Anyone ever work for the US Census?

[Soccer Princess]

DisneeMommee -- thanks for the info!

 

[Piecey]

Remember, if you are a veteran, you get a small advantage for these positions.

So do spouses if the Veteran can't get employment anywhere and are disabled.
(DH is disabled so this is something we keep in mind, that I can use his preference if he were to lose his job!)



I might have to keep this in mind! Thanks, guys!

 

[glitzybabes]

Hi. I was wondering if anyone has ever worked the US Census? The 2010 Census will be hiring soon. They all ready are in some areas. http://www.census.gov/2010census/

They say they offer competitive wages. I was wondering what exactly competitive wages mean? Is it minimum wage? Here in Mass. Minimum wage is around $8. Anyone have any idea about it?

Also any past experiences you would like to share, I would love to hear them.

I did it in 2000 for the Atlanta area. I made $14.25 an hr and got 32.5 cent per mile for mileage. I believe at the time minimum wage was only $5.15 per hr.

It was great. I hope to be able to do it again. Let me know if you have any questions. I would be glad to answer them for you.

 

[vellamint]

I did it in 2000 for the Atlanta area. I made $14.25 an hr and got 32.5 cent per mile for mileage. I believe at the time minimum wage was only $5.15 per hr.

It was great. I hope to be able to do it again. Let me know if you have any questions. I would be glad to answer them for you.

Thanks for offering. They say you will be working "in your area"....I live in suburbs of NYC. Do you know what they mean by "in your area"....my neighborhood? immediate surrounding neighborhoods? Far from my neighborhood? I really really want to do this but have a concern about not having to go into "bad" areas......actually my husband and teenage son have this concern.

 

[glitzybabes]

Thanks for offering. They say you will be working "in your area"....I live in suburbs of NYC. Do you know what they mean by "in your area"....my neighborhood? immediate surrounding neighborhoods? Far from my neighborhood? I really really want to do this but have a concern about not having to go into "bad" areas......actually my husband and teenage son have this concern.

Yes, You would work in your county in your area. Like if you lived in the north part of your county then you should work in that area but a group of us were pulled from the north part of my county (henry) to work in the south part of the county above us (dekelb) and when we got finished we worked a couple more weeks in the same county but in the north part of that county(dekelb). So I did go from my area "good" area to a "bad" area.
On the forms, you will have their addresses and you are allowed to do a reverse lookup of their addresses to get their phone numbers and call. or if you go to their house and they are not there, you will leave a note for them to call you and you can compete the form over the phone.

 

[DisneeMommee]

The census office called today to offer me a job as a Crew Leader Assistant. My training is the end of March. The job is supposed to last 10 weeks. She was reading from a script and it was difficult to jot down notes. Goodluck to anyone else waiting for a call!

 

[SalandJeff]

The census office called today to offer me a job as a Crew Leader Assistant. My training is the end of March. The job is supposed to last 10 weeks. She was reading from a script and it was difficult to jot down notes. Goodluck to anyone else waiting for a call!

Do you know whether you will be out in the field or in an office for this job? Also, what are they offering you as pay? Thanks!

 

[vellamint]

Wow.....Thats great congratulations. I am waiting to hear something. How long ago did you take the test and do you have an idea of the reason you were chosen for a crew leader instead of a census taker? Where you home when the call came.....drats I had a few calls today from "odd" places and didnt pick up because I had company and they didnt leave a message. Hope it wasnt them....

 

[Soccer Princess]

Congrats on the job! Did you take the regular test or the supervisors test (or both)? I'm still waiting as well. When I took the test they did not score them while we were there like others had reported, so I have no idea how well I did. I mean I felt confident, but there were 1 or 2 that might have tricked me. I think I was trying to make it more difficult than it was.

 

[dsanner106]

Anyone have any ideas what the takeover of the census by the white house will do to this and other jobs??? Rahm Immanual is looking into computer models for estimating people per block etc. Not happy about this actually, the Constitution says this census is ours, under the commerce dept. they reported how they counted heads. Under the White House, they do not have to give us any information as to how they got their numbers. The computer modeling is so they can add in for illegal immigrants etc. that they feel don't normally report themselves for census. These new numbers will give extra congressional seats to areas they feel immigrants are concentrated and take them from the midwest primarily. This also determines votes in the Electoral College for the Presidency. I was applying for this, but wonder if the jobs will even be there.

D

 

[Free4Life11]

Called today and was told the test has been "closed" for 3 weeks and her best advice is to "check the website" to see when it opens back up. Not sure what website...I don't see anything on the main one about the test being "closed."

 

[DisneeMommee]

Thanks everyone. I took the regular test only. The person who called me was reading from a script, so it was difficult to jot down many notes, or get answers to any questions. It was lots of questions with a "Do you agree to this?". Mostly things like, "Do you have a dependable vehicle?" (so I assume I will be doing some work in the field). I'm not sure what the pay is, I am guessing that they will give me all the details during training. The script didn't give a lot of details or information, just questions. Yes, I was home when the call came. I took the test the first part of January. I don't know if it is in the office or out in the field. I don't know why I was selected for this particular job. I have had some supervisory experience in the past. Thanks and goodluck!

 

[Kycha]

I just wanted to thank the op(and everyone else that posted in this thread). I just called and scheduled an appointment for the test on Friday. The guy on the phone was super nice. He told me that there were a number of different testing sites throughout my county. And they would give me my score as soon as I finish the test. If I want to take the test again, to get a higher score, I can take it as many times as I want. They would only keep the highest score.

So, for anyone that has taken the actual test...is it pretty much like the practice test they have on the website?

 

[summerrluvv]

Wow.....Thats great congratulations. I am waiting to hear something. How long ago did you take the test and do you have an idea of the reason you were chosen for a crew leader instead of a census taker? Where you home when the call came.....drats I had a few calls today from "odd" places and didnt pick up because I had company and they didnt leave a message. Hope it wasnt them....

I'm in NY also, have you taken the test? I haven't called yet, I'm wondering if I missed the test or if they schedule them often.

 

[vellamint]

I'm in NY also, have you taken the test? I haven't called yet, I'm wondering if I missed the test or if they schedule them often.

I dont know if they are finished or not....I still havent heard from them. I would just call if I were you. Let us know.

 

[disney1990]

I took the test in Maryland last Friday. They said that they are continuing to give tests because they need lots of people. They said there is a high turn over because people apply for other jobs and either never work for the Census or start working for the Census and then resign because of other work.

 

[DisneeMommee]

Kycha Yes, the test is very similar to the practice test. The questions are different, but the skills are the same.

 

[lindsmom]

I just want to say thanks so much to OP and everyone on this board! I just called and got an appt. for a test this Friday (like in 2 days)! Whoo hoo! If it doesn't work out, that's okay, but I was looking at being completely jobless in June / July (maternity leave) so if I can do some extra work ahead of time and save up it will take some pressure off. Thanks again everyone! Wish me luck!

 

[Kycha]

Kycha Yes, the test is very similar to the practice test. The questions are different, but the skills are the same.

Thanks DisneeMommee! That gives me an idea of what I need to concentrate on during the test.

 

[summerrluvv]

I dont know if they are finished or not....I still havent heard from them. I would just call if I were you. Let us know.

I just called and scheduled to take the test on Sunday.

Phone: 212-356-3250 if anyone else is interested.