counsel

manager

director

project manager

police officer

City of Boston

A typical day for me meant arriving on time, and being ready for incoming walk-in customers and telephone calls, plus expectations of being flexile enough to take any duty given to you and work them in the same day with or at least within some given period of time. The management style within our department could vary  between the 4 managers in the department, and that in itself could cause lots of confusion. The department's work culture often depended on the people's mood/morale at the time. Often it was very noticeably clique controlled by the various groups. The hardest parts of the job was the ever-changing work demands EACH with its OWN priority, but NOT necessarily being MORE of a priority than the one you were given previously, and not enough staff to get some of the work done that needed to be done,. The more enjoyable parts of the job was getting to help the customers as they would have their own distress and needed help when they came OR called into the department. Also being able to spend a little time together with some of the non-clique fellow workers. Since I came in with 25+ years of customer service, the things that I feel that I learned well were the company systems that I used to do my job, and how we interacted with the other departments that all led up to a customer's satisfaction

A typical day at work involves finding your own direction as management consists mostly of incompetent sycophants whose primary focus is to make the mayor (or one of his friends or family, ie dept. head) look good. Their direction is a closely held secret,as is their intent.  Your direction, therefore, is not likely to garner any appreciation (much less praise), unless of course you are amongst the aforementioned friends and/or family. Executive and Middle management consist largely of apple-polishers, some of whom lack even the most basic curriculum vitae for the position they hold. Therefore any serious learning/training, career advancement, job fulfillment for staff is non-existent. They offer in-house certification courses that lack CEUs and DO NOT OFFER any serious tuition reimbursement program. Though they do provide $1,000 towards a degree program, once approved, there is a limited (unknown) number of "scholarship" recipients. Job security is provided via collective bargaining agreements, a boon to all, friends, family and rube alike. The result is a workplace that is political twice over; Mayoral AND typical office politic. (Hold signs or kiss up or both)
An though the atmosphere is generally congenital, if you're considering a position here, understand, it is the dead-EST of dead end jobs.

If you enjoy working in a community setting, then this is very ideal. A typical day at work consist of many different scenarios. One day, you may work the front desk, the next, assist with cleaning. In-between it all, you are called upon to share your skills with the youth and adults. For example, if you are  a basketball player, you can show them your knowledge for the sport. If you can draw, you can sit and illustrate with the kids (like I did when I worked at BCYF).

I learned a lot from the job. When I first worked there, I was shy, and did not know how to approach/assist people. By the time I left, I was very comfortable engaging patrons. Now, because of my training there, I can give radio interviews when I'm asked to appear as a guest... without being nervous. 

Management was great! Personable and  fair. It made you want to excel in  your task.

The culture is a fun, multi-cultural environment. I made a lot of friends there.

The hardest part was leaving. If I could do it over, I would have stayed... however, if I was asked to come back, I would. I would look forward to sharing my career with the kids.

Most enjoyable was just being there. Oh, sure, there were some hard days... some stressful days, but that's life in general. No matter where you work, rest, or play, not everyday is going to run smoothly.  But that was very few and far between. The staff--from supervisor to co-worker--made the work day fantastic.

16 years of accounting, billing, and bookkeeping experience Knowledge in Contract Management, Polices & Procedures, Bank Reconciliations, Journal Entries & Month Closing, Company Credit Cards, Monthly Statements    
	Reconciled accounts receivables, payable, and collection accounts 	Assisted with preparation of monthly, quarterly, annual reports 	Processed over check runs weekly of $375,000 
	Handled financials for monthly travel for staff
Tracked receipts of contracts with the local Housing Authority (HUD) and     
       Federal subsidies
Authorized cash payments Monitored accounts receivable and payable for 1,000+ Housing Units
Monitored 1000+ units of affordable housing and commercial 
Created and bounded policy books Compared and validated data using Excel, PowerPoint and paper copies  managed inventory and mail system, operated a multi-line phone system
Prepared presentations for prospective clients
Entered accounts payable transactions into financial spreadsheets 
Created the Training Manuel used to train vendors and staff on State and Federal Regulations
Prepared federal and state audit's for the department of human services Budgeted all incoming and outgoing funds

What is the best part of working at the company?
Time off (if your manager allows it)

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Toxic management, people who got their management positions just from being with the city for so long. Not very strong and positive leadership within my department.

No sense of team or camaraderie from my department (again this trickles down from leadership).

You’re just a number to the city. You don’t get a sense of community within your job - something the city preaches: community.

 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Toxic. Most of my days are spent making sure my director of operations is happy. My workday depends on both of the bosses emotional feelings that morning. That dictates how the day will go. 

No celebrations or appreciations held for employees. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Walk into work by 8:15. If you are even 3 minutes late, you will be penalized. Not much socializing within the office. Take a 15 minute break, sit at the computer until lunchtime at 1PM (and you can’t switch your lunch, your designated time given by your manager is what you must abide by), sit back at my office until 4:15PM.

Wow I love being a bus monitor working with Boston Public School's students of all age group and special needs. I try planning my work schedule based on what is going on with my kids in school or their to develop their social or educational interest asking about school, homework and even taking time to ask if they enjoyed lunch time. The Principals, Coordinators and other staff recognized my passion, motivation, energetic attitude when welcoming the students from school or when unloading. The hardest part of my job was not being able to make to interact with more than the students assigned and the most enjoyable parts are when my student sees me in or out of the working environment how happy they are to meet and greet me and even introduce me to their parents, they always ask how was my day,night, grand kids and even my cat I embarrass each student with an open mind to understand their individual needs. I enjoyed making a difference in a students discipline, attitude and behavior.

The people in payroll may not meet your request or even call you back. If you are a paraprofessional you do not get any benefits like food stamps for the summer even though you're not working. There are opportunities to work over the summer. You do not get the paid parental leave if you have your child because BPS did not sign on to it (i don't understand how thats even possible bc its a LAW but ok I guess). Typical day is just assisting the teacher I am hired to work with which may include children with behavioral issues. I like what I do because I love working with children and the hours are better than 9-5. The pay is decent also because my bachelors.

Interning at the City of Boston Elections Department was an excellent summer opportunity for me to engage in the Public Service with a local government. The work requires that you travel door-to-door by foot to list citizens for the city's census, however, the Elections Department provides transportation to each of the neighborhoods.  Most residents will cooperate with respect and patience. 

Through the internship, I developed better communication skills out of the necessity to interact with numerous people. I also got a deeper understanding of the voting process in the city of Boston. I also learned from my peers that after you work with them for your first summer, you can receive a promotion and be a supervisor the next summer. After your second summer, you can work in the Elections Department's office at city hall.

The permit office is constantly busy with constituents from all walks of life -- we like to say that, eventually, we see every resident of Boston in our office.

The work takes excellent character judgment and communication skills:  when speaking to a customer, we have to be not only direct and accurate, but patient and polite.  All the coworkers band together to tackle difficult or formidable projects.

It can be very taxing to serve aggressive or abusive customers, but I take great satisfaction in keeping my wits about me, regardless of what the day may bring.

We have a great boss on whom we rely for guidance and fair criticism; we enjoy working for her.

I've learned that everyone has a story, and that although everyone responds differently to adverse circumstances, most will respect a calm voice of reason communicating honestly.

everybody is very team oriented attentive to details for daily routines,
management is very professional in explaining what they want from us out there in the streets when were working .co workers no issues with them everybody has different skills and attributes but easy place to work, hardest part of the job is you have to have a certain skill to approach this type of population working with high risk proven risk gang members not just anybody can work with this population the toughest challenge is trust and people getting second chances .the most enjoyable part is when you can help somebody believe that they can do it and give them hope to change there life then they actually succeed in doing that's the most rewarding for me.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Counsel 1 salary reported	$131,665 per year
Manager 3 salaries reported	$82,333 per year
Director 7 salaries reported	$100,714 per year
Project manager 3 salaries reported	$79,000 per year
Police officer 6 salaries reported	$93,333 per year

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