Members of Congress by Profession

Members of Congress by Profession There are lots of professional politicians, those solons who hop from one elective office to another and always land on their feet - or at the helm of some federal agency or even in the Senate - because theres no such thing as statutory term limits  and theres no way to recall them. But many members of Congress came from real professions before being elected.  There have been actors, comedians, talk-show hosts, famous journalists and all sorts of doctors who have served in the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.   Members of Congress By  Profession So who are these people and what did they do? There are the obvious non-politicians: actor and President Ronald Reagan,  Songwriter Sonny Bono was one-half of Sonny and Cher,  one of the most popular rock duos  of the 1960s and early 1970s,  author and  talk-show host  Al Franken, who  was  best known for his role on  Saturday Night Live.  Who can forget professional wrestler Jesse The Body Ventura, whose political resume ended at governor of Minnesota? But what about the common members of Congress? Where did they come from? What were their professions? Business and Law Data compiled regularly by the Washington, D.C., publication Roll Call and the Congressional Research Service have found that the most common professions held by burgeoning members of the House and Senate are in law, business and education. In the 113th Congress, for example, nearly a fifth of the 435 House members and 100 senators worked in education, either as teachers, professors, school counselors, administrators or coaches, according to the Roll Call and Congressional Research data. There were twice as many lawyers and businessmen and businesswomen. Professional Politicians The most common profession among members of Congress, though, is that of a public servant. Thats a nice-sounded term for a career politician. More than half of our U.S. senators served in the House, for example. But there are dozens of former small-town mayors, state governors, former judges, ex-state lawmakers, one-time congressional staffers, sheriffs and FBI agents, just to name a few. More Unusual Professions Of course, not everyone in Congress is a lawyer or professional politician or celebrity seeking to make a serious name for himself or herself. Some of the other jobs held by members of Congress include the following: Car dealerRodeo AnnouncerWelderFuneral home ownerSoftware engineerPhysicianDentists  Veterinarians  PsychiatristPsychologistsOptometristNurse  MinisterPhysicistEngineerMicrobiologist  Radio talk show host  JournalistAccountantPilotAstronautProfessional football playerFilmmaker  FarmerAlmond orchard ownerVintner  FishermanSocial workerStockbroker Are You Thinking of Running for Office? Before you launch that presidential campaign, there are some things you ought to know. These dentists and stockbrokers and astronauts didnt just jump headfirst into politics. Most were involved, whether it was through volunteering with campaigns, becoming members of the local party committees, giving money to super PACs or other political action committees and serving in small, unpaid municipal positions.