What does a politician do?
When we hear the term Politician, we start to imagine all the global leaders that are regularly visible on TV and in newspapers. But the beginning of a politician starts at the local level and eventually grows to become a national or global leader.
Right from local to federal levels, politicians play an important role in creating and implementing people’s welfare plans.
Whether elected by the people through elections or appointed by a leader who is already in a government, a politician has to diligently handle all sorts of responsibilities bestowed upon him.
And when it comes to the responsibilities of a politician, he has to take care of his legislation/province as well as participate in policy making by the ruling government.
A politician is considered people’s representative and therefore he needs to be amongst the public very often.
The politician has to be close to the community so that he can better understand the needs of the society, can listen to and address the concerns of the public, and suggest what’s better for them.
Average Politician salary
The earnings of the politicians are not clearly defined but the average annual salary can range anywhere from $70,000 to $400,000. And this makes politics a lucrative career option.
The salary of the President is $400,000 and vice president is $230,700, while the speaker of the house gets $223,500 annually. House leaders get $193,400 and Senate members get $174,000.
How to become a Politician?
Here are some few things you should keep an eye on to know how to become politician , Unlike other career options where one can pursue a career after completing a respective educational degree, becoming a politician requires engaging and providing long term service to the community.
There are various ways and steps in which one can become a politician.
1. Get a bachelor's degree
While there is no educational qualification for politicians , a candidate seeking to pursue a career in politics should get at least a graduate degree.
Almost every politician at the state and federal levels has some kind of educational degree. Courses like political science, economics, laws, etc. have subjects related to the roles and responsibilities of a politician.
Therefore having a degree in these streams can help the candidates to better understand politics and hence enable them to work efficiently in their job. Educational qualifications can also act as an added advantage when seeking votes during elections.
2. Get involved in local politics and causes
Local politics is where great politicians are born. So someone looking to start a career in politics should first start participating in the local political events.
Young Politician can start by volunteering at the local political events and actively participating in community gatherings. They can also join the political party and start working with them at the community level.
This helps them get enough political experience and also helps them to get noticed by the political leaders. If the leaders find candidates’ passion for social services, they recognise their effort and entry into state and federal level politics becomes easier.
3. Network with local political leaders
Once a candidate starts participating in the local political events, they will come across various political leaders who work at various levels. And networking with them can help pave a path to entering the political world.
Networking with local political leaders is a great way to start and build a career in politics as it helps to build a repo and showcase your passion for working for the people of the community.
Networking and regular contact with the politicians will also help to understand how politics works, what the structure and hierarchy of a political party are and how a successful government is run.
4. Start campaigning
Before going big, the candidate has to start small. And the best way to start small is by campaigning from a local level. A candidate can start campaigning for lower-level positions.
After working at the lower level and working for the community, the candidate can understand the people in a better way. This in turn will give confidence and help the candidate to run for higher-level elections at the later stages.
This is a proven way that has helped many candidates make a way up to become state and federal level politicians from being local level politicians.
5. Form a team and platform to campaign for
a higher-level political position
Before the candidate starts campaigning for himself, the candidate must build a team that can help win the elections. Winning an election is not an overnight journey.
It takes years of hard work, patience and continuous effort. Before a candidate participates in an election, he has to be popular among people. And a candidate can be popular only when he has worked for them.
After establishing popularity, the candidate needs to properly market himself on the right campaigning platform. The candidate also needs to get sufficient funds for a successful election campaign as well.
6. Run your campaign
When everything is in place, the candidate is ready to run for the election. The candidate should prepare speeches, address as many public gatherings as possible, promote his agenda and market himself in every way he can.
The candidates need to put forth his past achievements and convince why he is the right candidate who will work for society and not for himself.
The candidate must also use social media platforms, local boards, and other platforms to properly market themselves. A campaign can be considered successful when the candidate gets enough votes to win the election for the position he is standing for.
Conclusion
Politics as a career gets very less attention among youths as compared to other career options like software engineers and IAS officers. But being a politician is a career that attracts people who want to serve.
Those who want to serve their locality and ultimately their nation, should start working for the society at the ground level and then start rising up. Once the people start recognising the candidate, climbing up the ladder won’t be difficult.
And as a politician, the candidate never needs to think about salary as they get one of the best annual salary packages better than other trending careers in the market.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How much do food inspectors make?
Food inspectors are the professionals because of whom normal people can consume packaged foods without any worry.
Food inspectors check the quality of food, the quality and hygiene of machinery used to produce the food and also check the hygiene of people who produce the packaged food.
The annual salary of a food inspector in the USA ranges from $26,000 to $37,000. The highest salary of a few food inspectors was recorded at $48,000 in some states.
Q2. What is the work environment like for a politician?
A politician is always in contact with various kinds of persons. He has to meet with people, ministers, officers and other such people all the time.
A politician’s work environment is also very eventful. The politician has to attend several events, address many gatherings, and make public appearances. The politician is also invited to all sorts of events be it cultural, art or sports.
Q3. Do you need the training to be a politician?
While there is no formal training given to become a politician, being in contact with local politicians can help gain a good amount of political experience.
A candidate has to start his political career at the local level where he gains experience from the already established political leaders that act as training for candidates. Learning while working is the formula for candidates seeking a career in politics.
Q4. What is the minimum age to join politics?
The minimum age to contest an election is 25 years in the USA. A candidate can start working as a volunteer for local political events even at a younger age to gain political experience.
He can work in the field of politics. But to officially run for an election campaign, the candidate must be 25 years of age or older. The age to run for presidential candidature is 35 years in the USA.