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What is a legislative director and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a legislative director. For example, did you know that they make an average of $31.32 an hour? That's $65,139 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 6,300 job opportunities across the U.S.
ScoreLegislative DirectorUS Average
Salary
5.1

Avg. Salary $65,139

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
8.7

Growth rate 8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
4.5
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.42%

Asian 5.12%

Black or African American 5.95%

Hispanic or Latino 9.11%

Unknown 4.66%

White 74.75%

Gender

female 37.80%

male 62.20%

Age - 41
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41
Stress level
8.7

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
9.4

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
3.8

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Legislative director career paths

Key steps to become a legislative director

  1. Explore legislative director education requirements

    Most common legislative director degrees

    Bachelor's

    70.4 %

    Master's

    13.8 %

    Doctorate

    11.0 %
  2. Start to develop specific legislative director skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Policy Issues14.82%
    Legislative Process12.22%
    Press Releases7.63%
    Public Policy7.23%
    Legislative Affairs5.69%
  3. Complete relevant legislative director training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New legislative directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a legislative director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real legislative director resumes.
  4. Research legislative director duties and responsibilities

    • Publish organizational blogposts and other editorial content and manage relations with coalition partners.
    • Manage legislative portfolio of organizational policies relative to veterans benefits and military quality of life issues.
    • Respond to public sector RFP's and submit foundation proposals.
    • Coordinate preparation of RFP and consultant hiring process for department.
  5. Get legislative director experience

    Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become a legislative director. The most common roles before becoming a legislative director include legislative assistant, internship team lead and legislative aide.
  6. Prepare your legislative director resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your legislative director resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a legislative director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable legislative director resume templates

    Build a professional legislative director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your legislative director resume.
    Legislative Director Resume
    Legislative Director Resume
    Legislative Director Resume
    Legislative Director Resume
    Legislative Director Resume
    Legislative Director Resume
    Legislative Director Resume
    Legislative Director Resume
    Legislative Director Resume
  7. Apply for legislative director jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a legislative director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first legislative director job

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Average legislative director salary

The average legislative director salary in the United States is $65,139 per year or $31 per hour. Legislative director salaries range between $30,000 and $141,000 per year.

Average legislative director salary
$65,139 Yearly
$31.32 hourly

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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