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I am also a recovering organizer who has worked on a federal (senate) race and a coordinated... where my main job was supporting that year's US Senate race. Am currently a Peace Corps volunteer alternating between regret, wondering, and happiness, so if anyone has any questions on escaping, organizing in 2010, being in a battleground state that wasn't actually so battleground-y in 2012, or with activists who often used the office to question whether or not someone was a Zionist, please, I'm here for you along with these other fine posters. My friends roll pretty deep. Getting back in shouldn't be too hard since they all like me, right? It's so sick -- I currently have time to pursue other adventures, there are no more check-in/out calls or 80+ hour weeks, but working in a role with no competitive aspect to it sucks. The thought that I miss all that makes me feel like I am sick. Does anyone else ever get that?
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Jan 7, 2014 02:19
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| # ¿ May 12, 2024 06:55 |
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Other cynical answer: transfer to an Ivy, a public Ivy, or some really prestigious liberal arts school, and become friends with really rich and connected kids who like you. Seems to be the way it's done. I figure most people who can make it to public office at the Federal level through working on campaigns choose not to because they discover they can make way more money doing campaign work, without as much scrutiny and actually having to deal with the public.
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Feb 27, 2014 16:09
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Gchat. Lots and lots of Gchat. And conference calls. We also had all-staff meetings once a month down by HQ, which allowed us to bond (drink heavily together). This, combined with the weirdness of campaign work, led to some really close friends of the type that you just pick it back up with, even if you haven't seen them in forever. Your mileage may vary, of course. I definitely feel you. I was up in an office by myself for a few months before coordinated and other staff moved in, and man, it was like being on that diplomacy planet on Star Trek... well... nice town, but just really boring and a bit isolating.
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Mar 25, 2014 14:38
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Right about now and you'll almost always be salaried, but if you're an organizer and you're living in supporter housing and your volunteers like you and your office mates, you'll be able to bank away a ton of cash. I made about $3k a month last cycle -- not my first job and in a state with the money to spend -- and lived in a really nice supporter house with a great dog and my volunteers always kept us well fed. Managed to live off that and travel a little while living at home until I left for the PC. I don't know how these things work for Republicans, but for Democrats, you can check out the NOI Job List, they always have a ton of jobs. Entry level campaign work, you're probably looking at something like field organizing or a finance assistant? It really depends. There will be a little hiring for organizers late in the game around August, but by then, you're mostly going to be relegated to volunteer work or a campaign "internship" at a local office, and what you get out of that will vary greatly based on what kind of office you're in. Are you still in the PC? If you could COS in early August that would probably be early enough to find an organizing job, but I know COSing early is not always so easy... I'm actually thinking of ETing from here to get back into political work. I kinda miss the hours, and my site is really getting on me.
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Mar 26, 2014 11:55
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I'm getting vetted through for a dream job right now, and it is currently more stressful than any campaign or anything else I've ever done.
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Apr 12, 2014 11:07
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Mooseontheloose posted:YAY! What type of job? Not in field, and it's DC based, which is what matters most! No more volunteers, activists, or wacky county party people for this guy. Just a bit anxious because there is definitely a blemish that will show up from some years ago, but... can't do much about it now.
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Apr 13, 2014 06:46
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I got it and it's awesome! No more field ever again, all digital for this guy  And yeah the (currently) non crazy hours are great. It will start to get worse as we get closer to election day, but these words and phrases like "PTO" (well good luck using it before November) and "paid holidays" and "you will not be laid off a week after election day" are really unfamiliar to me
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May 8, 2014 06:03
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IMO the only time it is acceptable to starve yourself and not sleep is during GOTV or some other real crunch time: end-of-quarter/month (for money people), dry runs, or whatever. Learning to delegate everything and anything you reasonably can is great. Also not working for crazy people. I now work ~44 hours a week doing this stuff not in field so you can trust me
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May 22, 2014 04:21
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One of my favorite memories of field organizing is burning through a 3-4k people universe with the predictive dialer... With my google voice number somehow ending up as the callback number. Never again
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Sep 3, 2014 05:05
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| # ¿ May 12, 2024 06:55 |
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Being employed after a shellacking like that is somehow worse than being unemployed. Post-mortems suck
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Nov 7, 2014 00:43
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