Political campaigns and elections.
I am a Political Operative (a term I personally hate). I manage campaigns for a living and have worked in the field for about a decade.
My wife's family is convinced it's not a real job. I'm often asked by her family and others I meet if I get paid. Yes, I make a very good living. Yes, I work full time.
Most people assume I want to run for office. I don't and the best campaign staffers rarely do.
No, it's not like wag the dog, Ides of March, the West Wing (though this is better), or almost any other movie/tv show.
I've spent my entire adult life getting to where I am now. I manage an eight-figure budget. I really don't give a shit what your personal politics are. I'm not trying to convince you personally to do anything. I don't want to argue about Donald Trump or Hillary's emails or Obamacare. This is a job for me. Yes, I believe in my candidate, but I spend 80-100 hours a week working on this already, I don't need to spend more time on it.
Just because you like and are interested in campaigns doesn't mean you can do my job. Every campaign I am faced with dozens of people who want to tell me what I am doing wrong or how my strategy is wrong. It's not. At this point, I'm pretty damn good at this, though there are others who are better.
It's not rocket science, but just because you have a BS in PoliSci doesn't qualify you to run a campaign. Just because you volunteer on a campaign doesn't make you a political operative.
My job is 50/50 strategy and organizational management. It's partially like running a business. I'm managing a large budget that ebbs and flows with changes in our fundraising. I have staff to manage and supervise. I administer a group healthcare plan, and I hire and fire employees just like a normal business.
Most annoying are activists who think they've discovered something new or thinks their campaign is somehow ground breaking. 99.99% of the time its not. Not just in tactics, but policy, the candidate, the enthusiasm, and the importance.
Finally, I am constantly asked what my record is. It's good, but it doesn't matter that much. Winning helps and losing can hurt, but if you're taking tough races where the campaign matters, you're going to lose sometimes. It's easy to be undefeated by taking sure winners, but that doesn't move you up the ladder and it doesn't teach you nearly as much as having to fight for every cent and every vote.