There is a lot of discussion around general elections locally and presidential elections in the US at the moment. This might be a good time to explore what working in politics and the public service might look like as there will be lots of politicians knocking on your door.
If you are over 18 years of age, as many of you who are preparing to sit the Leaving Cert in June 2025 will be, you are entitled to vote. If you are not on the voting register and would like to have a say in how your country is run, you will need to be on the voting register in order to vote.
Do you see yourself as someone who always looks out for the underdog? Are you actively involved in school activities where maybe you try to bring about change, it could be looking at your school canteen and lobbying for healthier options for lunch? Or perhaps you are looking at activities which involve all students, not just those involved in sport? Is there an active students counsel where students have a voice?
Civic minded
Politics can begin at an early age. Very often during transition year, or as part of the CSPE programme, students will be offered an opportunity to visit Dáil Éireann. For TY students, getting work experience with organisations like the Civil Defence can give you a huge insight into how you can look out for the more vulnerable in society.
Are you someone who wants to work and support people at community level? Maybe you should think about getting involved in the Tidy Towns competition, if there is one in your area.
If you are in a job where you are working for a politician, hours can be very long, you may be involved in research, acting as an advisor, or maybe speech writing. Your job may not be long term, as it can depend on the outcome of the election, as such if you are working for a particular politician and they do not get elected you may find yourself out of a job.
Some available jobs in that field include; being a political researcher, which would involve carrying out research for members of the Dáil, or an MEP. If the MEP candidate you are employed by is successful in the election, you would be working at a European level, participating in the decision making process at the European Union. If you are a constituency worker your work would involve working with the politician at local community level.
When choosing your subjects history, politics and society and the practical subjects would be a good choice.
National vs international politics
There are a huge variety of careers that can exist in relation to law and politics even at EU level. If you are considering working for the EU there is a third language requirement, as Irish is now a recognised language within the EU. There are many people who are interested in politics but not necessarily in the front line, you could be working behind the scene with various ministers whether it be education, health or foreign affairs, to mention but a few. Your role would be to keep the Minister updated on what areas they should be talking about and concentrating on. Problem solving and collecting data would be part and parcel of the job.
If you are interested in working in the public service, publicjobs.ie gives an insight into the kind of jobs that come up in the public service sector. The variety of positions available is wide, even covering roles like customs officers. Customs officers are responsible for what, and who, enters the country and thanks to television programmes like Nothing to Declare highlighting the very demanding work that is involved with the role, it has also highlighted the skills needed to do the job well, such as influencing, leading and persuading those they interact with.
Interests
If you have completed interests tests in your school, those who are considering a career in politics or in the public service should keep an eye out for 'enterprising' results in their interest tests. Enterprising fits the persuasion and motivation skills that you would use in the role. Another important skill to keep an eye out for in your results is 'Administrative', which is very befitting for politics and public service due to the attention to detail required in the role. In conjunction with those two aspects, those who have a 'Social' interest may be suited to working in this sector due to their personality type and ability to work with others. role, due to your type of personality. If 'Realist' comes up as one of your top three, then it means that you are someone who wants to be practically and physically involved in the career, for example An Garda Síochána. Careersportal.ie have invaluable resources in terms of career areas relating to politics and the public service.
