Working on a political campaign is an excellent way to gain professional experience in politics and develop the skills and networks you need to advance your career. A campaign is a fast-paced, high-intensity, emotionally charged environment in which to build your skill set and sharpen your political instincts. Depending on the type of campaign and candidate, it can be a very rewarding and fulfilling work experience.
Political campaigns are organized efforts to elect a public official or pass ballot initiatives. These operations can range from small, local operations with a handful of volunteers to large federal operations with hundreds of paid staff and consultants. Typically, they are highly competitive, and candidates rely on their teams to identify, persuade, and organize voters to support them.
Most legislative or executive branch campaigns are organized on behalf of a single candidate, though some states have multi-member districts where anywhere from two to eleven people are elected at one time. While most congressional and presidential campaigns are managed by national party committees, gubernatorial and state legislative campaigns are often managed by the party organizations for those positions.
Competitive campaigns tend to have the most professional and comprehensive operations, since they are a matter of life or death for a particular candidate. These races are particularly important because they frequently determine party control of the relevant branch of government and often define highly salient policy debates. As a result, they also tend to be more financially lucrative for campaign staffers, who typically earn livable wages (though this varies by race and the extent of fundraising).