Census is hiring for temp jobs

[Dulcinea]

In case anyone out there missed it:

For information: 866-861-2010

http://2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/

[fasttense]

1. Thanks for the link.

I checked it out. The only position they have open in my area is a part time job making $500 a month, $6,000 a year. That's half of what you can get on unemployment.

They could have turned the program into a jobs program, if they paid a living wage.

[Obamanaut]

2. This would be fine for someone seeking part time work. Those

people do exist.

[glen123098]

3. I'm looking for part time employment.

I'm a student and I think full time would be a bit too much.

[Obamanaut]

4. I have a grandson in college who works part time. Good on you both. nt

[distantearlywarning]

13. In my city, they wouldn't let us work part-time.

We were able to set our own hours, but it was made clear that anyone who didn't work at least 38 hours a week would be fired.

[azurnoir]

5. Hmmm could be an interesting job

it's just I keep hearing this voice saying "fava beans and a nice Chianti"

[DefenseLawyer]

6. I worked for the census in college way back when

It was my job to go door to door in a rural part of Indiana to all the households that were either too dumb or, in most cases too belligerent to mail in the form. In was an interesting experience. A good way to get out among the people.

[pinto]

7. Kick

:kick:

[nc4bo]

8. Ayup. Took the test about 2 weeks ago - not sure if I should take it again or not.

I thought my score sucked rocks but the testing dude seemed pretty upbeat about it.

[peekaloo]

9. Did they tell you your actual score (right/wrong) or pass/fail?

I ask because here in Floriduh we weren't allowed :eyes: to know what we got wrong only if it was a pass/fail. The bar was pretty low, too, since you only needed to get 10 out of 28 correct. :dunce:

Thanks. :-)

[nc4bo]

10. Yes - we had to wait about 1/2 hour but we got them.

I managed to get 21 out of 28 but keep reading online that folks are aceing it. I feel dumb.

I haven't taken a test in about 25 years :S.

ETA: He made sure we couldn't see which ones we got wrong. It would have been nice if he did ;)

[Habibi]

11. Me, too! (Feel dumb, that is.)

I missed 4 on the test and haven't heard dick from them as to whether I'm going to be hired or not. Not that I'm crazy about going door to door but something's gotta give here, income-wise.

[peekaloo]

22. We were told the big hiring starts in February.

or at least that's when we would be called/interviewed.

Good luck. :-)

[XemaSab]

18. You can always take it again

:D

[nc4bo]

24. Gonna take it again this evening. :) nt

[nc4bo]

27. Well - guess I'm one of teh stoopid cause I only got 2 more right..

I'm done with this for now and will let God and Aunt Esther decide whether that's good enough to get a call - or not.

Again - not sure how well my testing peers are doing on these tests but the tester said I did great. :S

Could be one of the benefits of living in the south, eh?

[distantearlywarning]

12. I worked for the census last summer, on a school break.

The job itself was generally pretty fun (aside from canvassing a few scary neighborhoods), but they were totally disorganized in terms of training and my direct supervisor was a horrible, immature moron. In addition, they deliberately cut off and obfuscated methods of escalation for employee problems (as a rule of the census bureau), so nobody in my group was even able to complain about her to anyone. I think there was some strange kind of nepotism going on too somewhere - 10 people in my cohort had advanced degrees and some had worked for the census before, but they gave the supervisor job to a 19-year-old HS graduate whose only previous job had been McDonalds. :wtf:

I got a card in the mail last month inviting me to work again this year, but I was back in school and couldn't do it. I would have had to think hard about doing it again even if I wasn't in school. Loved the pay, liked the work, but I don't know if I would want to deal with the bureacracy again. Maybe if I *were* the supervisor instead of having to take my chances with whatever idiot happened to be sleeping with a VIP again. There were many other problems, like not having enough training materials, unclear procedures for whom the employee was completely responsible in terms of blame if things weren't done correctly, etc.

This isn't simply some sort of bitterness due to poor performance on my part either - I was never downchecked during my employment, and like I said, I was invited back for this year's work. It's just that aspects of the experience just kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. :-(

But it would definitely be a good job if you were really in need of money, or wanted to exercise in the sunshine on the government's dime (best part of the job, IMO). I would do it again (take my chances with the idiots) if I were unemployed and my benefits had run out.

[doc03]

14. There was a poll in our local paper a few days

ago asking if you would answer the census questions. There was around 25% of the people that said no they did not trust the gov'ment. It seems like whatever any poll is about there is always that same nutty 25% that thought GWB was a great President. I don't want to go knock on one of those goofballs doors unarmed.

[distantearlywarning]

15. I met a few of those last summer!

Nobody seemed dangerous, just ridiculously stupid. :-)

[gkhouston]

17. how did you deal with the stupid/crazy/angry people?

I took the test last year and passed, but every time they called and said a training session was being held, I had a schedule conflict. That's not the case this year, so I'm thinking of calling them and telling them I'm available. I'd welcome any tips for how to deal with difficult non-responders.

[distantearlywarning]

21. Dealing with the crazies

I generally smiled politely, removed myself from the property as requested, and then went out to the sidewalk and finished my work there. This placated them, because most of them were stupid enough to think that just because I wasn't standing on their front porch I couldn't take down their house number or manually put a GPS spot on their door. I had one moran ask me if I was with ACORN. I just rolled my eyes and went out to the sidewalk while he eyeballed me suspiciously the whole time.

I once had a guy stop me on the street and ask me "how do you count the Mexicans and the Blacks, because you know they all live 10 to an apartment?" I told that guy that the census hadn't taught me to do that yet and extricated myself from the conversation ASAP.

I only had one really hostile encounter with a homeowner, and he wasn't a right-wing nutjob. It was in a really horrendously bad neighborhood and the guy freaked out about finding strangers on his property and threatened to set his dogs on us. I suspect some interesting paranoia-inducing drugs were involved in that incident.

Actually, the biggest problem I had in general was the dogs, rather than the people. I had at least 10 incidents involving a hostile dog, although luckily I was never bitten. The closest I came to getting bitten was in a long front yard with no "Beware of Dog" sign, and an extremely cantankerous Chihuahua who decided to wait until I got all the way to the front door to ambush me from his hiding spot. I had to dance around his ankle nips for about a minute before the owner finally came out. The small dogs were definitely much bigger problems in general than the bigger dogs, with the exception of Rottweilers, for some reason.

I suggest that any census worker carry some dog biscuits in their bag. They could turn a hostile dog into a friendly dog if you really get into trouble.

[gkhouston]

23. Thanks for the advice. I know what you mean about smaller dogs. I encounter

that, just walking around my neighborhood. Dog biscuits sounds like a good idea.

[Dulcinea]

16. kick

:kick:

[csziggy]

19. I took the test back in November- they said they would be calling in Feb or Mar

And that most of the positions would be about 30 hours a week, but the pay per hour is higher than normal for this area. That would be fine for me. I need something to put on my resume other than my experience of running my own farm for thirty years. A "normal" job even if temporary might give me entry into something more regular.

I hope they call soon!

[proteus_lives]

20. I got one!

I can't wait for it to start!

[nc4bo]

25. If any of you cavassed during election season, you can surely do the census.

Think about it! It's only 10 questions you have to ask! If I had a dollar for every door I knocked on that housed people who WEREN'T Democratically inclined, I'd be a rich woman!

I ran into a lot of undecideds and Indies on my address lists, even had a few homes with Repuke stickers and signs on the door, I knocked anyways with a smile on my face }( .

Go for it!

[Dulcinea]

26. kick

:kick:

[nc4bo]

28. I think some areas are gonna have a personnel shortage....

:hi: