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 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:
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.
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.
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.
This article explains the different roles available in Congress, provides networking advice, and explains how to search and apply for jobs.
Our general “Working in Congress” guide is complemented by these role-specific guides:
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.
Georgetown Government Affairs Institute — courses are typically a few days each, and are mostly focused on Congress (typical range $1500-$2000)
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.
↩︎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)
↩︎Pedagogical interviews about various aspects of Congressional work, hosted by a former Congressional Research Service (CRS) analyst
↩︎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)
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