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I have two offers that I am currently debating between.

- State Senate Counsel (unpaid)
- large City Council (paid)

Similar responsibilities, state Senate one is slightly more in my interest area.

Which do you all think would be better for my resume in general? The paid City Council internship is work-study so it's not that much but money is still money. Do you think the State Senate one is more prestigious, better for my 3L job search, etc. to warrant taking over the paid City Council position? Help!

- Thanks

Curious about this. Tag.

How big a city are we talking about?

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sundance95 wrote:--ImageRemoved--

Oh, so you're not familiar with how political machines work? Sorry, I'll retract my thoughts about how fucking stupid your response is, then.

arvcondor wrote: Oh, so you're not familiar with how political machines work? Sorry, I'll retract my thoughts about how fucking stupid your response is, then.

Nah bro. No clue. That's how I ran a city council race in SF and worked on K Street. If anything, knowing how political machines work would incline one to take the money.

Moreover, it was a funny GIS find. Don't be so srsbsns.

sundance95 wrote:

arvcondor wrote: Oh, so you're not familiar with how political machines work? Sorry, I'll retract my thoughts about how fucking stupid your response is, then.

Nah bro. No clue. That's how I ran a city council race in SF and worked on K Street. If anything, knowing how political machines work would incline one to take the money.

Moreover, it was a funny GIS find. Don't be so srsbsns.

I think without knowing A) which city/state this is, and B) who the figures are he'd be working for, simply responding with "take the one that offers a small work-study stipend" is premature. I can think of at least five instances in Philly where I'd rather take a paid internship with a high-ranking state senator than an unpaid one with a lame duck councilperson.

arvcondor wrote:

sundance95 wrote:

arvcondor wrote: Oh, so you're not familiar with how political machines work? Sorry, I'll retract my thoughts about how fucking stupid your response is, then.

Nah bro. No clue. That's how I ran a city council race in SF and worked on K Street. If anything, knowing how political machines work would incline one to take the money.

Moreover, it was a funny GIS find. Don't be so srsbsns.

I think without knowing A) which city/state this is, and B) who the figures are he'd be working for, simply responding with "take the one that offers a small work-study stipend" is premature. I can think of at least five instances in Philly where I'd rather take a paid internship with a high-ranking state senator than an unpaid one with a lame duck councilperson.

OP here. state senate is the one that is unpaid. city council is paid but only work-study. the city is a sizable one (dallas/boston/san diego), not nyc/LA/chicago.

Anonymous User wrote:

arvcondor wrote:

sundance95 wrote:

arvcondor wrote: Oh, so you're not familiar with how political machines work? Sorry, I'll retract my thoughts about how fucking stupid your response is, then.

Nah bro. No clue. That's how I ran a city council race in SF and worked on K Street. If anything, knowing how political machines work would incline one to take the money.

Moreover, it was a funny GIS find. Don't be so srsbsns.

I think without knowing A) which city/state this is, and B) who the figures are he'd be working for, simply responding with "take the one that offers a small work-study stipend" is premature. I can think of at least five instances in Philly where I'd rather take a paid internship with a high-ranking state senator than an unpaid one with a lame duck councilperson.

OP here. state senate is the one that is unpaid. city council is paid but only work-study. the city is a sizable one (dallas/boston/san diego), not nyc/LA/chicago.

Sorry, that's what I meant: Unpaid could be more beneficial.

Are you independently wealthy? If so, and you like the unpaid position more, then go for it I guess. But if you're independently wealthy, shouldn't you be doing either writing really profound memoirs or sculpting nude bodies out of copper or something instead of going to law school? So, that obviously leaves city council as the better choice.

I'd go with the paid. I don't think one sounds "more prestigious" than the other.

Let me put it this way: If I had the option of interning for State Sen. Bob Brady, who basically runs Philly's Democratic machine, or for Donna Reed Miller, a weak councilwoman who no one likes and has no clout, I would take the former, regardless of the pay. Again, without knowing the figures involved here, it's impossible for us to help.

(Sorry accidental anonymous reply, feel free to out me as I'm not trying to anon-troll)

Ignore the money, ignore the prestige, ignore the politics (insofar as they don't affect the following):

Put yourself in the position where you will be able to network with more people, preferably more powerful people as powerful people tend to attract more suckups such as your future self.

Having people to actually get you a job is much better than guessing about which experience will look more lucrative to a future employer (when the reality is that neither really will unless you plan on working in this area, and in that case the networking will still be more important than your "skills").

I would guess the senate position off the top of my head, but I would inquire as to how isolated you would be in either position (i.e. are you sitting around with a bunch of other attorneys all day or can you get around and connect with people). Network your ass off, its the only thing politicians are good for.

Be a bigger fish in a smaller pond. At the statehouse, you'll be just another intern in a sea of interns, and your Senator will likely have a larger constituency of more people asking more favors. My guess is you'll have better opportunities for more quality networking at the City Council, plus it's paid.