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North-Carolina-General-Assembly

The General Assembly is a great place to work if you enjoy a fast paced environment where information and activities changes daily. Like any office jobs the tasks themselves can be repetitive, but the topic change with the public's interests. The benefits are decent as the state government insurance plans are available to you as well as the state pension/retirement system. They offer 9.334 hours of vacation time per month and 8 hours of sick leave per month. The entry level pay is low for the area, but there are little to no education requirements. The most important thing to understand about the General Assembly is its ever changing and unpredictable schedule. The legislators are, for the most part, only in the Raleigh offices a few days a week so scheduling meetings can be difficult. Communication must be by phone or email the majority of the time and that can at times make the job difficult. Additionally, when it comes to scheduling vacation time, it is hard to know what the schedule will look like in advance given that there is no set end date to the legislative session, but that being said there are not any set restrictions on when you can take vacation time, although it is always best to have it approved by your direct supervisor and office staff.

A typical day at work was fielding opinions on issues from constituents, as well as constituents needing help in interfacing with a state governmental agency. I also wrote congratulatory letters to honor roll students, people celebrating milestone birthdays and anniversaries, and also wrote press releases and newsletters .
In addition, I was in charge of logging constituent service cases, managing the funds designated for postage and ordering supplies. I was also responsible for getting the process started getting legislation written and filed. 

The workplace culture of the office was very mission and customer service driven, while the culture of the North Carolina General Assembly was generally policy and politics driven. 

The hardest part of the job was the few times I was not able to get the results for constituents because of the way the law was written, or if their cases they themselves would need to hire legal counsel.

The most enjoyable part of the job was seeing bills (sponsored by my boss) become law, and achieve the results I could for constituents.

Regardless of your position with the General Assembly, your work schedule fluctuates heavily based on the whether the General Assembly is in session or not. If they are in session expect long hours. Around budget time expect to be in the office until 9 and 10 o'clock in the evenings. When they are out of session, the building is a ghost town. 

The work environment differs depending on what office you work in. Each office operates as it's own business more or less with the Representative or Senator as the supervisor. That may affect your responsibilities, your ability to work from home, etc. Work with a good elected official and you'll enjoy your work environment. Work with a bad elected official and you won't enjoy it.

There is relatively no job security. Every two years your representative is up for relection. If they lose their job, you lose yours.

On an average day in the Legislative Office Building, I would repair four or five printers and setup a power point presentation.  I learned how to repair printers during this internship. Although I already possessed most of the skills necessary for this internship, it helped me develop interpersonal and communication skills.  I worked directly with management and my immediate supervisor.  They showed me the ropes in the most efficient manner possible.  Due to impeccable guidance, I rarely encountered a  difficulties during this internship.  The most enjoyable part of the job was staying mobile throughout the workday.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Wonderful opportunity to grow your resume, learn new skills. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
It is a lot of work, and the schedule fluctuates. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It is very Political. Stressful. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
There is no typical day here.

Learned how to deal with high profile elected officials and constituents.  

Enjoyed the give and take of legislative debate and developed skills and ideas that help assist the passage of legislative bills.

I loved working at the General Assembly and being able to keep abreast of the laws and regulations affecting the citizens of North Carolina. I was born and reared in this state and developed a deep love for the traditions and individuality of all parts and the people of North Carolina while working here.

It was a legislative position so it was crazy busy at times and other times it was slow.   I enjoyed the job.  NCGA has such a helpful group of professionals to help with all aspects of drafting legislation it made my job easier which was helpful since I was the only staff person and it was all I could do to keep the office flowing at times.

Drafted Bill Summaries and advised arguing points for Bills of interest
Researched Legislation for Session, Committees and Press Conferences
Assisted with the organization of Joint Caucus Meetings
Handled all constituent services for District 91
Clerked and help chair committees and study committees
Speech writer

Legislative internships are mutually beneficial because they provide interns with valuable, first-hand experience in the legislative process and they provide state legislatures with bright, enthusiastic people who are excited to learn about the intricate world of public policy,

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Legislative assistant 4 salaries reported	$41,000 per year
Staff attorney 4 salaries reported	$87,000 per year
Office clerk 6 salaries reported	$43,009 per year
Office representative 10 salaries reported	$43,399 per year
Intern 4 salaries reported	$10.59 per hour

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