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Working on the Hill AND having kids
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Anonymous
| Is that nuts? I'm a policy consultant now and would love to get some Hill experience in a committee. How would I go about networking for that kind of job? Also is it nuts to be a Hill staffer in your mid-30's with two kids under 5??? |
Anonymous
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A slightly different situation, but my hubby works on the Hill - we have a newborn. It's a little bit different since me, the mom, at home taking care of DD. What is your situation Can your hubby stay home while you pursue a career?
What type of experience do you have? Do you prefer lobbying as opposed to working for a congressmen or senator? Ironically, my husband often times tells me it is hard to find good "older" workers. There are lots of fresh-out-of-college "kids" with little experience and who lack professionalism. I know you can do it if you just apply and find the right avenue. |
Anonymous
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It drives me crazy those many, many days that my husband clocks such long hours on the Hill while I get the brunt of the labor (and the joy of course) of taking care of the kids. I work full time too, and make a private sector salary higher than his federal salary,. He feels like he can't do his job well unless he's at his Senator's beck and call or available for whatever work needs to be done whenever it needs to be done, while I feel able to call it a day and go home for dinner, homework, bathtime and bedtime. I think he's missing out on spending time with his kids during the week. They're 8 and almost 7. They miss him, and I do, too. He spends a lot of time on the weekends with them, but I still feel like our quality of life is harmed by his job.
Bottom line is, if it's a job that you can leave at the end of the day, it might be worth it. But if it's the kind of job that wraps the hands of the clock around your neck, then think hard about the trade-offs and make sure they're right for you and your family. |
Anonymous
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OP here. I have eleven years of experience...nine in private sector management consulting (McKinsey-type work) and the last three writing policy reports for an executive agency (I know, huge career change). Many of the reports go to the Hill and I've been fascinated by how that place works. I heard that working on a committee is "better" for a mid-career professional than working for a member directly. My understanding is that you can't be a lobbyist unless you have experience working on the Hill.
BTW, the DH makes about three times as much as I do so staying at home for him is out of the question. I was just thinking that the hours on the Hill could make spending time with my kids hard or are people overstating the hours? Do you feel like your DH pulls really long hours or works many weekends? |
Anonymous
| OP again. Yikes, I just hit 'send' before reading the last post. I was thinking that a couple of years on the HIll when the kids hit school might not be so bad, but it sounds like a real sacrifice. Sigh. Hate these career vs. family life trade-offs. |
Anonymous
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OP, I've been considering the same sort of career move, except that I'm a lawyer and only have one child --12 mos --and hope to have another w/in no more than 3 yrs. From my (very) preliminary inquiries, it seems like it can be done but everyone with whom I've spoken says that it depends on who you work for, and how flexible they are (duh -- sorry to state the obvious). Now, exactly how one taps into the kind of intelligence that you'd need to make informed decisions on that front, I have yet to determine. I'm just starting this process.
One broad generalization that I have picked up is that working for a Rep. can be more family friendly than for a Sen. B/c of the longer election cycle for senators, they tend to be in town more and ostensibly more demanding. Huge generalization, I'm sure there are plenty of exceptions, but I pass it along for what it's worth. I wonder if the same reasoning would extend to committees, too? Like you, I'm intrigued, but if I wanted to be at someone's beck and call, working my ass off, I'd just go back to a big law firm. 
Best of luck. |
Anonymous
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I'm the 1625 poster and wanted to add a few more fleeting thoughts.
Hubby does work long hours, but isn't at the Sen. beck-and-call too much. He does IT so he isn't involved with constituents, committee projects, or leg. issues. He does work long hours though, but finds some relief during recess. As the previous poster stated, you'll probably find exceptions about flexibility in every office. I know a few who are complete a$$ to work for and others who are super family oriented. Some of the more entry level jobs have more definitive and predictable hours, but from your experience that doesn't really pertain to you. If you wait until the kids are school age it might not be that hard of a transition. |
Anonymous
| I'm the 16:33 poster. It may be true that some offices are more family friendly and flexible. But in my view, most offices up there are dysfunctional because the folks at the top are narcissistic maniacs. They may even think they are family friendly, but the truth is that their agendas are more important than anything in the personal lives of their staff members. My husband works on a committee. When our child was in the hospital for a month, primarily in the ICU, he still felt like he had to be in the office every day, and didn't take a day off, because he was working on a hearing. Were his office and Senator willing to reschedule the hearing so that he could spend time with his very ill child? No. Did they tell him to take a day off, or a few days off? Not that I'm aware of. I ended up taking off every bit of personal leave and vacation I had so that at least one parent would always be at the hospital. My husband spent every evening at the hospital and some overnights, so that I could spend some time with our other child, occasionally sleep in my own bed, and occasionally get a shower. But he was expected at the office every day no matter what “personal” crisis he might also be dealing with. If I tried to work up there, while also being a good mom, I'm sure I'd have a nervous breakdown. My husband was nearly postal from the stress. Yes, he’s still there and it’s undeniably a great job for a lot of other reasons, but the cost is very high. |
Anonymous
| Jesus, narcissistic maniacs working a million hours without regard to your personal life? Sounds like the policy version of my old job at McKinsey...which I can say anonymously drove me right into therapy. Why are the most interesting jobs always filled with such crazy people? My husband LOVED the work he was doing at his law firm, but he scared himself one year by billing 3800 hours (and, uh, we almost broke up). He's at a great job in-house now. He got that great job b/c he put in the time at the firm. Maybe the Hill is like that...you put in a year or three and then go do something less frenetic. |
Anonymous
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On of the posters that replied - the Hill definitely has its advantages, but that depends on your situation and your boss as you have read.
Sometimes the grass isn't always greener on the other side. |
Hkinnamon
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| Having worked on the Hill for a very senior senator --while I was single and childless-- I can tell you that the working mothers, not the fathers, were stressed to the max and often discriminated against (not necessarily in our office). Working on the hill is not just a job, it is a lifestyle choice, similar in thought process to joining the foreign service or military --your boss and constituents come first. This can be hampered by working for a reasonable member and hopefully a reasonable Chief of Staff,etc but there is no promise, and even in the best situations you must work the late hours whenever you have a bill on the floor, which can be nightmarish during approps/authorization season. Committee staff is a great place to be to earn more money, but there they can often work more hours because they are organizing the hearings and often preparing the member's key legislation. My heart is on the hill but I no longer work there because I know what it takes to work up there in most environments and having two little ones would just put two much stress on me, and therefore my family. |
Anonymous
| bump |
Anonymous
| I worked on the Hill -- member staff-- for a couple of years right after college and the cultish fanaticism of staffers responding to the member's every whim just astounded me. This was years ago, but I don't think things have changed much. My teen DC often babysits for kids in the n-hood whose dad works on the Hill; he's committee staff, but is still never around. The mom is an associate in a firm and is often desperate for extra help with the kids on weekends when their nanny is off-duty. Her life sounds even more hellish than mine was when I had two little ones, was working part-time and my DH was working to make partner in a firm. Honestly, sometimes when she calls looking for babysitting help and my DC is not available, I almost feel like volunteering to go over and make the kids some mac&cheese myself as she just sounds beseiged. |
Anonymous
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my best friend from college works on this hill as chief of staff. He's a gay man. He has a crackberry and I never see him anymore. He's in the rep's district for a few months at a time every two years, helping the rep get reelected.
There's no way he could do his job with my two kids and ever see the kids, and he said he'd get fired if he had to, say, leave the office at 6pm every day. That said, he's moved up from practically volunteer in the office to chief of staff in 5-7 years. Maybe there are some Hill jobs that have flexibility, but I don't know what they are. |
Anonymous
| My husband also works on the hill for a very non family friendly office. I am the one who has to drop our DD off at daycare and pick her back up. He does not have a very understanding Chief of Staff. He says he can feel her frustration when he has to leave early on days I can't pick her up. He doesn't get home until 7:30/8 (but that has to do with the commute as well) and even later when there is a vote on any legislative issues he works on and during mark up. He worked many weekends during the healthcare, TARP, and Ag bills. He is currently looking for another job. |