State Government (read time: 20 min)

Written By Second Day

So you want to work in State Government?

Note一this guide is focused on state governments. Click here for the overall Government Guide, here for the Local Government Guide, here for the Campaign Guide, or here for the US Legislature Guide.

State government is a nice middle ground between federal and local governments. While the federal government has the widest reach and potential for impact, the enormity of it can be overwhelming and gridlock is far too common. On the other hand, local governments provide opportunities for faster-moving change and substantial responsibilities early in a career, but are somewhat limited in scale. Working for a state government can provide the best of both worlds一a more pragmatic/community approach with a relatively large scale. If you are interested in state government, this guide is for you! To inform our work, Second Day has spoken to experts in the field and gathered the best information out there for upcoming and recent graduates. First, the guide will take you through the different entry-level positions to look out for in this field. Then, we’ll provide tips on actually getting those jobs in state government. We’ll finish with our next three steps: actionable items you can take to make progress towards finding your first job in the field. Let’s get started!

This guide was written by Philip Dearing and Brigit Goebelbecker in partnership with the Second Day team.

Many thanks to experts in the field who supported this work:

  • Michael Levine, CFO, MassHealth

  • Richard Madrigal, Legislative Aide, Texas State Capitol

  • Will Poff-Webster, Fiscal Policy Analyst, Massachusetts Senate Committee on Ways and Means

  • Kyleigh Russ, COO, Govern for America

  • Rohit Tallapragada, Policy Advisor, NJ Office of the Attorney General

Working in the state legislature

Understanding the state legislature

Most state legislatures operate similarly to the US Congress. They have a House and Senate (except Nebraska), and perform the same types of lawmaking, budgeting, and oversight functions. The size of states vary drastically (California has 67x more people than Wyoming), as do the size of these chambers (New Hampshire has 400 House Delegates, whereas Nevada only has 21 State Senators). As a general rule, the fewer legislators there are in a body and the more people that they represent, the larger the staff will be.

Each legislator typically represents a geographic area and sits on several committees. Many legislators also sit on a few committees where they focus on specific policy areas. Some states have term limits, while others don’t, so turnover can vary significantly between states. In some states, the party leadership has centralized control, while in others, there is more room for independence and agenda setting by legislators not in the leadership.

Common roles in the state legislature

Most state legislators have between one and ten staff members. The typical entry level role title is as a Staff Assistant or Legislative Assistant. Because the offices are small, this role includes everything from answering the phone to conducting research. Constituent outreach is often a critical role一making sure that individuals in your jurisdiction are able to get their housing/street needs addressed as well as access to the right healthcare/medicaid/elder services at the state level. You might meet with interest groups or help prepare talking points for your representative. In small offices, you might also be writing press releases, supporting scheduling, or handling social media. In a state senate with larger offices, they may have specific staff focused on communications, policy, or constituent services. In some state offices, there are also seasonal or part-time roles as well, depending on resourcing.

Getting the job in state legislature

The easiest way to get your foot in the door is to volunteer as an unpaid intern. You can make a big impression by working 10-15 hours per week. If you do good work and impress your boss, there are very good odds that they’ll look to hire you the next time a position opens up. If a position doesn’t open up or you don’t click with the legislator, they’ll still often send your resume around to other legislators or committees that might need someone.

Except in the larger states or with better financed programs, this isn’t usually a formal program. Instead, you should cold email the legislator or the chief of staff to ask for a meeting to learn more about their work. When you meet with them, see if they have bandwidth to take you on as an intern.

If taking an unpaid internship isn’t possible for you, the next best thing is trying to talk to people. If you can connect with current staff, they’ll often still be able to tell you if there are openings coming up. Entry-level positions are sometimes posted on job boards or circulated by email, but applying without a connection at all can be pretty frustrating with a low success rate.

On your resume and during interviews, it is important to show your commitment to the jurisdiction that the legislator represents and an understanding of what is happening in the news locally. If you can speak to recent bills that the legislator has introduced or issues that they care about, that is even better! In terms of skills, you’ll want to highlight that you are a good writer, you are organized, and a people person. But more than anything, it is important that you are up for anything and are willing to learn quickly.

If you have a particular policy interest, there is sometimes room to focus on that issue with your legislator. You could also pitch an internship to the legislative committee that works on that topic. Most commonly, the few staff members that run a committee are former staff assistants that pivoted into those roles a few years out of school.

Working for the governor's office

Understanding the governor's office

The governor’s office is a relatively small team that focuses on a wide range of issues. Since state departments and agencies are responsible for the day to day operations of the state, the governor’s office is more fluid in its focus. Depending on the time of year or what is happening politically, the governor’s office might focus on a range of different topics. But in general, working in this office is geared towards supporting the policy priorities of the governor. If you love being in the center of the action and are ok being in a political role, working for the governor’s office could be a great place to start your career.

Common roles in the governor's office

Each administration structures their team differently, and governors will often have a wide range of advisors who reflect the key priorities of the governor. In general though, there are five main teams that may hire entry-level roles and are fairly consistent across states.

  1. LEGISLATIVE LIAISON'S OFFICE: This group works closely with the state legislature to coordinate and negotiate on potential laws or policies. States vary considerably in how powerful the governor is vs how powerful the legislature is, depending on the political winds and the state constitution. In general though, the legislative liaison's office tries to build a collaborative tone, helping to shape new bills so that the government keeps running and the governor doesn’t need to resort to vetoing legislation very often. The calendar year usually gravitates around the annual budgeting process for the state, where the governor will typically have considerable input and discretionary funds.

  2. INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS: Beyond working with the state legislature, making progress often requires working with local authorities, federal authorities, different departments, and other key stakeholders. This team brings together and coordinates these diverse stakeholders to make sure things get done. They will also coordinate press conferences and events一often giving a heads up to the local representative or mayor when they’ll be coming into their area of the state.

  3. OFFICE OF CONSTITUENT RELATIONS: This team is essentially the customer service line of the government. They are available to constituents to help with everything from a downed power line, to facility issues, to challenges with state agencies. They’ll also answer mail, offer tours, and engage with state residents in other unique ways. The size and scope of this team varies by state, but roles can be quite similar to the Staff Assistant role on Capitol Hill.

  4. POLICY OFFICE: This is often the most sought-after team in state politics because they get to flesh out the details of a governor’s position on various issues. While there are often senior policy leaders for each key issue that the governor prioritizes, entry-level work will also include a good amount of research, benchmarking, and report writing for the state. This team will often collaborate with and inform the work of related state departments.

  5. OUTREACH OFFICE: This group sits between the constituent engagement team and the policy team. This group will often build relationships with different groups of people. An outreach team might have different focus areas like unions, farmers, religious groups, identity groups, or issue-based interest groups. This job is more political in nature - making these groups feel heard and building their support for the governor’s agenda.

Getting the job in the governor's office

Because the governor’s team is so small and sought after, you generally need to have worked on the governor’s campaign team or be well-connected in some other way to get a job in the governor’s office. If the team is looking to hire a specific skill set, they may post a job publicly一but generally roles are navigated by word of mouth. Within the governor’s team, the policy office roles are hardest to get at an entry-level, but many of the other roles hire for analysts or assistants from the ranks of campaign staffers. If your heart is set on policy, it may make sense to work in research/policy first before joining a campaign (see Second Day’s Policy + Research Guide). Alternatively, you should be ok with working in a different office for a couple of years before pivoting into more of your policy interests opportunistically.

Working for state agencies and departments

Understanding state agencies and departments

While the governor’s office might get the most attention, the vast majority of state employees actually work for state agencies and departments. The top leaders of these agencies are often appointed or nominated by the governor, but most employees at these agencies are civil service workers, committed to their roles across different administrations. The way that each state structures these departments varies considerably, so it is important to look at the State websites and understand how they divvy up the work. As an example, Massachusetts, has nine executive agencies with several departments within each of them:

  • Executive Office for Administration and Finance A&F oversees the financial and administrative aspects of state government.

  • Executive Office of Education EOE manages and sets the standards for public education in Massachusetts. They also provide support for administrators, teachers, parents, and students.

  • Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs - EEA manages and preserves the Commonwealth’s open spaces, enforces pollution laws, ensures new development projects don’t harm the environment, and promotes eco-friendly energy production and conservation.

  • Executive Office of Health and Human Services - EOHHS oversees health and general support services to help people in Massachusetts―from young children to seniors―meet basic needs.

  • Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development EOHED supports the Commonwealth’s job creation and economic development by fostering an environment conducive to business creation and expansion, and helps to drive housing construction that addresses the needs of residents.

  • Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development - EOLWD manages the Commonwealth’s workforce development and labor departments to ensure that employers, workers, and the unemployed have the tools and training needed to succeed in the Massachusetts economy.

  • Executive Office of Public Safety and Security - EOPSS keeps the people of Massachusetts informed about public safety issues, and provides services to protect residents from natural and man-made threats.

  • Massachusetts Department of Transportation - MassDOT oversees roads, public transit, aeronautics, and transportation licensing and registration across the state.

  • Executive Office of Technology Services and Security EOTSS provides secure and quality digital information, services, and tools to customers and constituents when and where they need them.

These departments range considerably in their scope and mandate. As a general rule, most of these departments include a mix of administrative work with strategy and policy-making. Oftentimes, a new department director, direction from the governor, or annual review process leads to a critical moment when the department examines how they operate and how to be more effective. Then, the department is charged with implementing this new direction. The next two sections will talk through common roles in these departments and then how to get them!

Common roles in state agencies and departments

Different states and departments have different roles, but there are some common role titles across state agencies that often hire entry-level folks:

FINANCIAL/FISCAL ANALYSTS utilize financial and policy data to evaluate and improve programs. This role typically requires comfort with financial reporting and data analysis to thrive. The role itself can range from mainly technical in focus to encompassing more strategy and human-centered research. Some common day-to-day tasks include:

  • Conduct research, fiscal surveys, and/or analyses as needed and prepare various aspects of the state budget and analyze the impacts of certain budgetary decisions

  • Analyze each agencies’ history, statutes, and budgetary trends to develop reports and charts for key recommendations

  • Assist in the development, documentation, and execution of new programs

  • Maintain and track historical financial and related data for the agency

  • Conduct research to better understand community needs and ensure the alignment of resources to support them

  • Review, revise, and improve existing projects and initiatives

Career snapshot: Fiscal Analyst, Texas HHS

Stephen works as a Fiscal Analyst for Texas HHS, a $33B agency that provides health insurance for millions of individuals relying on Medicaid or CHIP in the State. In that role, he has helped analyze usage rates, benchmark other insurance pricing, and help negotiate with healthcare providers to maximize the amount of services for recipients at the lowest cost. While the majority of the work has been number crunching to support the negotiations of the leadership team, he has taken a particular interest in preventative services for children and has been involved in some efforts to expand the ease of access to those services.

PROJECT/PROGRAM MANAGERS make government programs happen. Whether that is improving existing programs or launching a new initiative, this role works with stakeholders across government and the community to implement programs effectively. People that are organized and excellent communicators typically thrive in these roles. Some common day-to-day tasks include:

  • Act as program supervisor, overseeing the services of a government program, while monitoring services for effectiveness

  • Compose and understand new regulations and redesign current government programs to fit these regulations to accommodate laws and compliance with national/state standards

  • Conduct research (quantitative, qualitative, and academic) on new methods and national best practices to incorporate into State programs

  • Work with various internal and external partners to incorporate research findings into the larger city/county/statewide strategy, goals, and mission.

  • Make recommendations to address system barriers and challenges in order to further quality improvement processes

Career snapshot: Program Coordinator, Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections

James started work as a Program Coordinator focused on programs supporting formerly incarcerated individuals. As part of this work he was tasked to write a guidebook on how the state should differentiate re-entry options by gender, race, and class. He spent a year researching what other states are doing and writing up a set of best practices for the state to implement.

DATA ANALYSTS  use data to understand outcomes, inform legislation, amend current or proposed policy, design new algorithms, and much more. Excel is the most commonly used tool everywhere, but often data analysts will also use a more advanced tool like SQL, R, Stata, Python, or PowerBI.  Some common day-to-day tasks include:

  • Cleansing and restructuring messy data sets in Excel, SQL, Access, or RClearly communicating their data analyses to their decision-making peers in a compelling manner

  • Retrieving necessary data and managing relationships with government vendors

  • Tracking changes in laws, policies, and regulations

  • Ensuring that systems built are meeting user needs and requirements

GRANTS ADMINISTRATORS in the financial management of federal and state grant programs. This work on the state level can either be focused on securing and utilizing money or disbursing money to state and local sources. While there is a bit of data work, the most important skill sets here are to be detailed and process oriented. People who thrive in these roles can quickly understand the needs of other stakeholders in order to develop systems that work well for everyone. Some common day-to-day tasks could include:

  • Preparing and coordinating grant proposals for various government agenciesCoordinating with program staff to and perform research on all programs and evaluate all budgets for grant proposals.

  • Evaluating incoming grant proposals and prepare a schedule for site visits as needed

  • Maintaining record of all grants and applicants in a database for future reports and tracking

  • Preparing appropriate invoices and collecting balances from all administrators

  • Performing federal and state audits on all grant related information and preparing reports for the public.

Other potential roles include Policy Analysts, Urban Planners, or Administrative Assistants. Note that if you are interested in policy, the Project Coordinator role described above is often the most effective way to get involved in that work. It is less common for states to post policy/research roles as a standalone position一instead, that work is often embedded in the responsibilities of someone who is implementing a new program or improving an existing one. For data and fiscal analyst roles, it is important during the interview process to understand how much you are expected to just do the analysis or if there is room for your strategic insight as well. Different agencies and states have different cultural norms here and so if it is important to you, make sure to ask about input and opportunities for advancement.

Getting the job in state agencies and departments

In many agencies and departments, a few key leadership roles are politically driven, typically for people that helped support the governor’s election. While the Director or Deputy Director roles are senior level positions, they will often have a few Special Assistant or Chief of Staff roles that are closer to entry-level. But beyond these select few roles, the hiring process is largely not political.

Most states are actually required to post their open roles on their state websites (see examples for Massachusetts and Missouri). The typical way that a hiring process works is that the HR team will look at the job requirements and identify a set of candidates to interview based on who best fits those requirements. This can often lead to frustration and the government missing out on awesome candidates because this screen can be inflexible (i.e., if you are missing one of six things they are looking for but would otherwise be great) and doesn’t often give credit to elite institutions or impressive internships. As you are applying for roles with the state government, try to shape your resume and/or cover letter to show very clearly how you are qualified for the role and feel free to actually use the terms that they are looking for in your resume. For example, if their job description cites that they want someone that is detail oriented, use that exact phrase when describing yourself. Or if they want someone that knows Microsoft Office or SQL, make sure to list that you can handle those tools.

Unlike the black box of federal job applications, there is often potential to do some networking and informational interviews before applying for a job with state government. If you reach out to a director or a leader at another department to share that you are excited about their work, they are often willing to chat with you. If you show them that you understand their work and would be really valuable for the team, they can often flag your resume to the HR team to get an interview. This isn’t always the case, so tread lightly and don’t ask for them to flag your resume explicitly. Instead, ask them about the department and see if they have any advice on applying to the role that you are interested in. Of course, it is even better if you reach out to department leadership before roles show up on a job board to learn more about what types of entry-level positions they might hire for in the given year.

Building a career in state government

BONUS! States and big city government

It’s important to note that there are strong similarities between work for state governments and big city governments.

  • State government generally has three main stakeholders: (1) the governor’s office, (2) state agencies and departments, (3) the state legislature. While large cities use different terms, the actual roles and mechanisms are often quite similar, with three main stakeholders: (1) the mayor’s office, (2) city agencies and departments, and (3) the city council. The work that is done within these levels of government and the strategies for securing jobs are very similar: more network driven than federal government, but more structured than local government.

  • Big city governments often have budgets that are comparable, if not bigger, than State budgets. In fact, New York City’s Budget ($88B) is bigger than that of 45 States (a smaller big city like Seattle has a budget equivalent to the ten smallest States, between $5B-$10B).

  • Choosing between working for the state vs. working for a big city can largely be structured by geography. Would you rather live in Albany or New York City? Sacramento or Los Angeles? Springfield or Chicago? If you are attracted to the concept of state government but would prefer to live in a big city, working for a big city can have many of the same perks.

If your interest is particularly in city government, we recommend also reading Second Day’s Local Government guide. There isn’t a firm line between a "big city" and a "small city," so if the city you are interested in working in is between 100,000 and 1,000,000 residents, the career advice and roles likely lie somewhere between the two guides.

State government by the numbers (pay and hours)

Salaries range depending on specific role and location. Many Staff Assistants will make $40K-$45K, while working for the governor or a state agency may pay between $40K and $65K. The benefits for these jobs are often quite good across the board. If you are curious to learn more about salaries for a specific location, many government salaries are public, so you can check them out as benchmarks as you evaluate jobs. Iowa Salary Book or St. Louis Salaries are other examples. A simple google search for ‘location + public salaries’ should surface a resource in most cases.

Hours also greatly depend on the nuances of your role. If you are working directly for/with a politician (either the governor or a legislator), your hours will be more unusual. There are lots of events during nights/weekends and busy times in the legislative season. Fortunately, there are also slower times, depending on the time of year. If you are working directly for an agency, the hours are typically structured around a typical 9-5 work week. Of course, there will also be busy times and some roles are much more demanding than others.

One other distinction to look for is whether the positions you are looking at are part of government unions or civil service. Some roles and departments have worker protections more tightly proscribed, including salary bands, tenure-based promotions, etc. This can be great to ensure a work life balance and good job security, but can also be frustrating if you are eager to get promoted quite rapidly. This varies by department and role, so you can ask during the interview process if you are unsure.

Exit Opportunities

The skills and responsibilities you gain in government can often outshine those of a private sector entry-level employee if you are clear in your narrative and quantifying your accomplishments. By now, you know that the government is complicated and nuanced, so you cannot assume someone will understand the depths of your role from a simple job title. Instead, it is critical to clearly translate the skills you built and responsibilities you had in a digestible way for employers from other sectors. For many roles in state government, it is important to remember that you might be based out of the state capital, which can sometimes be a smaller town, rather than a big city.

Starting a career in state government can set you up well for going to graduate school, transitioning into the private sector, or working for a nonprofit/agency on the ground. Many people will transition into and out of government roles over time rather than working their way straight up the career ladder. This provides opportunities to learn new things, build different connections, and advance more quickly in many cases. No matter what path you end up choosing, you can use your time in government to both assess what sectors have the most impact in your community and gain the connections and experience you need to leap to that sector. It is a great place to start!

Next three steps

  1. Determine which route of state government you are most interested in by reading this guide and having a few conversations with people in roles that seem compelling to you.

  2. Develop a plan to make yourself competitive for that position. Whether that is volunteering, building a skillset, or working on a campaign, actualize it by writing down when, where, and how you plan to do it.

  3. Execute the plan while paying attention to what you like and don’t like along the way. Try to talk to as many people working in roles you might be interested in as you can to make sure that you understand what the role will really entail.

Last updated: July 2021

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