The astonishing thing about this is that there isn't even a requirement for senators to have served in government for a certain time before. It is common for people who don't know anything about municipal, state, or federal governance and who have been lawyers, business owners, or financial advisors their entire lives to become senators right away, without first being a civil servant or at least serving in the house of representatives. In terms of merit, you could take random 18-year-olds from the street and have them fill all the senate seats, and in fact they'd most certainly do a better job representing the interests of the majority of US Americans.