Anyone ever work for the US Census?

[GOOFY4DONALD]

Thanks for the info! Wow, when it rains it pours. A friend is having me work in April and May for her during the days right when this started. I'm probably crazy to do both, but I want the money for my Disney trip in June. I guess my family will have to see what it's like not having dinner made and the house clean for a few months since I'll be working 50 hours a week. Yikes.

Did your contact tell you much about address canvassing? The guy I spoke with said there was minimal contact with people at this stage but others who have posted made it seem like we would be talking with people. Just wondering. Good luck!

I was not told about how large my area is. But when I went in to take the original test they marked my application with numbers taken off of a large map, after theylocate you home address. Since I live outside the city limits, I was asked if I would be willing to go in the opposite direction of the city and hit smaller towns. I was also asked if I would have a problem going into the Houtteritte (sp?) colonies. During the phone interview I was asked if I would have problems asking personal questions so who knows how much contact there will be during this phase.

 

[mermaidwannabe]

I was not told about how large my area is. But when I went in to take the original test they marked my application with numbers taken off of a large map, after theylocate you home address. Since I live outside the city limits, I was asked if I would be willing to go in the opposite direction of the city and hit smaller towns. I was also asked if I would have a problem going into the Houtteritte (sp?) colonies. During the phone interview I was asked if I would have problems asking personal questions so who knows how much contact there will be during this phase.

Thanks for the info. I was asked that question about asking questions too so I'm sure there will be interaction with this first phase. Good luck!

 

[JohnB29]

This question for for anyone who have already started the 4-5 day training. During the training are just sitting in a room taking instructions and what not or do they tell us to go out?

 

[tar heel]

My son got called yesterday. He was already scheduled to work four of the training days, so he declined but said he was still interested. They said there was a good chance he would be called again since he was a good candidate. He's a college grad who hasn't been able to find a professional job. The job he is working pays just above minimum wage and the census job was $15+ an hour -- of course, it was only a few weeks, though.

 

[JohnB29]

Would anyone happen to know if during the 4-5 day training, if we will be going out or will the census taker be in a class just learning about the proper way of doing census?

 

[Dizneydaz]

I don't know yet, but I'll know next week. I know that the first day is taken up with paperwork and GPS stuff. Don't know about days 2-5 yet.

 

[shadowcx1]

I took the test in January and got 27 out of 28. Then I finally got a job offer in early March. I was told the training starts on the 30th and I would have to bring my own check cause they are doing direct deposit. The lady on the phone also told me they will give me a follow up call later regarding the training location. I was so happy I thought I was hired. But it is now 26th and I haven't heard a word from them since.

Dizneydaz, I also live in So Cal(Downtown LA), when did you receive your follow up call?

 

[ZeroToHero]

Hey everyone - I have great news! The census called my boyfriend back, and this time he accepted! He has to move one of his college finals for the training days.... and they called him on the bus, so he couldn't hear very well... and then the call cut out at the very end, but hey - he got it. I'm so happy!
Disney, here we come!

 

[disneymarie]

Hey everyone - I have great news! The census called my boyfriend back, and this time he accepted! He has to move one of his college finals for the training days.... and they called him on the bus, so he couldn't hear very well... and then the call cut out at the very end, but hey - he got it. I'm so happy!
Disney, here we come!

Wonderful, I am so glad for you two and the funds for the trip

 

[windycitymom]

I just finished four days of training (30 hours total). We can stay home tomorrow, though I was told they will pay us for studying at home (you just can't go over 40 hours). We will start either Mon. or Tues. with actual address canvassing.

We are in Phase 1 right now which should last until June 1, and was told they expect to hire alot more people for Phase II which starts in August. I'm not sure if we will be let go after our 8 weeks, or if they will keep us on or rehire us again in August??

 

[JohnB29]

windycitymom: So we just study inside? What are the stuff do they cover in training? So we dont actually go out and meet people until or training is over?

 

[windycitymom]

windycitymom: So we just study inside? What are the stuff do they cover in training? So we dont actually go out and meet people until or training is over?

The HHC (hand-held computer) has computer based training in it, so you don't need to go outside to practice. We wanted to go outside for some live training, but was told there were some issues with some HHCs so we shouldn't. We'd like to practice outside in pairs before going solo on our own - we may be able to do that on Monday. We did go outside to see how the "gps" works. You go over lots of stuff!! I will never look at homes the same way again Actually, we don't interview people at this point in time - we are only mapping addresses so people can go back their later with the actual census info. We may have to question some people, but only if necessary. I enjoyed the training - we had a good group of people.

 

[JohnB29]

windycitymom: So we are basically inside for the training...right? So there is no way for the first 2days of us going outside? When you said test the GPS outside..what do you mean by that? How far did you get to test them? Thank you for your help and information.

 

[shadowcx1]

Am I actually hired by the census or what? I don't even know anymore. From the phone interview it sounded like I was going to the training, but they never told me the exact location.

 

[dsnymom2003]

Good morning all! I am a Crew Leader in my section of the world. We are now in our 2nd of week of training. 1st week was to teach us the Hand Held Computer and this week as been to train our assistants. Next week we will train our Listers. We have had four days of indoor classroom training with a whole stack of books and workbooks. Today we will take our assistants out and let them get actual field experience with the Hand Held Computers. I am surprised that some of said they don't get to go out into the field. I wonder how your instructor expects you to lean how to use the HHC without using it. Training mode won't teach how to map spot because your GPS isn't active in it! Hands on training is always best! They expect the Lister training to last four days in classroom and the one day in the field. The job is good and the pay is not bad. Mileage tends to really add up for each paycheck. I made $154 just in mileage last week 280 miles x .55 a mile, and that part is non taxable! I spent around $25 in actual gas for the week. I can try to answer any questions if you would like to PM me.

 

[DisneeMommee]

As you can see, things vary all over the country. What is happening in one area - isn't happening in another. I just finished a week of training (crew leader assistant) - we have today off (No study at home paid time for us. We can study, but nothing extra is paid.) Remember this is phase 1 of the Census. My understanding is that during this phase, we are verifying addresses or places people can live so that the actual census forms can be mailed. The poeple doing this work are called listers. In our area this is a 6 week process, after the week of training. Remember that most people who are working this census are new to the job. We had a few supervisors who worked the last census and it seems that they do move you up as you get experience. Anyone getting in now at phase 1 has an advantage. If you do a good job, it is more likely that they will call you for additional phases. The work will be off and on for about 2 years. There are many more phases and they will continue calling and training people during all the phases. They are on a set time schedule and are doing everything they can to stick to it.

For everyone heading to training next week - training covers a lot of things in a very short time. It really helps if the class goes through everything together. So, don't try to work ahead and try not to fall behind (and hope you are blessed with a good instructor). You really need to stay on task and pay attention. There was a test at the end - it wasn't very difficult, but you need to pass it to keep your job. We did work one of the areas in our territory for training. It wasn't difficult. We did need to knock on every door. They did say the hours would be very flexible, and they are, to a certain point. We were advised not to start before 10 A.M. and to finish before dark. They have set goals for us to reach and you are going to have to really work quickly to meet them. You must work 20 hours a week but not over 40.

Hopefully that helps a bit. If you haven't received a call yet, don't give up hope, there are more people to be hired. Not every part of the country is doing things at the exact same time. Goodluck.

 

[quinnyboo]

hi, i am a census hiree, from alabama. My training starts april 3, i got my second call from the census yesterday to see if i still was interested, i reply to her "of course". The only dilemna is they haven't given me my training location yet. this forum has been realy helpful

 

[Dizneydaz]

Thanks for the info dsnymom2003 and DisneeMommee. That helps a lot. I would love to stay on after first phase. I took the test too late to be anything but an enumerator but at least I got that!

I'm looking forward to starting training next week. It's been a long time since I've had a 8-5 schedule. Luckily for me my DM and DSis' can help with DD9's schedule.

 

[quinnyboo]

Well someonE call today, gave me my location and a detailed rough draft as to the attire for training and what I should bring to training..

 

[Gwiz]

I did my first training this past Thursday and it was a lot of paperwork,fingerprinting and a lot of legal stuff. I was schedule to from 9 -6 but we got done at around 3:30 and only got credit that. At the end of the day, they gave us a bag full of resources that I would have to go over it this weekend. It's a bit overwhelming and you can easily get lost. Fortunately, I like my crew leader, he has a pretty good attitude despite the fact that he had no assistant that day and wanted me to carry like 20 boxes of papers up 3 flights of stairs. I had no choice but to say yes, I can't say no on the first day.