In 1990, in the summer after I graduated from Virginia Tech (Go Hokies!), I landed an unpaid internship with the office of Congressman Jim Jontz (D-IN). After about three months, I got a temporary three month contract job doing data entry, which was actually worse except I was finally making money – $5 an hour.
My staff ID is pictured above. The blacked out part? That’s where they used to put your Social Security Number.
The internship was cool in that I got to run around the place a little. I never actually made it “under the dome” of the Capitol, but I got sent over there one day for some carrier pigeon reason and the energy and intensity at the Capitol was something. Mostly I opened mail, answered the phones, washed their dishes. You know, working stiff, bottom of the rung stuff.
Then I got promoted! They sat me down at this green screen computer terminal that was cabled into some massive mainframe down in the basement. They had a database of citizens in Indiana’s 5th CD on this mainframe.
I was handed a pile of mail sent back because the address was wrong – the voter had moved. I was instructed to update the database with this clunky software interface. And it was pointed out to me that since I was now being paid, I pretty much was expected to just sit in this chair at the terminal all day.
And how much that sucked I can not fully explain in words, just imagine 8 hours a day at a crappy, slow computer.
When the three month contract was up, they offered me the “opportunity” to go back to unpaid intern. I told them I was looking to take my career in the other direction and politely declined.
When I did the math after it was all said and done, I broke even between the cost of bus fare, subway fare and lunches in the city.
I was largely turned off by what I saw from Congressional staff and Congress in general. There was way too much emphasis on money. Good looks seemed to be far more important than a rational person might prefer in their legislative making process.
If I ever have the privilege of working in the legislative process, I promise to disregard money and good looks. I promise to focus on what’s best for the greatest number of working people and working families.
