Jared Polis
State of Colorado
San Diego, CA USA
"Pursue whatever you choose to pursue with everything you have."
Career Roadmap
Jared's work combines: Government, Politics, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
There are many careers in the public sector. One of the less political routes is civil service—you work for your city or state. Some of those jobs require a college degree and some don't. If you want to be on the political end, a great way to start is one of the volunteer advisory boards. They have them at the city level and state level. You go to a meeting once or twice a month and start getting to know people. Then you can decide if you'd like to run for a position after that.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Political Science
Princeton University
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
I started my career in business and entrepreneurship—I started my first company, an internet access provider, in college.
2.
As a start-up and early stage entrepreneur, I helped several companies raise capital and get off the ground.
3.
I eventually got into public service part-time by running for the State Board of Education—I wanted to be involved but I still had my day job, so it was nice to meet just a few times a month.
4.
After selling one of my companies in 2007, I had the opportunity to run for Congress and go into public service full-time.
5.
I was in Congress for 10 years before running for governor.
6.
I’ve been serving as governor of Colorado since 2019.
