staffer, how much does the prestige of your grad school matter? Would going to a top 10/15 policy school suffice? How much does being in DC for school matter for access/networking opportunities (for getting a summer internship, and eventually getting a job)? Would it be easiest (or least hard) to get a job with a member of congress from the state where your school is located (assuming you're not in DC)? What do typical salaries look like?

 

Thanks in advance!

[lemony]

Working on the Hill is a pretty specialized track that requires, for lack of better words, starting at the bottom. If you have no prior experience with a MoC (Member of Congress) office, you most likely will have to start as an intern or staff assistant. Many MoCs specify in job listings that they prefer to hire from their district or applicants with ties to that state/district. Also, since Hill positions are prestigious in their own right, many positions end up going to internal hires (from another branch or committee staffers, etc). While it's not easy, going to school in DC will probably make it a little easier for you, but keep in mind paying off student loans/achieving work-life balance may be very difficult given the fact that Hill jobs involve very long hours and low pay. However, it's a very fast-paced and exciting environment and many Hill staffers go on to higher-paying, private sector lobbying/govt relations careers later on. 

 

I don't think prestige will play a huge factor--in general they tend to prefer prior Hill experience (internships) and skills to do the job correctly. Good luck!

[DaniCM]

Being in DC and having the ability to intern is enormously helpful. And, as already stated, it helps if your from the Congress person's district. I interned for a semester in AZ Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick's office while I was a Georgetown undergrad. There aren't too many Zonies (Arizonians) in DC, so I had a huge advantage. Getting a staff position, and even internship, in a more famous congress person's office will be a lot more difficult.

 

Unless you have prior hill experience, or connections with someone currently on the hill, definitely expect to start as an intern making nothing. Hopefully after a few  months of hard bitch work, and it is bitch work (mailing lots of form letters and answering constituent mail and calls), you might get a staff spot, probably staff assistant. They pay for the staff assistant in my office was something like $25K/year...and everyone worked from about 8 AM to 8 PM, taking their lunch at their desk. That said, when congress is slow, so is your office, and the conditions are better. You also get cool perks like attending White House events and cool dinners and receptions with members of Congress.

 

I got my internship through the Georgetown career portal - there were tons of Congressional internships posted there. I'm sure that's the same at all the DC schools. While interning, I also saw a number of candidates simply walk in the resumes - although none that came into my office got a job.

 

Good luck! It's pretty grueling work and awful pay, but if you work in a good office, with good people, it can be very exciting and rewarding.

[MPPgal]

Even though I am international I do have experience in Albany, a few friends interned for the NY office of representatives there and then in the summer they moved to the DC office, two of them have stayed in the Hill. Therefore I guess living in any state capital you are safe plus the work is a bit more interesting and personal thanin DC.

[PoliSciUndergrad]

I am currently a Hill staffer and have been for about two years. Grad school prestige, in my opinion, does not matter. Like others have said, you need to start at the bottom, regarrdless of where you went to school. I know people who have MAs or MPPs from good schools, and still started as Staff Assistants (the entry-level job on the Hill) and worked their way up. I would recommend interning in DC between your first and second years of school if you really want to be on the Hill (also I wouldn't commit to a career here until you have tried it out!). It will be easier to get an internship during other seasons, but I wouldn't decide to go to school in DC for this reason alone if a program somewhere else is a better fit.

 

As a Staff Assistant I made barely over $30,000 and now I make just over $40,000. The pay and hours are rough, so I would definitely recommend spending some time on the Hill and making connections before committing to a career here.

[JFactor]

My feeling is that it is kind of late to consider a career on the Hill when you're doing your MA. I know it sounds weird but I did my undergrad in DC and there are tons of undergrads in DC who want to be Hill staffers and they do numerous internships there during their college career. So they have a leg up against everyone else. After they graduate they become full-time staffers and after a few years they go to a grad school with all this Hill experience and contacts etc. There are a lot of people like this. So if you're not one of these people who were lucky, rich, or savvy (or all three) enough to do your BA in DC, your odds of becoming a Hill staffer are very long. It's not impossible, but it's very, very hard and requires unpaid internships and poor salaries that people can put up with when they're doing their undergrad but it's harder to justify and live with if you have a Master's already.

[djhedlund]

An additional avenue to consider is getting aboard a campaign trail and backing the right horse. If you prove yourself on the campaign trail as competent, hard working, loyal, and professional individual, then you will likely be on a short list to fill a new member of Congress' office. I know my representative hired solely out of her campaign team with the exception of her Chief of Staff. 

 

I don't know the politics in your state, but it's definitely a fast track to the Hill. Of course many things need to go properly for this to happen. I campaigned for my representative in the primary and general election, and interned for her on the hill, but the timing was wrong in her getting elected to be considered for a Staff Assistant position. Good experience nonetheless!

[CreamTea]

You can also start from the consituency itself. When I was an undergrad in the Midwest, I easily got an internship offer in the district for the senator. If I remember correctly, all I had to do was send my resume and write a sample letter on why we should qualify for a grant for our fire department. I did a little research, wrote the letter, had an interview which focused on the senator's activities and was offered the unpaid internship.

 

The only problem was that I am a foreign student and in order to take it, I'd have to get course credit for it, meaning I would have to pay tuition for an unpaid internship. The advisor/professor at the political science department at my university, where the job was posted, thought it was nuts to pay to work (and I did too) so I turned it down. Anyway, I ended up interning for a member of parliament in London and that was also cool but also unpaid. 

 

 

[Miskina]

I didn't even know it was possible to intern with a US senator as a foreign student!

[CreamTea]

I didn't even know it was possible to intern with a US senator as a foreign student!

Well, it was just in the constituency in a small midwestern city in the middle of nowhere. I don't know if the rules would be different in DC. The senator is quite prominent though. 

 

The odd thing is that I get the feeling that i didn't have to compete with a lot of people for that spot.