From the Ancient Greeks to the Renaissance era, politics has captured people’s interest for thousands of years and continues to do so today. If you count yourself among one of the many people politics has enticed – we can’t say we blame you! However, how far does your passion for public policy go?
Are you interested in pursuing a career in politics?
This is especially true for a career in politics however, while it can be difficult, it is not impossible. There are many ways that you can kickstart your political career, from getting involved in campaigning to writing politics-related articles for news sites. We outline some of the best practices below.
Sign Up For Volunteer Work
If you’d like a career in the political sector, you should sign up for volunteer work for your local political campaign. Political parties are always looking for volunteers to help them spread their message, and there are several benefits to putting yourself forward. Investing your time, effort, and perhaps even money into backing a candidate can help you make a positive difference in your local community. It can help you make new acquaintances and help you network. Additionally, you can improve your existing skills, develop new skills, learn how the political process works, how elections work, and much more.
Whether you attend a community meeting, go door-to-door handing out promotional flyers, make political phone calls, or offer to count votes. There is bound to be something happening in the local community that you can get involved in which can give you the experience needed to get your foot in the political door.
Although you might not feel like you’re making a difference when you first start volunteering, and it might not always be the most invigorating work, your time and effort are sure to be rewarded in the future. So long as you’re supporting a candidate who aligns with your values, you’re sure to enjoy the time you spend volunteering.
Go Into Higher Education
Although a degree is not required to become a politician, it is pretty popular for politicians to have at least a bachelor’s degree. Especially if you’re looking to go down the route of becoming a political risk analyst or a social researcher, it’s wise to have a higher education degree since it provides sound insight into how the political system works. Additionally, it allows the development of transferable skills and an understanding of political theory and contemporary studies.
Whether by taking a politics-related degree or enrolling in short courses about the subject. Completing a degree or obtaining an online certificate from a reputable provider can build the foundations on which an individual can base their political career, plus the skills, experience, and understanding needed to succeed.
There are many ways that you can pair your passion for politics with a suitable degree and eventually get your foot across the threshold of 10 Downing Street. Some degrees that lend themselves towards a career in politics, or a particular area of the field, are as follows:
- Political Science
- Public Administration
- Business Administration
- Economics
- International Relations
- Communications
- Public Policy
- International Business
- Public Health
- Criminal Health, and many more.
In short, many degrees are suitable for a career in politics. Plus, even when you’ve completed your degree of choice, you could expand your learned knowledge and skills with short courses that would pair nicely with your political career. Explore the range of politics-related short courses by visiting providers’ websites like the London School of Economics and Political Science, which provide a range of programmes to help individuals develop their practical skills. From online certificate courses about public policy analysis to managerial finance and other subjects, consider visiting their site to browse their entire list of online certificates.
Stand For Your Student Union
Suppose you’d like to get first-hand experience of a political election and the work that goes into a political campaign. In that case, should you opt to attend a university, you might consider standing for your election at your student union.
Like politics, running for your student union allows you to improve the university experience for thousands of your fellow students, gain first-hand experience that can boost your employability, interact with students of different backgrounds, gain networking connections, and learn skills that complement your future career.
You can stand for various roles within your student union. Whether you want to run for a part-time student officer, undergraduate school representative, postgraduate school representative, faculty representative, or students’ union councillor – there are plenty to choose from.
Read Political News Regularly
If you’re passionate about a subject and someday would like to make a career in it, it’s only sensical that you stay up to date with any news about it.
With some of the best political newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and blogs going through the digital shift, you can keep up to date with political news wherever you are and at any time.
Being up to date with your political knowledge is essential not only for your professional life but for your personal life too. This can help you to demonstrate your expertise on a specific issue and have an informed discussion about recent topics.
Reading about the different issues affecting the political community can help you form arguments, decide how you would approach the topic and make decisions. All of which can help you discover more about yourself and what you stand for.
Find Work As A Civil Servant
If you don’t fancy joining a party, you can kickstart your political career by finding work as a civil servant. The role of the Civil Service is to help the government develop and implement its policies as efficiently as possible and ensure its smooth running by developing public services.
In the Civil Service, you provide services and answer to various political parties instead of just one. Due to this, you can find many departments to work in, from education, transport, health, environment, and many more. Depending on what sector you enter, your duties could range from providing public services to giving ministerial advice.
There are various ways to become a civil servant, yet the process might be a little more in-depth than the job applications you’ve applied for in the past due to the nature of the work. You can register online using the civil service jobs portal or take the civil servant’s aptitude test over at the Civil Service website, which will also give you more tips and advice for getting involved in the sector.
If you are looking for ways to kickstart your political career, keep some of the tips mentioned above in mind. They could help you to achieve your goal of entering the political landscape.
