In addition to the legislative and communications tracks for Hill staffers described in other articles, it is worth adding another "track" -- that of the political professional. It is a track that Washington's political and policy workers may choose to pursue for a short period of time or for the long term. Those on the political track may start on the Hill, with the party committees and advocacy organization, or may come to Washington from outside the beltway where they gained experience working on campaigns.
There are two primary sources of employment within Washington for the political track. The party committees (as described above) or with the many consultants that primarily serve political clients. Consultants can be broken roughly into four categories: general consultants, who advise on all matters of campaign strategy, including media, fundraising, research, and organization; advertising consultants, who create television, radio, and direct mail ads; fundraising consultants, who work to raise money for individual candidates by raising money from Political Action Committees and individuals (for Federal races); and polling consultants, who test the effectiveness of the candidates messages and advise on demographic and other trends. Many of the larger political consultants located in the Washington area hire entry-level positions to assist with administrative tasks and to help coordinate activities on behalf of candidates.
Those starting out on Capitol Hill without much political experience may find a political consultant is worth working for in the short term; however, to move up along the political track, those new to Washington will almost certainly need to get outside the beltway to work on campaigns. However, it is worth noting that many Capitol Hill staffers have successfully made the transition to the political track after working for Members of Congress, and in particular, by assisting on their election efforts. Additionally, many Hill staffers take a leave of absence during campaign time to work on political campaigns (since Congress is out of session), and thus build their political as well as policy resume.
Other options for moving up the campaign track, particularly in lieu of the campaign finance reform legislation enacted into law in 2002, which has limited the ability of the party organizations to raise funds (and therefore hire the same level of staff that they have in the past), include the campaign and advocacy efforts of labor unions, advocacy organizations, and trade associations and other Membership groups. Potential employers include:
- The AFL-CIO
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- National Federation of Independent Businesses
- Sierra Club
- Club for Growth (pro-business)
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