What is a Legislator?
A legislator is an elected official that analyses, develops, and implements laws and public policies. They create these laws and public policies with the intentions of improving society through government on a national, state, and local level.
What kind of legislator do I want to be?I want to be a Los Angeles City Council Member representing South Los Angeles. This means that I will pass and develop laws that only affects Los Angeles. My intentions are to voice the concerns of Latinos, Latinas, and people in poverty in Los Angeles political system.
Education and Experience needed:To become a Council Member for the city of Los Angeles their technically is no education and work experience needed. Though, one has to remember that to become a Council Member one has to get elected by the citizens of a district into office. In other words the better one's images looks to the public the higher one's chances are in getting votes and winning the election. That means that having an education and more experience will make the nominee look better to the public. Think about it, you have the power to choose your leaders, so do you want one with a college degree or a high school drop out? Still, it is possible to win an election without any college education or work experience, but it is highly unlikely and unrealistic.
Most legislators have college degrees and have worked in other occupations. Many major in varies fields and have worked in varies occupations. For example, in Los Angeles City Council some council member have bachelors and masters degrees in Business Administration, Public Administration, History, Political Science, Sociology, Communication, Law, Urban Planning, the list can go on forever. Legislators have also worked in varied occupation from Law Enforcement, Non-Profit Organizations, Large Cooperations, Military, Education, the list can go on. Their is no one path that leads anyone into becoming a legislator, instead their are many. Skills needed to become a Politician
Salary:The average salary of a politician varies. It all depends on the government level the politician is in. The government levels are district, city, state, national, or world. The hours of politician also varies some work as a full time politician and other only work part time. For instance, a politician from a small town in Oregon does not have to do as much or work as long as a politician from Los Angeles. The average salary of a legislator in California is $54,300, but the average salary of a city council member in Los Angeles is $178,789. This is the highest amongst other cities, but they do work full time as council members.
Career growthThe career growth from a politician is different compared to other occupations. For politicians there is a set number of positions every term. That means that it is extremely competitive and when you do run for office you have to raise funds to run your campaign and let people know why they should vote for you. Another thing about becoming a politicians is that your positions is not guaranteed for the long run. You can be in office for one term and be out the next. This means that you should have a financial plan just in case thing go wrong.
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LEGISLATOR at work
These is a picture of the city council members in a public meeting with Los Angeles's residents. Being a politician means that you will get many different feedback (good or bad) from the people you were elected by.
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This is city council member of the 14th district, Jose Huizar. He is making a public appearance, which is used by many politicians to promote themselves and
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This is the mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti. This was when he was running for the position. He had to give speeches to the public to communicate his ideas, promises, and why the voters should vote for him.
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Pros and cons of being a City Council Member
One Pro of working in the US government is that politicians get great benefits and competitive pay. This is important because changing the world is all great but if you are financing struggling changing the world will get so much harder. Also if you are living with a outstanding income then you are less likely to become a corrupt politician, which is a problem in some cases.
One Con is that changing the world or the nation is a long process and not quick and easy. In other words politicians have to be very patient, motivated, and passionate about what they believe in. This can be very discouraging because changing something can be take more than your life time.
Another Pro is that the decision that you make and help make can change the lives of people for good. For example if you want more affordable housing to reduce homelessness than you can persuaded other politician to pass laws to implement that suggestion. You can also carry on the suggestion of lobbyist and causes.
Another Con is that your life will now be in the eyes of the public. This means that you can not do, say, or even eat what ever you want anymore. If you do anything wrong than you whole reputation can be ruin. If you break the law you can lose your position and the list goes on.
Third Pro is that once you do become a politician than you become a little famous. Some politician start getting invited to more dinners and parties.
Third Con is that many people may believe that you are corrupt and don't do anything to help society. That belief may be true for some politicians, so it means that you will have to deal with people that have completely different ideology.
Last Pro is that your job will never get boring. This is because in government there is always something new and challenging to facing society. That just means you have to be there to either try to change it.
One Con is that changing the world or the nation is a long process and not quick and easy. In other words politicians have to be very patient, motivated, and passionate about what they believe in. This can be very discouraging because changing something can be take more than your life time.
Another Pro is that the decision that you make and help make can change the lives of people for good. For example if you want more affordable housing to reduce homelessness than you can persuaded other politician to pass laws to implement that suggestion. You can also carry on the suggestion of lobbyist and causes.
Another Con is that your life will now be in the eyes of the public. This means that you can not do, say, or even eat what ever you want anymore. If you do anything wrong than you whole reputation can be ruin. If you break the law you can lose your position and the list goes on.
Third Pro is that once you do become a politician than you become a little famous. Some politician start getting invited to more dinners and parties.
Third Con is that many people may believe that you are corrupt and don't do anything to help society. That belief may be true for some politicians, so it means that you will have to deal with people that have completely different ideology.
Last Pro is that your job will never get boring. This is because in government there is always something new and challenging to facing society. That just means you have to be there to either try to change it.
College cost
UC Berkeley |
Northwestern University |
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The two colleges I picked were Northwestern University (Private) and UC Berkeley (State). The two schools offer majors that can get me in my career. UC Berkeley actually came out costing the same as Northwestern University, even if I'm a Californian resident. The average political scientist makes about $75, 460 and the student debt I will come out with if I attend either school will be about $20,000 . The main different is that NU is a private school, has smaller class room sizes, it is ranked higher, and it is less impacted. This means that I have a much higher rate of graduating from NU on time than if I do at UC Berkeley. The smaller class room size also means that I have a higher chance of meeting my professor and being taught by a professor rather than a teacher assistant.
Personal OBSERVATION
After, researching more about what legislators do and have to go through, I have become worried. This does not mean that I do not want to be a legislator anymore, it just means that I am more hesitant of becoming one . The fact that the position is not secure, has less privacy, and very stressful makes me think twice about the career. I still want to help people with what ever career I do get but I don't know it if that will be through government. I am considering trying to become the president of a non profit organization and maybe running for office. If I do get elected than I would consider running again depending on how well my first terms goes.
bibliography
Los Angeles. "Council Directory." - The City of Los Angeles. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.
"Overview of BLS Statistics by Occupation." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
"California CareerZone." Announcements RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
"How to Start a 501c3 Nonprofit Organization." WikiHow. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.
"Program in Environmental Sciences." Major:. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.
"The Pros and Cons of Working in Government." Go Government. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.
"Overview of BLS Statistics by Occupation." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
"California CareerZone." Announcements RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
"How to Start a 501c3 Nonprofit Organization." WikiHow. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.
"Program in Environmental Sciences." Major:. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.
"The Pros and Cons of Working in Government." Go Government. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.