I've seen a lot of posts on here comparing a career in banking versus a career in law, a career in banking versus a career in big oil, a career in banking versus a career in being a Hollywood Agent, a career in banking versus a career in politics. I was wondering if anyone knew anything about a career in Lobbying, and how that sort of career might compare with banking. (in terms of who you can network with, what you can learn, how stressful the lifestyle is, etc)
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I am by no means an expert on the subject, but I did work on capital hill for a summer and from what I gathered you can't become a lobbyist until you have a substantial network and very strong contacts throughout the government and whatever industry you are lobbying for. It seems to me that you become a lobbyist after a successful career in business or politics, you don't set out with this as the end goal... That said, it seems like it would be an awesome job...
Don't you mean that you do set lobbying as an end goal after immersing yourself in business/other activities first?
Nothing to add in regards to your question, but watch Thank You for Smoking if you haven't already. Very well made movie.
I interned at a lobbying firm before I knew what banking was. There are two broad types of lobbying organizations: 1) advocacy groups, and 2) lobbying firms.
An advocacy group just represents an industry/issue, and are less sexy than lobbying firms. The Private Equity Council is a good example. The advocacy group will have members (you can think of them as clients), and they do a few things: 1) interview political candidates for support (basically, they'll throw money at your campaign if you agree with their stances, and you're a viable candidate); 2) if your membership is large enough, you can use that weight to threaten politicians (hey Rep. Joe Schmo, we have 1000 members in your area, and if you vote X way on Y bill, then they won't support your next election); and 3) persuade politicians and citizens (if you don't have heavy membership, you try to win through education and money; this can be fruitless).
Lobbying firms are more similar to investment banks and law firms, because you have many clients in various industries. Arent Fox is such a firm. Some of these firms are pretty much all lawyers, some are ex-politicians and/or ex-military, some are ex-industry, and some are a combo of all of that. Winning business here really only comes down to your connections in Congress and/or Gov't. bureaucracies.
Besides networking and making connections, the only other thing you really need to learn is the policy process. Of course, policy and economic analysis is important, too.
Getting into this industry is tough. If you're interested, PM me, and I'll recommend a way if you haven't graduated yet.
^ What's it like working in a lobbying firm? Lobbyists have a shady rep. Did you feel the shady rep is justified, or is the lobbying industry no shadier than the other industries out there?
I've heard this too. Any reason why? I
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