GOVERNMENT CHIEF EXECUTIVES AND LEGISLATORS

Nature of the Work

Go to school.  Pay your taxes.  Register for the draft.  Stop at the stop sign.  It seems as though the Government is always telling us what to do.  Who, then, tells the Government what to do?  Chief executives and legislators at the Federal, State, and local level do the telling.  They are elected or appointed officials who strive to meet the needs of their constituents with an effective and efficient government. 

Chief executives are officials who run governmental units that help formulate, carry out, and enforce laws.  These officials include the President and Vice President of the United States, State governors and lieutenant governors, county executives, town and township officials, mayors, and city, county, town, and township managers.

Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement

Successful candidates usually have a strong record of accomplishment in paid and unpaid work.  Many have business, teaching, or legal experience, but others come from a wide variety of occupations.  In addition, many have served as volunteers on school boards or zoning commissions; with charities, political action groups, and political campaigns; or with religious, fraternal, and similar organizations.

Job Outlook

Little, if any, growth is expected in the number of government chief executives and legislators through the year 2005.  Few, if any, new governments are likely to form, and the number of chief executives and legislators in existing governments rarely changes.  The addition of one or two States to the union would lead to several additional U.S.  Senators and Representatives. 

Earnings

Earnings of public administrators vary widely, depending on the size of the government unit and on whether the job is part time, full time and year round, or full time for only a few months a year. Salaries range from little or nothing for a small town council member to $200,000 a year for the President of the United States. According to the International City/County Management Association, the average annual salary of mayors was about $9,900 in 1991.  In cities with a population under 2,500, they averaged about $1,800; in cities with a population over 1 million, around $78,000.

Additional information can be obtained by contacting the following organiozations:

Council of State Governments, P.O.  Box 11910, Iron Works Pike, Lexington, KY 40578.

International City/County Management Association, 777 North Capitol St.  NE., Suite 500, Washington, DC 20002.

For more information on careers in public administration, consult your elected representatives and local library.

