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Congress

This page provides advice and resources on working in Congress, including our general working in Congress guide and specialized guides on congressional internships, full-time roles, and fellowships.

Working in Congress: why and how

Working in Congress could be a highly impactful career choice for (aspiring) policy professionals. This guide explains how Congress works and how you can get a job there. The goal is to allow you to make informed decisions about whether Congress is a good place for you to work, which specific congressional jobs you should target and why, and how to find and pursue specific opportunities.

This guide consists of four main articles relevant to anyone interested in congressional work regardless of experience level:

1. Why (not) work in Congress?

This guide discusses the motivation for working “on the Hill”—direct impact, professional development, and exploration—and how you can assess your personal fit for congressional work.

2. Where to work in Congress?

This guide explains how to think about working in the House or the Senate, in a personal office or a committee, and for the majority or minority party. It also discusses office culture and political affiliations.

3. How to assess office and committee relevance?

This guide discusses how to identify the offices and committees working on your policy areas of interest, particularly those in emerging technology and security policy.

4. How to apply for and land a job in Congress?

This article explains the different roles available in Congress, provides networking advice, and explains how to search and apply for jobs.

Guides to roles in Congress by experience level

Our general working in Congress guide is complemented by these role-specific guides:

Internships in Congress

Most congressional staff are former interns, as are many Members of Congress. While each office runs its own internship program, we offer some generalizable advice. This two-part guide explains (1) how congressional internships work, and (2) how to apply.

Congressional fellowships

Policy fellowships—term-limited positions in congressional offices, often sponsored by nonprofits—allow you to build first-hand experience in Congress and benefit from training, mentoring, networking, and more. This guide explains these fellowships and lists more than 15 opportunities.

Full-time roles in Congress

This guide outlines full-time roles in Congress and how to find job openings, including information on (1) entry-level jobs for recent graduates, (2) jobs for terminal degree holders or mid-career professionals, and (3) senior and non-legislative jobs.

Committees relevant to emerging tech policy

Since emerging technology policy spans an incredibly wide set of topics, many congressional committees play a role in regulating these technologies. The following tables highlight the committees most involved in AI and biosecurity policy (see here for more detail). We’re working on similar databases for other emerging technologies.

Committees relevant to AI policy

Committees relevant to bio policy

Recommended resources

Job boards

Articles

Newsletters

Analysis and data

Books

Podcasts

Workshops

Footnotes
  1. A pedagogical book on how Congress works that is also a good narrative on financial reform (Dodd-Frank) after the Great Recession. Go-to book recommendation on Congress for someone not already familiar with its inner workings. ↩︎
  2. A more in-depth ‘handbook’-type resource on how Congressional offices work, written primarily for Congressional staffers (though it’s also a useful read for someone interacting with Congress from the outside) ↩︎
  3. Pedagogical interviews about various aspects of Congressional work, hosted by a former Congressional Research Service (CRS) analyst  ↩︎
  4.  Short interviews by Rep. Derek Kilmer with other House members about what their day-to-day is like, typically light/fun conversations (~15 mins) and good for humanizing members of Congress (no longer active but has a decent archive) ↩︎