examiner

registered nurse

environmental specialist

planner

senior developer

Orange County, FL

I decided to go back to school bus driving after trying on a different career that didn't work out, and realized how much I forgot my love for the job. Despite the early morning hours and not being a morning person, I powered through getting up early to do what I loved.

My day started with a pretrip inspection of my bus to make sure everything was safe and working properly, then picking up my students and taking them to school, and home again in the afternoon. The route I had one year was a long one, many of the kids were on the bus over 45 minutes, so I was always on the lookout for travel games, small marker boards, and books so the kids could have something to do on their ride. I had to get creative with storage of these items because of department of education, department of transportation, and school district rules.

Though the job itself was stressful (78 to 80 kids by yourself), the workplace was relaxed. The managers were great at solving problems quickly, answering any questions I had, and guiding me through the bureaucratic processes of the district. I never felt lost, even as a new employee.

The hardest part of my job, which was also the most rewarding was building a strong rapport with my students, parents, and the school staff. I used my communication skills to make sure everyone's needs were met and did what I could to help out families beyond my duties as a bus driver. I continued to keep myself up to date on laws and regulations regarding not only school transportation, but the school systems itself, particularly special education rules and laws. I would use that knowledge to defend parents when they had problems with the school and direct them to the appropriate resources if necessary.

I continued to learn through online lessons and workshops as well as district mandated education to keep my skills fresh and up to date, focusing mainly on special education needs. Those skills helped me to better communicate with special needs children and to set up behavior management methods specific to different needs. I also learned some sign language so I could communicate with deaf children should an emergency arise.

Working as a school bus driver has helped me to strengthen my emotional self, to stay calm and take control of my group in the midst of a crisis. Through communicating with teachers and parents, I have built a tool box of many different positive disciplinary methods.

The first thing I did in the morning was turn on my computer and check my e-mails, then I would listen to the messages on the answering machine on phone. Then I would proceed to turn on the radio and check for it to be on the correct channel to be able to connect with dispatch. I would then check the documents in the basket on my desk which I would leave there for the drivers and monitors to put papers they are supposed to turn in daily. I then classified them, put them into the corresponding envelopes, and put them in the internal courier before the person in charge left the building to go to other compounds. Between all of this if I received calls I answered the phone, if some drivers or monitors came into the office I would help them with anything they need, calls coming from dispatch and front desk would be transferred to me if they need information from one of my schools, buses, drivers or students. Constantly I receiving e-mails from my manager and routing department with the changes and updates constantly being made. I was the person who was in charge of printing, filing, and making sure this information got to the correct driver. We created a system to get these documents to our employees on time and in a secure manner, also to choose team leaders who would park in the compound where our office was located to help keep track of other drivers' paperwork between the office and all of the drivers. Many times we would have projects were we would need to provide information to the county. Information we needed to verify, collect and complete using the system. My co-workers and I worked well together and were able to execute projects well as a team. The hardest part of the job was re-assigning, combining, and covering routes when drivers weren't there or there were other issues. Regardless of any though, I loved my job.

•	Typical work day:
A.	Conduct inspections before and after work performed by the trades man and contractors
B.	Walk through new and renovated building projects and generated punch list to the contractor for corrections needed 
C.	Create work order request to trades man 
D.	Attend meetings to help coordinate and monitor large projects by contractors
E.	Make decisions to schedule the day to day activity of preventative maintenance team
F.	Write warranty request to address latent defects on projects
G.	Create material request to order material and equipment needed for minor projects
H.	Maintain inventory of used equipment salvaged from buildings designated for demolition 
•	What I learned over the course of my employment at OCPS:
A.	Use of Business Systems Platforms Such as SAP to check team member activity, progress and create work order requests
B.	Communication within and across departments 
C.	Organizing daily activities on spreadsheet 
•	Management levels:
	Vertical organizational structure:
I.	General Manager
II.	Sr. Supervisor 
III.	Supervisor 
IV.	Trades Technician 2 Administrative
V.	Trades Technician 1 Administrative (My position)
•	Co-workers:
	The operations and maintenance department is comprised of skill trades man ranging from the following:
I.	Energy management  (field and remote)
II.	HVAC Mechanics
III.	Communication technician (safety and fire prevention)
IV.	Electricians 
V.	Carpenters
VI.	Masonry 
VII.	Boiler technicians
•	Difficulties in job: 
Managing limited resources due to low level of funding relative to the cost of projects which need to be completed
•	Most enjoyable part of my job:
1.	I have the leeway to schedule the work that I need to perform from day to day
2.	I have the privilege of playing a role in deciding how to best undertake projects and organizing the written procedure for the tasks performed by trades man.

OCPS was  a rewarding and satisfying career. It is the 10th largest school district in the US with approximately 200 schools. 

Security demands increased each and every year due to recent school Security breaches around the country however the Security budget and and man power was decreased due to other management priorities making the the tasks and the ability to secure those schools challenging. 

A typical day included answering approximately 20-30 voice mails from the over night alarm monitoring company addressing alarm issues, coordinating those repairs and then addressing the monitoring of approximately 5000 surveillance cameras and approximately 700 card readers and the maintenance.

One of the major lessons learned was the demand for additional school security and the vulnerability of the schools when for years the thought process was to open the schools to the parents and guests.

New Security Management was recently hired and the re-organized the dept. therefore all present Security Management contracts were not renewed leaving the entire department in the hands of newly, inexperienced personnel. All co-workers were forced to acquire other careers.

The hardest part of the job was to deny priority security requests of schools  because of the lack of adequate personnel and budget.

The most rewarding part of the job was the satisfaction seen on the faces of the school personnel when a security enhancement was installed and completed. It was also satisfying to see and understand that the security enhancements when used were actually working and embraced by the parents and visitors.

Initially this job offered advancement in a pioneering program. My days were initially filled with training that stimulated my mind as well as challenged my boundaries as one committed to social justice. Whereas my primary office was at the courthouse in a temporary office space as we grew I would have my own office with a window and a view. I might start my day at the county jail sitting besides a probation judge or in the cells interviewing perspective felons. Nonetheless, I would always would end up in my office writing reports and making phone calls. The bulk of my time I spent developing contacts with services to aid our drug court participants in their recovery I also made frequent visits to treatment facilities to gather performance data.

My co-workers were a hodgepodge of clerks and attorneys forming a coalition to create the bases of the program. Thus in a courthouse this ended up often with those versed in victim rights working alongside those like me steeped in defensive advocacy. My days were never boring and the drug court coordinator did his best to ameliorate the differences of opinion about the direction of the program. Thus I was invited to draft, implement and oversee the practices of marketing the program to judges and attorneys within the courthouse. The title case manager was ill-suited for the diversity in the nature of what I did as such.

Yet this suited my skills as I maintain an adroit ability to adapt to changing conditions.

Management has favorites and if you’re not part of that group you won’t make it. They pick and choose what reasons to enforce certain things for certain people and to sweep things under the rug for others. The job itself is amazing but tuff and takes a mental and physical toll on you. It’s rewarding to be able to help the animals but easy to get discouraged because of the treatment from management. Very political, under the public eye and have to cover for the shelter no matter what or how you feel. Not allowed to have any opinions on anything. Must be a “yes” man to advance. Not allowed to question anything. They treat citizens that bring in pets like garbage and not like human beings. Management encourages gossiping and constantly talks about staff members poorly to other staff. They promote under-qualified people based on favoritism and not actual experience. The only positive aspects were the few colleagues that were also “outsiders”. being able to help the animals. The clinic staff is amazing. They do what they can with every resource they have. The training is really good and you will learn a lot of new things. The PR staff is really good and do so much to help get animals adopted with community outreach and lots of social media coverage. The volunteer/foster programs are really great and so helpful to animals and staff. All in all depending on what department you work in it can go really good or really stressful and discouraging. 

I worked from May 20, 1996 to January, 2006 at Orange County Graphic Reproduction; in January 2006 I transferred to the Orange County Copy Center. My reason for transferring was (1) poor management at Graphic Reproduction (that manager left several months after I transferred); (2) A co-worker who was constantly stirring up trouble for the other workers (this person's employment was terminated months after I transferred, and she left a bad taste in everyone's mouth). Too much strife and fighting. The atmosphere at the Copy Center was much more calm and peaceful, and the lady I worked with was very nice and easy to get along with. She retired in 2010 and I trained her replacement, who was also nice and easy to work with, and who caught on very quickly.

My reason for leaving Orange County Government on April 29, 2011 is; I retired. After I retired I took care of my husband, who had cancer; he passed away in September 2012. I am now interested in obtaining a part time job using my typing skills and learning new things such as InDesign and the Creative Suite. I catch on easily and would have no trouble learning these programs and applying them to a job.

When I arrived at the Orange County Facilities Division for my assignment as an Administrative Specialist, I was met with a very negative and low moral work environment. The reason I was told later was the Admin. Specialist before me, treated the staff very poorly, did not meet their work requests, was very rude to them in person and very rude to customers on the phone. I couldn't believe she was allowed to get away with this type of behavior for so long, but she was due to retire and I was her replacement. I made a decision after being there a few months that I would change the environment into a positive one. However I needed the help of my Manager. I suggested that I would recognize each staff member birthdays, but in groups because there were too many and we would have a lunch and a cake. I also suggested to our manager that if he was willing, he could appreciate everyone for their hard work and efforts during that time. Well it worked and staff who never wanted to come in for lunch, came in. It was very awarding and a positive change started to take place. To me, it matters how you treat your employees. Sometimes you can't make a difference in anyone, but most times you can in someone. Did I forget to mention that we had a kitchen and I did most of the cooking.

My job is definitely very productive.  I enjoy how we teachers constantly and consistently work as a team. This results in successful planning and progressive State wide assessments numbers.
I enjoy the Administration, the Coaches and our colleagues' support and training throughout all the years I have worked at Evans High School. this school is working Avanti, always working ahead with the latest in education. I feel very proud to see the positive results due to our hard work. 
The most challenging part has been to keep our population motivated to keep up with their education, since it is a challenging neighborhood. Nevertheless, comparing the last few years with ten years ago, I think my school has gone a long ways, supporting and motivating the students. State wide test results has gone up, new interesting programs and courses have increased, offering students more opportunities, and graduation rate has increased considerably. I see how my former students come back to me to tell me their success stories, and that makes me very proud to be part of this team.

On a typical day with OCPS I was tasked with groundskeeping and monitoring school cleanliness. I took care cleaning classrooms, gynasiums, offices and hallways. I was also tasked with replacing, repairing and moving furniture on a daily basis. I was part of the lunch duty crew which meant assisting the students during lunch as well as keeping the lunchroom clean during and after all lunches.The workplace environment was great, I had healthy relationships with all teachers, administrators and fellow service employees. My interactions with the students also went quite smoothly, which helped because I had planned on being an educator in the future. The hardest part of the job was probably dealing any biochemical clean ups. When you work in a school with lunchrooms and bathrooms, all kinds of accidents happen. They best part of the job, however, was being able to build relationships with students and faculty. I took this job hoping to socially interact and build a good understanding of the school system so that I may one day be a well-versed educator for OCPS.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Examiner 1 salary reported	$38.79 per hour
Registered nurse 1 salary reported	$30.00 per hour
Environmental specialist 2 salaries reported	$30.38 per hour
Planner 2 salaries reported	$82,700 per year
Senior developer 4 salaries reported	$40.05 per hour

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