-: So, outside experience is definitely the most helpful
in government affairs.
I feel like classes can only get you so far.
If you were gonna take some classes,
I guess any classes related to public policy analysis,
economics, statistics would definitely be helpful,
but work experience is really key.
So starting out with an internship
in a elected official's office,
working on a campaign is a great way
to understand public policy and government affairs
and get your foot in the door.
You can also try for an internship
more in a local educational institution,
like in a county agency, public health agency,
or in a school district,
or in a higher education institution to get a feel
for what it's like kind of at the local level
in implementing policy.
So I think relationship skills and emotional intelligence
is really important for this job
in order to effectively advance public policy,
particularly if you are working for an elected official
or within a government office,
because you need to be able to work with people
and to influence people in order to advance your ideas.
I think also just being very detail-oriented
and a good writer.
I've found that communication skills
have been really helpful in this position.
Whether you're in the legislature
or at a non-profit like I am,
you have to do a lot of correspondence,
marketing or fundraising, reporting on outcomes and impact,
and all that takes really good writing skills
and presentation skills.