student intern

section manager

contract administrator

bus driver

fund research analyst

Orange County Transportation Authority

Working here as an Intern in the marketing dept. really was a nice stepping stone from college to my first junior positions as it gave me a the experience I needed to fill a space on my resume. I'd say that is about all OCTA does for interns and upper management seems to know this. I could tell management was tired of training interns and didn't really take them seriously. The dynamic seemed a bit counter intuitive if you ask me. 

As an intern, I did appreciate some relationships I made but I don't think I was challenged enough and I felt like management didn't care to teach me anything. There would be days where I would sit at my desk all day because they had nothing for me to do. I was told I did not speak up enough to ask for work, but the one time I did I was made to feel like a burden. It gets a little awkward feeling like you have to ask for work. 

If you do need experience I wouldn't stay longer than 6 months and go find something that is in your interest at another internship or a junior position. 

I can't speak for full timers here, but it seemed that the older millennials didn't last long and the only ones who stayed were people who stayed for the benefits and boomers in upper management.

I found OCTA to be a great place to work for a very long time.  I had a wonderful manager which I believe has very much to do with anyone's job satisfaction.  I believe this is true for most jobs so even within the same company someone could have a great experience and love their job while someone with a different manager and position within the company could have a horrible experience.  So it really does depend upon your manager and your co-workers as well as the job itself.

For me, it was a great place to work with really great co-workers, manager and I loved what I did also.  When my manager retired and another one filled his position it was ok for another 2 years but then started to change.  The environment was not good and more people had decreased job satisfaction.  Alot of this was due also to a person that was hired who was unbelievable awful to work with.  Before she was hired I never thought about retirement but after she was hired there was a definite decline in morale and I came to a decision that I would retire because she was impossible to work with.

I interned at OCTA for about 1.5yrs and was continuously told by upper management what a great asset I was to the authority. After interning and graduating from college, I was continuously (verbally)promised full time career opportunities. Time came and went and there was no movement or job postings for associate level positions. 

OCTA is comprised of around 10% millennials employees. It is internally acknowledged that there is a need for millennial employees. The internship program places hardworking, career-driven millennials into the agency that internally claims they need younger employees. The agency, in turn, willingly allows these young interns to leave after their two years is up and persue careers elsewhere. This is all because the boomers who work here are taking up space waiting out their retirements, leaving absolutely no room for growth or career advancement for interns. 

I have personally witnessed incompetent career "professionals", making 6 figures, not know how to utilize excel, microsoft office suite, simple word documents, and have even assisted in the training of these incompetent workers making 10Xs more than I did as an intern.

It is a shame that interns are not given the respect and opportunities they deserve at this authority.

I worked for OCTA for about twelve years. When I found out that they offered retirement at ten years or more, I took it because of personal reasons. However, OCTA was a great experience for me and my family. Not only did it provided me with a much needed income but my family was able to participate in picnics and other events the company held every year. I always had the satisfaction that I was helping to decrease the congestion in Orange County by helping implement its plans for this area. The roads and freeways were widen or improved and public transportation was also constantly modified based on Buses ridership needs. Traffic lights were controlled to help smooth the flow of traffic during peak times of the day. As an inspector, I also helped administered the Taxi Certification program for the county.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part about this job is that you don’t have someone breathing down your neck 24 seven also I love driving

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Management you have a policy and rule book and then you have management and supervisors rules, which do not correspond with the policy and procedure book of the company and at any time management can change anything they want it anytime they want

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
For the most part, it could be peaceful long as you stay to yourself don’t get attached to passengers don’t let passengers know your information right now I am dealing with a stalker and she has not let up for four years

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
For the most part, a typical day would be clocking in drive your bus stay neutral in all situations out there on the road and just breathe and stay calm

The typical workday includes developing plans and managing the three programs I'm in charge of, and they are Metrolink Rail, 91 Express Lanes and Motorist Services. Some of the things I do includes writing marketing plans for campaigns, brainstorm and collaborate with team members, develop strategies and partnerships, plan and implement special events to encourage Metrolink rail ridership, procure contracts and evaluate effectiveness of marketing projects. 

We have a very good team that works well together. 

The challenging part of the job is to keep others on target to meet deadlines.

The most enjoyable and rewarding part of the job is seeing the success of my programs, and increased ridership as a results of my campaigns. Also, hearing the great comments from customers.

This job is a complete 180 degree career change, but at this time in my life it is serving me well. I enjoy the people and interaction with the passengers, well I should say most of the passengers. The pay itself is not great to start, but they do pay you while they train you and if you take in to account the benefits, it really enhances the actual hourly pay. It takes 5 years to reach top pay which is just under $30.00 an hour, it is union and the benefits are excellent. If you are looking for something more, there is opportunity for growth. On a final note, they have lot's of rules that they hold you to and if you already have experience in transit, be prepared to be re-trained the OCTA way. 

Typical day at work includes responding to residents/businesses, conducting Stakeholder Working Group meetings, presenting at local community groups/HOA/chambers/city council meetings. 

At the communications/external affairs level, many of do the same amount of work at the same level of service, but are not compensated the same. I manage four freeway project, but get paid less than an ‘officer’ that performs the same job skills/service, but gets paid more than $20K than myself. Job functions are the same across the board, but pay scale/titles are not. Government is slow to promote within. 

Love building relationships within the community, flexibility of the job (flex Friday), and co-workers.

I worked for this company for 15 years. Why it took so long to leave, I need to stay to raise my daughter. This was by far the most mentally taxing job I've every had. You are constantly monitored. Management is constantly requesting to speak to you about every little thing. From leaving a stop to early to answer false complaints from passengers (when there's security camera's on board). Anything negative will need to be explained to management. Your safety isn't priority. TPS (Transit Police) takes a minimum of 45 minutes to arrive. Overall the experience has made me more aware of safety, but at the same time interacting with the public isn't something I will do anytime soon as an career.

•	Operate Agency transit and support vehicles in both revenue and no revenue service;  maintain and established schedules along a designated route, amazing ability to sit for long periods of time, be available to Agency buses on pre-assigned shifts; collect fares;  give transit information;  collect patronage and revenue data assigned;  prepare report forms;  report equipment defects or failures; and other related tasks assigned; Maintain professional, patient and courteous demeanor in all situations, continuous interactions with individuals of various backgrounds and abilities

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Student intern 24 salaries reported	$20.42 per hour
Section manager 25 salaries reported	$142,084 per year
Contract administrator 7 salaries reported	$112,949 per year
Bus driver 11 salaries reported	$32.16 per hour
Fund research analyst 2 salaries reported	$46.24 per hour

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