She earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Cincinnati in 1974.SCHMIDT, Jean Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 26, 2007. Schmidt worked in her father's bank, the Midwestern Savings Association, as a branch manager from 1971 to 1978. Schmidt was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1984. She was a fitness instructor from 1984 to 1986, when she began a four-year career as a schoolteacher.
