How does someone become a paid, professional lobbyist for animals?

I really appreciate what you do for animals. You make a difference—and I would love to, also. How does someone become a paid, professional lobbyist for animals?

It’s wonderful that you want to be a professional lobbyist for animal welfare. Those who succeed in this field normally have a deep passion for the topic—legislators are more impressed by those who truly care about the causes they represent. By supporting the ASPCA and keeping abreast of our advocacy work, you are on the right track.

However, being an animal lover and owning a pet is, by itself, not enough. Have you volunteered at an animal shelter, done grassroots campaigning to help animals, written your thesis on animal welfare, etc.? Anyone can lobby for animals (and we hope that you already do!), but to do it as a living requires a unique set of very specific knowledge and skills, including:

• Political acumen and experience: Due to its fast-paced nature, on-the-job training as an animal lobbyist is impossible—professional, paid lobbyists are already well-seasoned in the worlds in which they move. You need to know what legislators do, when they do it and why they do it. Relevant employment with the federal government or a state government, or a job that allows you the opportunity to work with or lobby those entities, would be the ideal training ground.
   
• Open-mindedness: You need to be able to persuade politicians to consider your views, but you need to hear what they're saying, too.
   
• Great people skills: Flexibility, a sense of humor, perspective and the ability to work in coalitions are absolutely essential to this kind of work.
   
• Time management skills: The ASPCA’s fulltime lobbyists each are assigned to handle between five and 16 states concurrently. That is a huge amount of data, names and schedules to keep track of—not to mention that every state’s government has its own rules, customs and peculiarities.

While most ASPCA lobbyists are lawyers, and formal legal training can only help one succeed in this career, it is not an absolute requirement.

Please note, the ASPCA currently does not have any openings for paid lobbyists, nor is this column intended to be a “checklist” of how to get this job (at the ASPCA or anywhere else). This is meant only as a rough guideline or set of suggestions; everyone’s career path is unique. To view current employment opportunities available at the ASPCA, please visit our Jobs page.

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