maintenance person

senior clinician

residential aide

maintenance crew

utility worker

Chesterfield County

This was my first “real job” so I had no complaints when I first started. Firstly, this is an essential personnel position so no holiday’s off (unless you’re already off or are able to take the day off) and you’re expected no matter the weather. You work 12 hour shifts if you’re full time and while it says 40hours per week, the week started on Saturday and ended the following Sunday (or something like that) so you’d have a good week and a “bad” week. During “bad” week you work 12 hour shifts M,Tu, F, Sat,Sun, be off on Wednesday and we worked a 5.5 hour shift every Thursday. On the good week we were off M,Tu,F, Sat,Sun, worked 12 hours that Wednesday and the 5.5 hour shift Thursday. As you can imagine the good weeks were great and the “bad” weeks could be rough. The job consisted of being sort of a “hub” for the officers, almost like a mini call center but the volume of calls varied each shift. The officers would call in after responding to their dispatched calls and give us all the info (victim, offenders,property, narratives) to input into the system. They’d also call to get info ranging from criminal history’s to researching old reports to gather info. While that was our main duty we also had many other responsibilities such as entering tickets, going over fingerprint cards, firearm checks etc. It got really interesting at times. We also accrued a good amount of time off, almost a full day per pay period. It was never really a problem getting days off (besides holidays). We did get small yearly raises and we also could go up in rank ie: records specialist to senior to master but you did have to be there 2 years or so I believe before advancing. My greatest complaint was the pay, I felt it was relatively low for a county and essential personnel position. I also wasn’t fond of the vacation selection process. Selections went by seniority which is understandable but I didn’t think it was fair that the same people could take off the same holidays year after year. I feel that it should have been rotated. I would recommend if you’re just getting into the workforce especially if you have a criminal justice background.

I worked at the county as an Emergency Communications Officer (9-1-1 dispatcher), and this is a review of that position. As an ECO you are the person they will reach out to on their worst day, and you are also the lifeline for the officers and medical providers serving citizens. Everyone I worked with at Chesterfield County and everyone I interacted with that were a part of the county (police, fire/ems, animal services, etc) were an absolute delight and embodied professionalism. Their management style is rather progressive which I absolutely enjoyed as they truly value employee input from everything between quality assurance with daily job tasks to monthly policy revisions. Upper management is incredibly involved and they all strive to make a better work environment as well as provide the best service to the citizens. The compensation could be better for what the job entails, but the benefits are very hard to beat. There is not a lot of flexibility when it comes to scheduling as there are three shifts (days, evenings, and midnights), but their paid-time-off plan as well as ability to trade time with other coworkers makes it easy to plan important events around such as vacations, weddings, trips, etc. Supervision is also extremely supportive and understanding in the event that life happens, and many coworkers will step up to fill any shortage. This is by far the most professional place I have ever worked at and I have met some of the most amazing people here. I definitely recommend this job to anyone who wants to get into public safety, law enforcement, or fire/ems. Many employees also pursue education while at work for the County, and several have finished their degrees while still working full time. That said, this job is not for everyone. It is extremely stressful, and some days will be very hard and trying. There are several support groups available for these sorts of things as well. If you're looking to be a part of something bigger than yourself, to truly give back, to do meaningful work, to make a huge impact in people's lives, and to learn amazing skills along the way, then consider a career with Chesterfield County. 

Overall I would rate the job a 4/10. The pay and hours aren't meant for adults with families and bills. Unless you have second income, working here will barely get you by with the basic necessities you need to live. The plus is you do bond with the individuals, you don't work nights and weekends. Those are truly the only benefits of working at that job. Which is great for young people that don't have families and may still live at home or with a roommate. The program is always short staffed due to the high turnover rate. Employees are overworked, overlooked and underpaid with no benefits, no sick days, no holiday pay. They don't allow you to build your PTO hours to take a vacation, forcing you to use them for every minute you may miss from your work day. Part time employees (28 hours) and Full time employees (35-37 hours). Both get 96 hours of PTO hours a year. Which equates to 3.5 weeks a year for part time employees and 2.5 weeks a year for full time employee. After having to use half of your PTO hours from being sick, taking care of children, car issues, etc. You don't have many hours left to take a much needed and deserved vacation. You would think that people that work in the Mental health field would get more time and benefits to be able tend to their own mental health. So that they are able to continue performing their best without getting burned out so quickly. 

The program would benefit from new computers, having the building thoroughly cleaned AT LEAST twice a year, new material for the individuals, updated appliances. Better pay, benefits and appreciation of employees. The people that still work their deserve so much more for the dedication and hard work they put in.

Few Projects I have Inspected 
Proctors Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant - $12,000,000 (UTILITIES)
Caustic Soda Pipe, 2" Screw Pipe, Gas Pipe, Domestic Pipe, Non Potable Pipe, 8" Sludge Pipe, 48" Sewer Force Main, 72" Non Potable Water Drain Pipe,
South West Corridor Water Line - $14,000,000 (UTILITIES) Inspected New Installation of 5,000' of 36" DI Water Pipe - Construct PRV Building of Block 12'x22' - Run electrical to Physic Hill Water tank
Bailey Bridge Road (VDOT) Inspected and Relocated 5,000' of 16" DI Water Pipe - 1,000' of 24" and 16" DI Sewer Force Main and Sewer Pressure Pipe - Observed blasting of Rock throughout the water pipe installation- Shut off water service to 846 Homes, Two Schools and one Daycare after hours with only one complaint.
Powhite Parkway - Old Hundred Road Relocation (CDOT) Inspected the relocation of 300' of 12" DI Water Pipe - 1,000' of 24" DI Sewer Force Main -  1,000' of 16" DI Sewer Force Main - 300' of 30" Steel Bore casing - 300' of 24" Steel Bore casing 
Licking Creek Gravity Sewer Pipe (Developer / County) Inspected 7,562.81' of 36" RCP Gravity Sewer pipe with 45 Pre Cast manholes
Courthouse Road from Route 288 to Hull Street Road (VDOT PROJECT) Inspected and Relocated 800' of 24" Sewer Force Main and Inspected 9,000' of 12" DI Water Pipe
Route 288 at Midlothian Turnpike (VDOT) Inspected and relocated 4,700' of 24" DI Water Pipe
Watkins Centre Mall (Developer) 4” DIP – 16” DIP – 8,000'

a typical day at work,
Working in utilities you never know what you’re gonna be doing mostly repairs to water lines 
You may come in at 730 am but you never really know when you’re going home sometimes you don’t go home til following day from working emergencies all night long not very organized to make day go smoothly 

what you believe you learned
I learned a lot of valuable skills in relation to water distribution system repairs and maintenance 
Learned supervision roles over crew 
All skills that can be used elsewhere ,
management,
Where do I begin poor attitude to sloppy work management 
Supervisor was not a tolerant person ,always upset with something and had a short temper ,had no issue treating you like a child 

workplace culture,
Culture is always changing but mostly because turnover rate is so high so many employees coming and going but in the end it was always laziness and poor morale which effects the daily work very much 
the hardest part of the job,
Dealing with ungrateful management and attitude from high ups and at times heavy work load with low staffing 
the most enjoyable part of the job
Meeting great friends and going home on time was always enjoyable 

You have to have a passion for this work. And when a storm hits and you get to be a part of it, the job is tough, but awesome. Sometimes you will hear someone's last breath and the next minute help birth a baby. Everyday is different. Training is about 6 months and challenging. You have to be a quick and independent thinker. You must be able to multitask and type while talking. You need to be compassionate, but direct with people. You are customer service with a side of saving lives. This job is underpaid and overworked. There are nationwide shortages for 911 dispatchers. You are classified as clerical. At Chesterfield, they have a lot of trouble with management. A long history of problems. They are not an employee first type of environment. I like to think one day it will be better, but it takes a long time for cultural organizational change. I wouldn't recommend for anyone who has thin skin. I wouldn't recommend for anyone who cannot work on little sleep and with constant schedule changes. You will work multiple 12 hour shift and some you won't know until the last minute. You will work a lot of holidays, 2 out of every 3 weekends, and during all weather events. Not great for people with families to care for. If you need to put food on your table, it's a good job, but you will sacrifice a lot. 

A typical work week is 8:30AM to 5:00PM Monday through Friday. A typical day starts off with answering numerous emails and voice mails from customers asking questions about their specific case (subdivision plat review) or general questions about land use regulations. The rest of the day would consist of working on cases assigned to me, attending meetings with customers, and going out in the field to perform site inspections. 

The most difficult part of the job is balancing personal opinions and thoughts with keeping a strict adherence to the county code of ordinances. It was also difficult to balance what management tells you to do with what the ordinance says should be done and what you personally think is the right thing to do.

The most enjoyable part of the job is helping people get their personal projects through the process and watching them go from paper to a built product. This ranges from someone building a deck to someone splitting a piece of property to their children to an entire neighborhood going from a wooded tract of land to a beautiful community.

I unfortunately had a part time position that I thought would lead to full time but for some reason I was not given the opportunity to advance. I also had no interaction with the public since I was the file room person. I was mislead by the organization to think I would be doing more substantial work, but I ended just passing files out for a year. I don't recommend the eligibility assistant job to anyone unless you don't really need money, don't need benefits, and love doing menial repetitive tasks. I had awesome coworkers but the management system needs to do better and more to retain them. Good workers left all the time because of them or the work. They are stuck in the old ways at the county and now change takes too long and its hard for them to keep up. Much structural improvement is needed in the organization.

Work really is enjoyable with coworkers and customers, only draw back for part time employees is benefits. The county does not pay for days they are not open during snow or other weather issues, which means you have to use your little paid vacation for it, or your pay check will be so short. Also the pay is not adequate for the work we do. It does not hurt to pay more and give a few more benefits to part time workers. After all we all have the same responsibility so why not have more benefits that would help a lot. Also it is hard for part time worker to gain full time employment. Seems like we are getting bypassed. Other than that I guess it depends what department you work for. I enjoy my department and wished I would be able to work there full time.

The office was run like a elementary school playground. Upper management seemed to enjoy keeping conflict going among his all female staff. The work was challenging as there is a fine line between being a "Deputy Clerk and practicing law." The job carried prestige but little pay. Only Circuit Court Clerks make decent money. Your ability did not determine your advancement, that determination was made by your bloodline(daughters of sheriff deputies, wives of police officers, friends of this one and that one). I would say that going in each day became a chore. 
The best part of the job was watching the legal system at work, meeting exceptional lawyers, judges, probation officers etc and watching no so great lawyers come into their own.  

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Maintenance person 27 salaries reported	$46,039 per year
Senior clinician 48 salaries reported	$80,798 per year
Residential aide 39 salaries reported	$53,337 per year
Maintenance crew 69 salaries reported	$46,858 per year
Utility worker 30 salaries reported	$53,469 per year

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