administrative assistant

planner

library assistant

direct care worker

customer service representative

Loudoun County, VA

JOB WORK/LIFE BALANCE:  You work 12 hour days (very long).  At the jail & on patrol you report to work at 0545 leave at 1800 OR 1800 to 0545.  Always tired.  Two shifts of 25 deputies each (patrol a lot less deputies). You will work 5 days one week and 2 days the next.  Everybody lives for the 2 day week.  Some like it, some don't.  Understaffed at all times.  Plenty of overtime available because of the staffing problems.  You work 14 days a month.

COMPENSATION/BENEFITS: Usual government bennies.  Great.  You will NOT get holidays off.  If you are scheduled to work you will work.  If you are scheduled off you will be off.  They will pay you for your holidays though.  When you are hired you are led to believe you will receive 11.5 holidays per year.  NOT TRUE.  The only deputies that actually get the holidays off  are command staff, court deputies & civil process deputies, all others have to request off with the use of annual leave (good luck).  

JOB SECURITY/ADVANCEMENT: Job security, yes. This agency constantly hires people.  They are always short staffed and can never seem to retain deputies (????) why.  Advancement, maybe. Politics as usual.

MANAGEMENT:  Terrible.  The supervisors that are assigned at the jail do not want to be there.  They are placed there by the Sheriff.  They are patrol deputies at the end of their careers and not jail deputies.  There is a difference and it shows.  Most have an extremely hard time making decisions on their own & do not understand jail ops.  There are a few good supervisors but they face difficulty in changing policy that needs changed.  Patrol deputies express frustration with the field supervisors as well.  Line staff are not trusted to make sound decisions.

JOB CULTURE: We are law enforcement officers. Enough said.

Line staff are pretty tight knit group, however,  deputies are retained (because of staffing problems) that have no business being in a uniform.  Few deputies are dismissed from employment for incompetence.  I personally like being a LEO, however, this particular agency is not very well managed.  In the beginning it will seem that it is great, however, with tenure, as you discover the real inner workings of this agency it will leave a little to be desired.  Your mileage may vary.  If you work at the courts or civil process your life is much more normal and the management appears to be better in those areas.  Deputies constantly leave this agency for the 3 agencies to the east of Loudoun.  More money, better supervision and more opportunities seem to be the motivation.  Good agency to "get your foot in the door" but there are better,  more trusting agencies that would relish your service to the public.  Very nice people work here.  Very friendly.  They simply will not trust you to make sound decisions as a certified LEO.  Moral in this agency is not very good.

Most other sheriff's offices main duties are Jail/Court security, civil process & inmate transport with patrol being in support of the local police departments.  This agency seems to have things turned around backwards with patrol being the main focus and the other divisions being secondary to that.

During the last few years of my mother's life she became blinded by wet macular degeneration, as well as very disabled by arthritis and, thus required significant assistance in her ADLs. She also had heart disease, with frequent chest pain and shortness of breath. 

My brothers and I chose to have me do it rather than have her placed in an assisted living facility, knowing she would fare better at home than elsewhere.

Although we did eventually have CNA assistance, as well as Hospice help, I was in charge of her everyday care, including all household management and bill paying. I did all of our cooking and all of her shopping; all of her correspondence. Eventually, I was able to start part time in the Loudoun Public Schools when I had help with her care.

I'm sure that anyone who does this for a parent finds it trying, and I am no exception, but I must say that I am very glad to have had the time to spend with her during this last chapter of her life. She mostly needed a lot of companionship and someone to talk to. Since I knew all of her friends and old stories, I was a good one to be her confiding "ear".  

The hardest part of the job was the day after day boredom, and listening to the same stories day after day, I suppose. Also, trying to be so patient when I felt so impatient. I had to work very hard at this, but I knew it would be worth it, so was able to manage.

The most enjoyable part was that my husband and I moved into her large home (the one I grew up in) and saved a lot of money over those months and years. We knew it wasn't forever, and since she had always been such a well loved person to so many, it really was nice to be able to give back to her. She had been a really wonderful grandmother to my children, and they loved her dearly.  When she died, I was truly happy that I had done this for her. It was all so worth it!

The good things:
I absolutely love teenagers and feel I was put on this Earth to help the less fortunate ones.  This is the reason I loved this job and continue to push myself in this challenging field.  This was the first job I'd had that I absolutely loved going to.  The interactions with the youth wasn't always happy and calm but honestly, I preferred the behavioral outbursts; something could always be learned from those moments.  Unless you have a true passion for this kind of work, I can see how some might begin to feel drained, over worked, unappreciated, or used by the kids.  But those three or four children that either come back to the facility or call to let you know how good they're doing (and they accredit their successes to YOU) make all those other chaotic days completely worth it.

The bad things:
The management here is HORRIBLE.  The Program Director I worked under created a front-office clique that participated in 3-hour off-campus lunch dates, complete with shopping and playing dress up in their offices.  (I wish I was kidding.) 

In the four years I worked there, I never saw the Program Coordinator coordinate ANYTHING.  In fact, the only thing I ever saw him do was hover over all the staff and micromanage.  

There are so many negative things I experienced, not just at this facility, but with this entire company.  This is a very small company that only has about a dozen programs along the East Coast.  Everybody knows everybody else...all the way up to the corporate office.  They SAY they have an open-door policy...sadly, it's not true.  If you care about your personal dignity, respect yourself, feel the need to stand up for yourself when you feel you've been mistreated, or have a desire to further your career in this field, this is NOT the place for you.

Unfortunately management styles and tactics and a serious disconnect with the men and women "on the ground" created an extremely high rate of turnover and a very negative moral like I have never seen and have driven many excellent employees myself included to leave, and give to up what I have always wanted and almost have to have to survive and live a good and fruitful lifestyle, in seek of a better quality of life. Great jobs, great benefits, but the management tactics in place need reworked to care for their employees more, and allow for a more personal feel instead of just being a "number" so to speak. The work has to be done but it doesn't have to involve so much unnecessary negativity and revolve around the "glass half empty" motto. I built my life around my career and was morally forced to leave for my own mental health couldn't stand watching any more turn and watch how the focus was always on the bad never the good and hard work was not often enough recognized as simple mistakes or errors.I want to get back in but with a different division or department, I dont think there is any one person at fault but do believe that the issues have lingered and been in place for too long and I fear that they may not be able to be reversed. People have brought issues to light only for them to be brushed back under the rug, but instead if they were heard and taken seriously so many good people would still be there, myself included, or even re apply and return to the workforce.

Up until about a month ago I genuinely loved my job.  But sweeping changes under new management without any clear direction or standards has left many of us seeking employment elsewhere.  We have been advised that we have not been giving adequate customer service without any evidence or data and therefore vague and unclear new "standards" have been put in place (but supervisors apparently are immune to the new standards). Supervisors rarely respond to emails but I know it works when they reach out for coverage for tasks or cases.  We are understaffed and have been for months with no clear end in sight.  More and more duties and responsibilities are being heaped on our already high caseloads and seemingly with no appreciation from management.  We have been repeatedly talked to in a condescending manner and essentially accused of not being empathetic or compassionate for our clients' needs.  When we have inquired about the policy for employee safety when seeing clients face to face we were told there is no SOP in place but people are generally good people so we essentially should not worry about our safety.  We are currently allowed to telework twice a week after one year of employment but we have the feeling that is about to be taken away.  I loved the job but management is severely lacking at all levels.  I am applying for the exact same position in other counties and am willing to take a pay cut if offered a position.

Loudoun County expects you to do the job of 5 people in a regular 8 hour day. The job you are hired for is only one facet of the job you will actually be doing. You are expected to be on the phone the entire day with customer's and still get a multitude of other tasks done. From emails, payments, mail sorting, correspondence, scanning, copying, faxing, and bookkeeping. You are not allowed to be in the office after public hours when the phones are off so you can't finish your work for the day to be able to start fresh the next day. The parking garage is overcrowded and only has one extremely slow elevator that isn't worth waiting for and is not connected to the government building so you have to walk through the courtyard rain or shine. Management is a mess. Nobody knows exactly who's responsibility somethings are and they throw you in the deep end and give you a lot of responsibility but then nitpick everything you do after the fact saying it wasn't done exactly right. Getting time off is a hassle even when you've earned paid time off or sick leave they often deny it because someone else is out of the office or it's to close to deadline. Even for doctors visits and emergencies with family members. I enjoyed working in downtown Leesburg with lots things to do on lunch and after work. I also enjoyed the pay scale.

I have been with LCMH for years and have watched it change from a caring family to a place that talks the talk of client care, but doesn't understand that in order for therapists to provide good care they need to feel cared for and about.   Your life needs are not considered here.  The program comes first, then management, then the client and somewhere way down the list are the clinicians.    Dirty cramped quarters are a metaphor for how management values you.  There are few training opportunities, little room for advancement and negative and punitive management styles.  Pay raises are small (2-3%) and there have been years when we got no advance. Other local counties pay better. Plenty of work hours and no overtime or even overnight differential pay.  
Management doesn't understand the concept of clinical supervision and it doesn't happen regularly because they don't value it.   Even our unlicensed people are struggling to get hours.  People are quitting and management makes excuses for each defection, refusing to recognize a pattern of people being driven away.   Keep looking, this place is a hot mess.

The job is taxing not only on my personal life, but my social life as well. There are no free weekends when you work over night and there is no guarantee that when you ask for leave that you will get it. The facility operates 365/24/7. It's great for those who enjoy shift work, I personally do not. Hardest part is making sure I've had enough sleep the day of my shift so that I can make it through the shift and make it home, 45 minute commute. Best part, is the kids, although I hardly see them, so I can't say for certain it's the best part. The people that work here are decent, but could be better, some do it just for the pat check and some do it because they enjoy it. Management is difficult at times and a lot of people micro-manage. There is also a lack of communication. I've learned, although I thought this was my dream job, it really is not.

The typical day consists of checking in residents, doing chores and homework, distributing medications, meal preparations, and preparing for days end and the following days beginning. I enjoyed working with the residents and helping with their daily routines. Most of the co-workers are very nice people and have the same goals as I did. The hardest part of the position is staying awake at night when you have no one to relief you. The most enjoyable time I had was when the residents were there and active. I learned safety techniques to protect myself and the other residents in case of an incident. This was training that would follow me through the rest of my life and will help me should I find myself in a compromising position. The management was great at first but was somewhat biased when it came to employees.

I answered "no" or "3" on some questions as they did  not pertain to me and I had to way to answer seeing that I am not a caregiver and or was never on maternity or paternity leave. I have seen other individuals utilize that leave but I personally have no experience.

For my first step into government it is very different from the private sector. 
My leadership encourages growth and expansion of knowledge. 

The benefits are amazing.
The hours 8:30-5pm is very hard to get used to. After almost 2 years I still find it difficult to work less than 40+ hours. LC encourages me to not work additional hours but by dedication level is something I am proud of and will not change.


Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Administrative assistant 14 salaries reported	$63,199 per year
Planner 16 salaries reported	$99,592 per year
Library assistant 11 salaries reported	$30.61 per hour
Direct care worker 2 salaries reported	$16.50 per hour
Customer service representative 9 salaries reported	$54,292 per year

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