By Anna Butler
The suits, the expensive dinners, the chance to make a difference in people's lives—If the path of a politician interests you, you might be taking a hefty paycheck into account. We're here to tell you that that isn't necessarily the case. Let's have a look at just how well-compensated White House employees are, and how their Trump-administered salaries compare to other presidents' incumbencies.
The Incumbent President of The United States - $400,000
Since 2001, the salary of each POTUS has been $400,000. While that is definitely enough to keep the wolves from the door, you might think that a serving president would take home a little more at the end of the month.
Ah, but we haven't mentioned the $50,000 expense account. Or the $100,000 tax-free travel allowance. Or the $19,000 entertainment allowance, also tax-free. And don't forget, each president is obliged to move into new quarters during his term of office. At the outset, they're given $100,000 decor allowance - to make the place feel like home.
The First Lady - $0
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, nothing. Zip. Zero. If you happen to be married to the president when he takes up residence in the White House, you're going with him. You're given several jobs, with titles like SVP of Communications and Strategic Planning, Head of Program Management, and VP of Global Affairs. That's around $173,000 worth of annual work, right there.
Plus, you're expected to put your previous life behind you. Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama both put lucrative careers on hold to take the on position and its responsibilities. So far, there's never been a First Gentleman. We're eager to see if the stakes change once we celebrate our first female president!
The Vice-President - $230,700
The Vice-President gets a better deal than the first lady, that's for sure. The pay is just over half that of the President - equal to the salaries of the Chief Justice of the United States and the Speaker of the House.
This paycheck has been fixed for ten years, barring rises in line with inflation. Sounds like a bum deal, until you factor in the usage of a private plane and the 33-room house that comes with the job. It's situated in the Naval Observatory, just a few miles from the White House. It makes for an easy commute, and some say that the accommodation is nicer than the President's quarters!
Acting Chief of Staff - $203,500
The Acting Chief Of Staff is not an indispensable role in the White House, and the President is not required to hire someone to fill it. However, considering that the duties include overseeing the staff of the White House, managing the President's schedule, and filtering requests to decide who actually gets to meet with the POTUS, someone is filling the post more often than not.
From 2019-2020, the role was filled by Mick Mulvaney, the third to have taken it on under President Trump. With a turnover that high, the salary has risen to entice someone to take the role - in 2016, under Obama, Denis McDonough only took home $176,461.
Director of The United States Secret Service - $108,000
The Secret Service is a part of Homeland Security with a very special briefing. Theirs is the responsibility of protecting the nation's leaders and safeguarding the financial and critical infrastructure of the country. The Director is appointed by the President himself and is not subject to Senate approval.
The Patriot Act of 2001 defines critical infrastructure as those "systems and assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety, or any combination of those matters." Gosh - We think we'd want a payrise!
Director of Stenography - $95,500
Well, it's seemed like President Trump had been keen to recompense his employees, with pay raises all over the place, but it might just be that those only counts for the politically affiliated positions. The Director Of Stenography is notoriously unbiased, overseeing the accurate note-taking at all official White House press meetings.
As such, this is one of the departments that President Trump, not well-known for the accuracy of his statements, had cut funding for during his administration. The current Director's salary is over $20,000 less per annum than that of her predecessor. That's a cut of nearly 20%!
Executive Assistant to the President - $120,000
The Executive Assistant to the President has a plethora of duties. They read and respond to all of POTUS's correspondence. They schedule all of his meetings. They arrange certain functions, and they are even the first smiling face that visitors see when they come to the White House.
That's a fair workload, and most of it thankless, so we're not begrudging them their salary. The role is to act more or less as the right hand of the President and take none of the glory. We wonder if they get coffee when asked, too?
Director of White House Travel Office - $92,400
Something's not quite right here - the President gets a $100k allowance for traveling, but the person that sorts out all the travel for a whole organization only gets $92,400? This position is responsible for organizing and booking travel itineraries for the entire White House press corps.
I suppose that we must take into account that this position has been held by women in recent years. And the current Director is earning over ten grand more than the previous incumbent. Mind you, they're both still doing a whole lot better than that poor First Lady!
A Former President - $207,800
We're going to go ahead and say it - being a former President could be considered a better gig than being an incumbent. They get a pension equivalent to a current head of department, plus, to ease the transition when leaving the White House, enough funding to finance office space and staff for seven months.
It gets better. The deal also includes free medical treatment, an honorary funeral, and an annual travel allowance of up to $1m, which is more than they got when serving. Oh, and add to that lifelong protection from the Secret Service. We'd be retiring to Kiribati and living out our days on the beach!
Former First Lady - $20,000
The First Lady might get a bum deal while she's running the East Wing of the White House, but once the term is over, it does improve. Of course, the hefty pension that her husband brings home is enough for the family to get by on, but it's still nice to have a little personal income.
The pension that goes with the job isn't much compared to an actual salary, but it's better than nothing. She will, however, only get it if she doesn't have another pension plan in place. She gets a fair amount more in travel expenses reimbursed, up to $500,000, which certainly sounds attractive.
Deputy Assistant to the President for Operations and Personal Aide to the President - $158,000
It's a long title, but the brief is short - if the President wants it, the DAPOPAP (oh, we like that!) gets it. Pronto. The holder of the post is there to meet the President's immediate needs, no matter what. He or she is often referred to as the Body Man, and usually becomes a good friend of the sitting President.
It seemed like that was not the case for President Trump, however. His first body man made $115k in 2017, but he's left the post. The current holder has received quite a pay rise - over $40k more. Maybe Trump's needs are a little more erratic than most?
White House Director of Strategic Communications - $183,000
Ok, we're not too sure what this position actually entails, so we don't know whether it deserves its price tag. It was created by President Trump as his term commenced. We do know that the incumbent reports directly to the President, and seems to maintain a close working relationship with him.
The role also, however, seems to have a high turnover, so maybe even the employees aren't certain what their duties include! Presumably in there somewhere must be co-ordinating media appearances and advising the President on messaging. Ah... perhaps it gets irritating being ignored when you try to explain why Tweeting a certain message is not going to make you look good...?
Chief of Staff to the First Lady - $183,000
The First Lady has her own staff all to herself, helping her to carry out her daily duties. The chief of that staff manages those operations, including the team and the Lady's schedule. Poor Melania had to look on as her Chief of Staff earned over three times the average American salary, and she gets... the gratitude of a nation?
The gap wasn't always quite so wide. Michelle Obama's Chief of Staff only earned $176,461 per year. We have to wonder - what was so different about Melania's schedule that managing it deserved an extra $6,000 or so?
Ethics Counsel - $151,633
Recent Presidents have had two of these hot-shot lawyers keeping them on the straight and narrow as far as the ethical elements of the White House tasks and relations go. One of those working with President Obama was taking home $123,406 in 2016.
The legal eagles that worked with President Trump, however, earned a wee bit more. One of them came straight from working with the US Agency for International Development. We don't envy them their job in the current incumbency - we can't help but speculate which has a higher percentage of increase across administrations - the pay or the workload!
Social Secretary - $168,000
It may be considered the least controversial job in the White House, but that doesn't make it the easiest. The Social Secretary is essentially the party planner for all the White House social events. There's always something going on, including events such as the Christmas Tree Lighting, or the Easter Egg Roll.
We know that after that time we had to organize the work Christmas dinner we vowed never to get involved with party planning again, so we totally get why the salary for this position is where it's at. We guess it might be harder to work under this President, though, as the last Social Secretary only took home $119,723...
Digital Content Producer - $72,700
It's obvious from the title that this is a position that's only been relevant in the last couple of decades. This is the person that is responsible for creating and sharing media content online - on the White House website and all the social media accounts, among other places.
This is a job never more essential than in today's administration. And the White House knows it - the salary has jumped from $63,125 post-inauguration to close to $73k this year. We think that the post's biggest responsibility should be keeping the President's direct access to social media to a minimum!
Advisor to the President & Senior Advisor - $0
Do you smell nepotism around here? Well, actually, probably not, as President Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared didn't actually get paid for the Senior Advisor positions that they held in the administration. Jared 'advised' his father-in-law on strategic planning, and Ivanka was responsible for policies regarding women's issues.
Not only were these two close relations of the President, but they also had between them zero political experience. This seemed to be reflected in their work, so all in all, we'd say that they earned just about what they should have. After all, they've earned quite a bit of money using their positions to further their business interests in the past...
Acting Director of White House Visitors Office - $95,800
Did you know that the White House receives over 6,000 visitors every day? We're not talking about the visits of state here, just the ordinary people who come for a nose around the place where the country's biggest decisions are made. Unsurprisingly, there's a whole office dedicated to looking after these people.
The White House Visitor's Office maintains the public parts of the House itself, as well as running tours. The Acting Director manages the staff and gets paid pretty nicely for their work. Having said that, not as nicely as they used to. The same position under President Obama paid over $20k more!
Director of White House Information Technology - $168,000
This position was created by President Obama. He wanted to radically improve the way the government was using information technology to serve the American people. With that in mind, he brought in one of the country's leading technologists to overhaul the White House's own technology.
The Director is in charge of deploying collaborative and communication technologies for the White House. This was a massive job under Obama, but the pay was considerably less than it is now. The Director during President Trump's presidency received more than 35% more in his paycheck. Maybe it was due to all that extra social media work President Trump generated?
Deputy Director of the National Economic Council - $168,000
The Deputy Director of the National Economic Council has the charge of several employees, all working towards advising the President on economic policy, both domestic and global. The Deputy Director is also the President's representative and lead US negotiator for the G-7, G-20, and APEC Summits that take place annually.
The Council was created under Bill Clinton, as a means of focusing on federal policymaking with regards to the economic situation of the country. For the Deputy Director, there's still some career ladder left to climb. The salary isn't bad, especially when you can dream about promotion. It's also gone up by over $18,000 in less than four years - that's quite a rate of inflation!
Press Secretary - $183,000
Presenting, ladies and gentlemen, the toughest job in politics today: The Press Secretary. Not a job that we'd want to do, and so far, three people have left the post during the 2016-2020 administration. It might be that the White House is going to have to sweeten the deal if they want to keep someone on for more than a year...
The same job under the Obama administration earned nearly as much as it does now, coming in at $176,461, so we'd definitely say it's time someone had a look at the pay scaling. We're pretty sure that jobs that pay this much shouldn't have this kind of turnover.
Social Aide - $0
A Social Aide is an unmarried military official with a rank no higher than major with 'impeccable appearance.' There is around 45 personnel assigned to the post, and they act rather like uniformed James Bonds at parties. They escort dignitaries, dance with single guests, prevent social faux-pas, and keep the receiving lines tidy.
It's an 'occasional' duty on top of regular service. As such, it's unpaid, but who doesn't want to go to the ball? One aide even ended up married to his escortee, the daughter of a President! Social aides have been drawn from the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, the National Guard, and the Air National Guard.
Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs - $183,000
This is a job that does exactly what it says on the tin. If there's a national security issue, the Assistant advises the President. When things are a little quieter, they keep themselves busy serving on the National Security Council.
The position includes access to sensitive intelligence information and, as such, not just anybody can take it. Hence, it's one of the better-paid roles in the White House. The salary has remained constant, with just the standard 3.6% rise from the last administration.
Speaker of the House of Representatives - $223,500
Here we have one of the most difficult jobs in the United States government. The Speaker has the unenviable task of keeping the representatives in order, and also oversees the assignment of committee memberships and chairmanships. Hence the substantial salary.
The Speaker is usually elected by the 435 representatives. As a result, they will usually represent the political party that holds the most seats in Congress at the time. They are also second in line, after the Vice-President, to take over in the sitting President's absence. Nancy Pelosi, recently in office, was the first woman to be elected to the role.
Senior Videographer - $72,700
When you're living the life of the President of the United States, then every moment is a photo opportunity. Everything that he does could be newsworthy, and so two videographers work full-time with the President to make sure that there's always a camera within the shot to capture the important moments.
It must be rather like living a reality TV show, except it goes on for at least four years. We might have been interested in running the country, but we certainly couldn't cope with that level of attention! The videographer position now pays a few thousand less than with the previous administration.
Chief Calligrapher - $99,400
It seems ridiculous that in this day and age, the White House is still employing staff to hand-write documents such as invitations, certificates, place cards, and programs. It just goes to show that we all still like that personal touch. It oozes class and privilege, and the price tag shows it.
The Chief Calligrapher has a staff of two under them, and we imagine that it must be a rather peaceful job in the hectic world of international politics. Of course, it takes an artist with talent and training to do it, and the salary reflects the value of the person hired to fill the role.
Director of Media Operations for the Office of the First Lady - $72,700
Now there's a mouthful. It's a position created by the current First Lady, who has reorganized the East Wing since setting up residency. She keeps a slim staff, which makes every position that bit more vital.
This job involves dealing with the First Lady's press and communications efforts, and her media outreach. The salary under the 2016-2020 administration was significantly lower than that of the roughly equivalent position under the previous administration, which came in at $78,124.
Assistant to the President for Trade and Manufacturing Policy - $183,000
This is a role, and indeed a department, that was created by President Trump in the first months of his incumbency. The Office Of Trade And Manufacturing Policy (OTMP) has a mission to "defend and serve American workers and domestic manufacturers while advising the President on policies to increase economic growth, decrease the trade deficit, and strengthen the United States manufacturing and defense industrial bases."
That's a pretty major objective, and the Assistant to the President serves as a liaison between the White House and the Department Of Commerce. We think that under $200k is a bit stingy for someone in charge of the country's trading policies...
Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives - $183,000
The Office of American Innovation (OAI) is an office created by President Trump in 2017. Its purpose is to "make recommendations to the President on policies and plans that improve Government operations and services, improve the quality of life for Americans now and in the future, and spur job creation."
This Assistant oversees that office and works with the President to apply private sector solutions to some of the problems that the country faces. For instance, when Brooke Rollins held the job, she was crucial in the passage of the First Step Act, which is a piece of legislation that reforms the nation's prison system.
Director of Presidential Personnel - $168,000
The Presidential Personnel Office handles all the applicants for any job in the White House. All of them. They do all the reviewing and researching on a potential candidate, and it's this office that has the final say on who gets put forward for the job.
They're not all-powerful - many positions require the Senate to approve the candidate before they can be offered the position, but the Director of Presidential Personnel does have the authority to veto the President's own suggestions for a post if he thinks the candidate unsuitable. The job pays a pretty standard White House wage, although it's dropped a couple of thousand since the last administration's end.
Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Appointments and Scheduling - $120,000
Oh, come on, guys, haven't we had this one already? No? Oh, we see. This post has been created to deal exclusively with the President's schedule. They don't have to deal with any other aspects of organizing his life, just making sure that his appointments don't clash.
Don't get us wrong, we're quite sure that there's enough to do in this role to make it worth its hefty paycheck. It's just that we've seen so many positions now. It's truly incredible to see how many people it takes to keep an administration running.
Deputy Director of Communications - $168,000
This position boils down to the marketing manager for the President. The job involves developing and maintaining long-term strategies to promote the goals, accomplishments, and message of the organization. They will have a hand in how POTUS is presented on social media, among other things.
The fact that the position earns today slightly less than it did under the previous administration could be considered shocking, but then you think about it, and they were definitely doing a better job back then. Obama came across with clear messages and an essentially good image. We can't say the same for President Trump on most days.
Speechwriter - $120,000
Ho-hum. President Trump had four speechwriters on staff, compared to the nine that President Obama retained. Obama evidently valued their help highly, as the highest-paid position fetched in $176,461 in 2016. Trump, we feel, didn't really get the point of them, judging by how often he ignored their offerings.
It must be a painful job in the current incumbency. Either you're watching your work get wasted and ignored, or you're taking the blame for something you'd never have dreamed of putting on paper. Still, we suppose it's easy money when it doesn't matter if you hand in your work or not!
Director of the National Economic Council - $183,000
Although the management of the council is largely given over to the Deputy Director, the Director has enough to do to fill his days. He serves as the President's main advisor on non-domestic economic policy. He is supported by policy specialists covering diverse areas such as agriculture, commerce, energy, financial markets, fiscal policy, healthcare, labor, and Social Security.
The NEC has four main functions. It co-ordinates policy-making and advice to the President regarding domestic and international economic issues. It ensures that said policies are consistent with the President's goals. And lastly, it monitors the implementation of all of the above.
West Wing Receptionist - $48,800
So generally, the receptionist is not a job that most aspire to, but let's face it, it would be pretty cool to front the most famous residence in the world. And, as an entry-level job, it pays nearly the national average salary, which is not a bad start on your career path.
The current receptionist landed the role after just three months as an intern, so either she's really good, or the position is open to non-experienced applicants straight out of school. Either way, it's got to be interesting work for the most part, although we bet that ordering stationery is less than inspiring no matter where you're working...
Assistant to the President and Senior Counselor - $183,000
This position is not always filled, and over the many years that it has been in operation - in one incarnation or another - it has most recently moved focus to deal with communications, media affairs, speechwriting, and press offices.
Of course, it's a fairly simple job nowadays, in that the current incumbent seems to spend most of her time doing one thing - clarifying what exactly the President just tried to say this time. It's obviously quite an important position under the current administration, and the pay reflects how much the office values the post.
Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff for Strategy and Stakeholder Engagement - $239,595
Well, this is the job to have in today's White House, apparently. This chap earns more than the Vice-President of the country takes home! We wonder how awkward it is to know that you earn more than your boss, the Acting Chief Of Staff, and know that he knows it, too, along with everyone else in the office!
His job is to advise the Chief Of Staff about, well, stakeholder engagement, we guess. We know that stakeholders are very Important People behind the scenes of any organization, and keeping them engaged is everything. It is a little worrying in a political environment, though...
Director of the Presidential Gift Office - $58,200
Now, this has to be a cool job. The Director of the Presidential Gift Office is the man that gets all the presents. Every gift that is given to a serving President is then taken off him quick smart, and given to this guy. He has to then record it, put it in the National Archives, and keep track of it.
If the President then wants the gift back after his term is up, he has to buy it with his own money. At market value. It all seems rather unfair until you realize that it's all to do with staying neutral in negotiations. The Director earns around $8,000 more than his counterpart a decade before.
Director of Youth Correspondence - $58,200
This is a position that didn't exist under the Obama incumbency, who employed a Director of Correspondence For Student Correspondence instead. Exactly where the line is drawn between child and adult correspondence, we're not sure, but presumably, the people in the sorting room at the White House know.
If you wrote a letter to the President as a kid, we're sorry to burst your bubble, but chances are he never saw it. It's this director's job to read and respond accordingly. Wait - you don't think Santa has a position like this, do you? He definitely reads all of his letters. Every one.
Director of Volunteers, Comment Line, and Greetings for Presidential Correspondence - $64,400
This is a long-winded title and sounds like it should earn more than $64k, but essentially it boils down to call center manager. And this incumbent is lucky - the last administration only paid $50,500.
Do you have something that you'd like to say directly to the White House? Call their comment line. If you've called in to complain (as most have), bear in mind that the person that you're talking to has volunteered their time, free of charge. So, be nice! The only person getting paid is the Director, who you'll likely never talk to. He's too busy sifting through the correspondence deemed worthy for the President to see.
Director of Oval Office Operations - $145,000
The last reception area you come to before getting into the inner sanctum is manned by this Director. They organize the President and represent him when overseeing the planning and implementation of White House functions, speeches, State Visits, etc. They're a liaison between POTUS and the various offices, including Private Residence staff, the Secret Service, and the White House Military Office.
They're the gatekeeper, and the pay reflects the importance of the role. Having said that, the current administration is paying over 40% more than the last one did - but then again, it's already on its fifth person to play the part. Maybe it's a bit too high stress nowadays?
Records Management Analyst - $66,900
Being an analyst could be considered a boring job, for those not of the right mindset. Archiving and logging files all day could get a person down, but if you're doing it in the White House, at least a good portion of the paperwork makes for interesting reading.
Everything that the President has written or annotated must be preserved as historical records in the National Archives. It's the law. But the current President allegedly has a habit of tearing up paperwork that he's done with, making the analyst's jobs more of a mental challenge as they have to tape it back together! Maybe that's why the salary has gone from $42k right up to $66,900...
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Coordination - $30,000
Responsible for overseeing and coordinating the policy processes of the President, this is a post that requires a level head, patience, and acute organization and interpersonal skills. The person in charge of bringing large-scale projects like this together needs to be skilled and experienced.
So how on earth the current administration is getting away with paying the current Deputy Chief a paltry $30k, we're not sure. Especially as the equivalent position under President Obama gave out $172,200 per annum. There must be more to this story. The current Deputy Chief used to be a VP at General Motors, where we're pretty sure he took home more than that...
Counsel to the President - $183,000
This grim-looking chap is the lawyer assigned to inform the President of their legal limits in office. It's a complicated task at the best of times, but this particular guy has had to weather a presidential impeachment. He's the second person to fill the role in this administration.
It's rumored that the last lawyer left due to the things that the President was asking him to do, or rather, telling him to find a way to get away with doing. The lawyer tried to reign him in, and so they parted ways. His replacement is apparently more amenable to the President's antics.
Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs - $183,000
The House of Representatives has 435 voting representatives and six non-voting representatives. The Senate has 100 senators. That's a lot of people to maintain a relationship with, and the President turns to his Assistant for Legislative Affairs for help in that department.
Essentially, the Assistant has the charge of keeping everyone as happy as possible so that they are more amenable to the President's agenda. It's hard work, and the salary shows it. It's not changed much over administrations, but then, neither has the number of names to remember. Do you think he has a list inside that hat?
Homeland Security Secretary - $179,000
The Homeland Security Secretary post was first created following the September 11 terrorist attacks. The Secretary is in charge of the United States Department of Homeland Security, and therefore the security and safety of every citizen of the US. It's no wonder that it's one of the highest paying jobs in the White House. The list of duties is formidable.
Facilitating trade and travel. Enforcing immigration laws. Securing cyberspace. Increasing resilience to natural disasters. All that and providing essential support for national and economic security has got to take it out of a person. And they still have to find time to formulate counter-terrorism tactics and monitor the country's border.
House Of Representatives - $174,000
This is the standard wage for a representative, of which there are 435, plus six with no voting powers. The number and the split are based on population, with highly-populated states such as California counting in 53 representatives, and the emptier landscapes of Alaska and North Dakota only having one.
Representatives (apart from the six delegates from the US territories, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands) are paid to vote on the passage of proposed bills to the Senate. Two more delegates are in the offing - a proposed representative of the Cherokee Nation, and eventually, according to a treaty, one for the Choctaw Nation.
Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers - $155,500
The Council of Economic Advisers advises POTUS on economic policy. They do most of the empirical research for the White House. Every year, the CEA, researches, produces and presents the Economic Report of the President, often a much-criticized document. Luckily, the Chairman gets paid enough not to mind!
The Council could be considered as a sort of think-tank for economic policy - where the ideas take shape and mature. Once the policy is ready to be released, then the National Economic Council takes over for its coordination and implementation.
Director of Video Production - $86,200
Although this post pays more or less the going wage for a similar position in any other organization, the White House's Director of Video Production has a bit more to think about than just yelling 'cut' at the end of a take. White House productions serve as historical records for the nation.
Some of it is simple social media-oriented information clips, but sometimes it's as important to know when not to roll the cameras as when to prepare for a close-up. If the President is meeting victims of a disaster, for instance, it's not appropriate to immediately stick a camera in their faces.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff - $183,000
It's one of the top jobs in the White House. A Deputy Chief of Staff answers only to the Chief of Staff, and the President, of course. They are the most senior aides to the President. Together, they are responsible for the smooth running of the entire White House Bureaucracy.
Although it's possible to have just the one person filling this role, some administrations like to spread the load. The Trump administration, for example, has a Deputy Chief of Staff, a DCS for Policy Co-ordination, a DCS for Operations, and a DCS for Communications. Even split up, they're still hefty roles, and the salary reflects it.
White House Executive Clerk - $165,417
Any document that travels between the President and Congress takes a pit stop in the Office of the Executive Clerk. That's a fair flow of paper, and the Executive Clerk gets paid pretty handsomely for handling it all. We're not sure what they do with it, but it must be important.
For times when the torrent fades to a more manageable stream, the Clerk has plenty to keep him occupied. They're also responsible for preparing all official documents. Executive orders, bills, even messages, all get drafted in the Office and passed on accordingly.
Director of Strategic Partnerships and African American Outreach - $106,000
So, this one is pretty self-explanatory. The Director serves as a liaison between the White House and the Black community, creating connections and bolstering Black support for the administration. We're not sure when the position was created, but we do know that after the first member of the Trump administration to fill it was fired in 2017, the position remained unfilled for over a year.
There was an Acting Director, but as he was also the Director for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency, he didn't have much time for the role. As the re-election looms, the position has at last been taken up again.
The Director of Writers for Presidential Correspondence - $72,700
All these positions are beginning to sound like each other, but there's no other role where you get to pretend to be the President. POTUS receives hundreds of letters a day, and there's no way that he answers them all personally. The Director of Writers has to do most of the dirty work.
They also get in a lot of reading. The President will only ever see ten or so of those letters per day, but someone has to read the lot to choose the few. That'll be the Director. We hope that he thinks his paycheck is worth it.
White House Travel Manager - $58,200
The Travel Manager is responsible for the travel arrangements and itineraries of the entourage of the President when he travels. It's effectively a simple travel agent job, and as such is not the best-paid position in the White House, but we guess that it's a start.
Having said that, if you do have aspirations to make it big in the West Wing, we recommend you try a different department. The prospects are not great in this one - the Director of the White House Travel Office gets less than $100k per annum.
White House Research Assistants - $48,000
Research Assistant is a vital but junior role. It's a great place to learn essential skills to further your career, especially if you happen to be researching in the White House. The average salary in the US for a Research Assistant is $35,400, according to LinkedIn, so if you can get this gig, you're off to a good start.
There are Assistants in various departments of the White House, earning between $43k and $57,510 per annum. Their duties include collecting data, conducting statistical analysis, creating presentations, and rooting out and presenting academic findings in policies.
Junior Digital Designer - $43,600
We're getting down to the junior positions now, and it's harder to feel inspired by your workplace when you're stuck doing the menial tasks. A Digital Designer-to-be has a passion for their work and has spent time training for the position, so it seems a little unfair that the White House offers a little less than the average salary (according to some sources).
These are the guys grinding away on website images, campaign posters, newsletters, even social media. For such a high-profile portfolio, they could be forgiven for wishing they had a pay packet to match.
Stenographer - $70,500
There are three Stenographers currently immortalizing everything that the President says. It's long, and in this incumbency, often confusing work, but somebody has got to do it. Due to the national importance of their work, the White House only hires the best, and the salary is a good $20k over the national average for the job.
It must be super interesting work, hearing everything that's said, and not just what the media want us to hear. But then again, the pressure of knowing that everything you record is going into the National Archive has got to be pretty stressful. Maybe we'll stick to homicide court cases - much easier to deal with!
Secret Service Uniformed Division - $63,970
Somehow, the words 'secret' and 'uniform' don't seem to fit - surely they're on opposite ends of a job spectrum?? Maybe that's why most of us didn't realize that the Secret Service had a uniformed division - it's the ultimate double bluff!
This division is about 1,300 members strong and is quite dangerous. Their mission, should they choose to accept it, is to screen all who enter the White House for weapons, and to patrol the exterior to keep the riffraff out. Don't try climbing the White House fence unless you want to be tackled on the lawns by elite policemen who assume that you're a terrorist threat...
Associate Writer - $43,600
There is a plethora of staff in the White House whose job it is to write stuff. Speeches. Documents. Correspondence. Media content. When any of them are feeling a bit overwhelmed, they can call in the reinforcements. Associate Writers are there to lend a hand when the going gets tough.
They won't get any projects to their names, and they probably don't ever get to write a complete piece. But, it's a start, and it gets them experience in all sorts of writing genres, and opportunities to advance into various specialties. Altogether, a valid stop-off in an ambitious career.
Lead Press Advance Representative - $80,000
Finally, we come to the Lead Press Advance Representative. This is actually a much bigger job than its salary might suggest, as the position's main tasks are preparing for any and every event that the President attends.
There's a lot of organizing, enforcing, and general yelling, we imagine, involved when putting together a Presidential event. This Representative may not have had a hand in who's attending or the schedule, but they're the ones that have to make sure that it's all ready to go when the curtain rises. They have to co-operate with the press, security, entourages, and even negotiate access for any foreign press attending.
Posted on 11/01/2023 at 10:00 AM
