High School
English composition, drama, and speech classes will help you develop good communication skills, while government, history, and civics classes will teach you about the structure of local, state, and federal government. Take math, economics, and accounting courses to prepare for poll-taking and for analyzing statistics and demographics.
While in high school, work with your school newspaper, radio station, or TV station. This will help you recognize how important reporters, editors, and producers are in putting together newspapers and shaping news segments. You should also consider joining your school's speech and debate team to gain experience in research and in persuasive argument.
Postsecondary Training
Most people in political consulting have bachelor's degrees, and some also hold master's degrees, doctorates, and law degrees. As an undergraduate, you should enroll in a four-year college and pursue a well-rounded education. Political consultants need a good understanding of the history and culture of the United States and foreign countries. Some of the majors you should consider as an undergraduate are journalism, political science, English, marketing, and economics. You should take courses in government, psychology, statistics, history of western civilization, and a foreign language. You might then choose to pursue a graduate degree in journalism, political science, public administration, or international relations.
Seek a college with a good internship program. You might also pursue internships with local and state officials and your congressional members in the Senate and House of Representatives. Journalism internships will involve you with local and national publications, or the news departments of radio and TV stations.
- Accountants
- Agricultural Consultants
- Ambassadors
- Art Directors
- Auditors
- Aviation Safety Inspectors
- Bailiffs
- Bank Examiners
- Border Patrol Agents
- Business Intelligence Analysts
- Campaign Workers
- Chief Restructuring Officers
- Chief Trust Officers
- City Managers
- Civil Engineers
- Congressional Aides
- Construction Inspectors
- Copywriters
- Corporate Climate Strategists
- Corporate Community Relations Directors
- Cryptographic Technicians
- Customer Success Managers
- Customs Officials
- Decision Scientists
- Demographers
- Deputy U.S. Marshals
- Economists
- Emergency Management Directors
- Energy Consultants
- Environmental Consultants
- Environmental Lobbyists
- Environmental Planners
- EPA Special Agents
- FBI Agents
- Federal and State Officials
- Financial Analysts
- Financial Consultants
- Financial Quantitative Analysts
- Fish and Game Wardens
- Foreign Service Officers
- Fraud Examiners, Investigators, and Analysts
- Fund-Raisers
- Futurists
- Grant Coordinators and Writers
- Health and Regulatory Inspectors
- Health Care Consultants
- Health Data Analysts
- Human Resources Consultants
- Indoor Environmental Health Specialists
- Information Security Analysts
- Information Technology Consultants
- Information Technology Security Consultants
- Intelligence Officers
- Internet Consultants
- Internet Marketing and Advertising Consultants
- Interpreters
- Land Acquisition Professionals
- Land Trust or Preserve Managers
- Learning Innovations Designers
- Legal Operations Specialists
- Life Coaches
- Lobbyists
- Management Analysts and Consultants
- Market Research Analysts
- Marketing Consultants
- Media Planners and Buyers
- Media Relations Specialists
- Military Recruiters
- Military Workers, Enlisted
- National Park Service Employees
- Occupational Safety and Health Workers
- Online Reputation Managers
- Park Rangers
- Policy Analysts
- Political Columnists and Writers
- Political Reporters
- Political Scientists
- Political Speechwriters
- Press Secretaries
- Project Managers
- Public Opinion Researchers
- Public Relations Managers
- Public Relations Specialists
- Publicists
- Publicity Photographers
- Recycling Coordinators
- Regional and Local Officials
- Secret Service Special Agents
- Security Consultants
- Security Guards
- Social Media Influencers
- Social Media Workers
- Sports Publicists
- Statisticians
- Strategy Managers
- Traffic Engineers
- Translators
- Transportation Planners
- Urban and Regional Planners
- Webmasters
- Workplace Diversity Experts