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Is it difficult to be apart of the government?

I'm in middle school and taking a career class. After I took a survey, government was one of the suggested paths I got. I'm interested in learning more about how the career path of government works. #career #government

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Jean-Marie’s Answer

No, it shouldn't be difficult because in the US there are various types of government (local, federal, or state). Within those, there so many different things you can do depending on your skills and interests. For example: if you like technical work, each different department may have a need for technical support, cybersecurity, or online learning. If you like to be outside, you could do things that require site surveys. If you like to interact with people, you could do something like be a liaison to private citizens. There are numerous possibilities!

Jean-Marie recommends the following next steps:

Find your local government website online and look through all of the different departments and services listed.
Ask your guidance counselor to help you find a mentor in your community who works in government.
With a parent, walk into the nearest military recruitment office and ask for more information about the federal jobs they offer.
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Emilie’s Answer

It's not necessarily difficult to work for the government as there's a large amount and variety of government jobs available at different government levels (local, federal, state/province). The best thing is to start looking for entry level positions and then participate in different projects once in to keep learning and finding your interests to keep moving up.

I would recommend narrowing down what are your interests within the government (would you like to work for the elections, in parks, with data, etc.). From there, you can start looking for job postings on government websites and look at the qualifications required for those. From my experience working in government in Canada and in the US, there are similar requirements for government jobs like Excel or customer service experience that you'll want to get a good base in before eventually applying. Also, take a look at the education requirements, for example, you likely will need an associate's, bachelor's or sometimes a master's degree for certain jobs and those seem more fixed within the government.

Making and utilizing your network is really helpful here as well; if you have any family or acquaintances (like a friend's parent or relative) working in government, ask them about their jobs or even if you can shadow them one day to narrow down your interests and understand the job(s) better.

Emilie recommends the following next steps:

Find postings for jobs you're interested in and look at the requirements
Look for talks
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Bess’s Answer

It is not difficult to be part of government but it does require patience because the position you are interested in may not be hiring at the time you're looking. Also, practically all government jobs have an exam phase which takes time to process. Most municipalities have established programs that offer entry level positions as a segue into government jobs for those without a higher level education. These entry level positions usually look for a foundation of customer service and /or clerical work. Entry level management positions may be offered for individuals with college degrees and will usually start at a higher rate of pay and a higher class.

The website for your local city, county, state will tell you what jobs are available and when. Municipal jobs titles are usually listed along with their application date, exam date, and expiration date. Government jobs tend to be well documented with job descriptions, salary ranges, class, and often, clear career paths. Which means you can start at an entry level clerical position and promote all the way to a senior position or management. Government jobs cover the full spectrum including IT, engineering, public health, housing, community development, planning & budgeting, and so much more.

Most people look for government jobs for their stability but these institutions still want people who want to work in this culture; people who want to give back to your community, or have service as your passion. So, it is important that your purpose for applying is because your values align.

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Benedicta’s Answer

NO! This is because the scope of government is broad and reaches into various arms (executive, legislative and judiciary), and levels (federal/state/local/ province).
In respect to choosing a career path, one must have to narrow their choices: what arm, level, and/or aspect?
Consider the following steps:

Benedicta recommends the following next steps:

Read and study about government activities, parastatals and agencies
Speak to a counsellor
Align your findings to your passion
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