Who's a Politician?
A politician is someone who is involved in the governance of a country. He or she is usually a member of a political party, which is a collection of people who hold similar views. Politicians can be chosen by popular vote, as is the case in democracies, or appointed by a leader. A country’s political system is a significant indicator of what it’s like to live there. Some means to influence politics include public protests, signing petitions, lobbying, and writing letters or attending meetings to express your opinions to the government.
Are you passionate about Politics? Want to pursue it as a future career option? Explore a day in the life of a Politician- Ms. Gurpreet Kaur Chaddha
What will you do?
Where will you work?
How do you get there?
What skills would you need?
How do you make it to the top ranks?
Volunteer
As a politician, you will spend most of your time in an office. This can be a district-level office, rural-level office, the secretariat (Chief Minister’s office), collector’s office, admiral’s office, or the central-level office. You can start your career as a volunteer and carry out some basic administrative tasks for your party.
Local Representative
If you plan to start at the grassroots level, you will primarily work for the local government. Here, you will function at the basic level, working for Panchayats (governments in rural areas) and Municipalities (governments in urban areas). Your progress here could take you to the next level – working for the state government.
Secretary
If you choose to move from the local and state governments to civil services, you can rise to the ranks of Secretary to the Government of India. Here, you can take up a role as an IAS, IFS, or IPS officer, acting as a principal advisor to the minister on matters related to policy and administration within the department.
Cabinet Minister
By this stage, you are in charge of heading all civil services and act as a chief of the Indian Administrative Services. The junior members of the cabinet report to you while you report directly to the Prime Minister of India.
Member of Parliament
Another political route you can choose to pursue is the legislative branch of the government. You start as a member of the lower house i.e. the Lok Sabha and proceed to become a member of the upper house i.e. the Rajya Sabha. The President of India is at the head of this branch.
Executive Branch
The highest level of authority lies within the executive branch, which administers state bureaucracy. The President is head of the state and has the right to all constitutional powers. Next, comes the Vice President, chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The Prime Minister comes third as chief of the government, chief advisor to the President, head of the council of ministers, and leader of the majority party in the Parliament.
Pursuing your career locally VS abroad
There is no set qualification or course to become a politician in India. But to have adequate knowledge and understanding of the political structure, you can choose to pursue a degree in Political Science or Politics and even earn a Master’s degree in the subject. An MA in Political Science costs between INR 10,000 – INR 70,000, while the fees for MA in Politics varies from INR 8,000 – INR 35,000 across various colleges and universities across the country. You can also choose to pursue law, journalism, economics, social work, or civil services, depending on the role you wish to play in the government. While in college, you can also join student bodies of political groups to gain practical knowledge of politics. Institutions such as Delhi University, Banaras Hindu University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Aligarh Muslim University are well-known hubs for such bodies, whose members are later recruited by political parties. You can also join debate societies to improve your public speaking or participate in social work at the local level.
To pursue politics in India, it is best you study in India wherein you can learn about the country’s political structure and policies. You can, however, earn a political degree at a university abroad, which mainly serves as a bonus on your portfolio. Universities like Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Stanford, Princeton, Berkeley, Yale and London School of Economics and Political Science have top programmes in political science, where you can choose to study as an undergraduate and proceed to earn a Master’s Degree followed by a PhD. If you’re lucky enough to earn a scholarship, these are the best places to study as yearly fees for these institutions can rake up to INR 50,00,000
How much would you get paid?
Your pay would largely depend on your party's standing in the country. If you belong to the majority party, you will most likely have a higher pay compared to the other political leaders.
What are your career options?
Political Science
Political science is the best option for a career in politics as it explains the framework of the government systems and policies. You can choose to pursue an undergraduate degree and follow it up with a Master’s degree in political science. You also have the option to later pursue a career in political journalism, civil services, or teaching. You can also directly work with political parties and apply their knowledge in framing policies that are beneficial to the public.
Civil Services
Civil Services is the most preferred career option for political aspirants as this field brings them closer to politicians and leaders. You will be responsible for the administration and smooth functioning of the government and gain insight on how administrative processes are carried out on a large scale. Some of India’s most famous politicians such as Arvind Kejriwal and Mani Shankar Aiyar are from this field.
Social Work
Politicians must work for the benefit of the people and social work is the best way to immerse oneself in public service. By choosing this field, you gain a better insight into how the system works and what needs to be fixed in order to uplift the underprivileged members of society. You will work directly with such communities and help them get all the assistance they deserve from the government. By establishing a career in social work, you can also gain a voter base among the communities you help.
Economics
A number of important economists have gone ahead to have flourishing careers in politics, Dr Manmohan Singh and Subramanian Swamy being the most famous of them. One of the most important tasks of a political leader is to improve the economy of the region they govern, be it district-level or central. As an economics major, you can choose to join civil services or directly enter politics in order to use your understanding of numbers and policies to accordingly work ways to increase the GDP.
Law
Politicians are also responsible for making laws. An understanding of the legal framework can help create policies around which governance should take place. You can choose an undergraduate LLB degree, followed by a Master’s LLM degree, and then work as an advocate or directly enter politics. As laws require to be constantly updated, you can provide more insight into what works for the nation. Some of the most important politicians in India, from freedom fighters like Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohandas Gandhi to leaders like Sushma Swaraj and Kapil Sibal, have all had backgrounds in law.
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