Legislators

What the job really is

Develop, introduce, or enact laws and statutes at the local, tribal, state, or federal level. Includes only workers in elected positions.

At a glance

• Sector: Management
• O*NET-SOC code: 11-1031
• O*NET job zone: 4 — considerable preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Analyze and understand the local and national implications of proposed legislation.
• Appoint nominees to leadership posts, or approve such appointments.
• Confer with colleagues to formulate positions and strategies pertaining to pending issues.
• Debate the merits of proposals and bill amendments during floor sessions, following the appropriate rules of procedure.
• Develop expertise in subject matters related to committee assignments.
• Hear testimony from constituents, representatives of interest groups, board and commission members, and others with an interest in bills or issues under consideration.
• Keep abreast of the issues affecting constituents by making personal visits and phone calls, reading local newspapers, and viewing or listening to local broadcasts.
• Maintain knowledge of relevant national and international current events.
• Make decisions that balance the perspectives of private citizens, public officials, and party leaders.
• Negotiate with colleagues or members of other political parties in order to reconcile differing interests, and to create policies and agreements.
• Prepare drafts of amendments, government policies, laws, rules, regulations, budgets, programs and procedures.
• Read and review concerns of constituents or the general public and determine if governmental action is necessary.

Tools and technology

Adobe Acrobat, Cisco Webex, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft Word, Structured query language SQL, Adobe FrameMaker

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Chief Executives
• Political Scientists
• Judicial Law Clerks
• Treasurers and Controllers
• Lawyers
• Labor Relations Specialists
• Education Administrators, Postsecondary
• Public Relations Specialists

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 4 (considerable preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

Browse the verified job sources directory, or explore more occupations.

Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Legislators — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.