faculty

instructor

instructional assistant

dean

employment specialist

Portland Community College

I have been working in Portland Community College for 2 years. In 2013, I worked in Gym room as an assistant Gym room. I helped student on check in and out blocks as well as how to use materials in Gym. I also collected data of student and kept the information in computer. Now I'm working as library assistant in PCC. All my previous and my current managers are friendly and help me alot on getting used to bewith new environmental work places. I have a good relationship with my managers and my co-wokers. I love learn new things, so when I start a new job, I try my best to learn and shadow my manager and assiant managers to earn more experiences about my job. I prefer to help my co-workers and make friendly work place to make both my co-workers and my customers feel comfortable. The hardest part of my jobs is how to catch up all essential duties in each job in short time during training time and acquire higher level about experiences and speed in solving problems during shifts. The most enjoyable part of my job is I always learn a lot new experiences and how to communicate and work in a team and individually.

There is truly no such thing as a typical work day when working in the main computer lab on the Sylvania Campus of Portland Community College and this is just one of the things that I enjoyed immensely because everyday for over four years no two days were alike. I found that the more unusual and complex the student's issues the more I enjoyed researching solutions for them.

The hardest part of my job was that the majority of lab assistants were on Work-Study and often had very little experience with anything above basic computer skills so while I would be on duty I would often have to help my clients as well as supporting the other lab assistants with their student's issues.

 Fortunately I was blessed with having an amazing team of supervisors and coordinators who guided and supported me to a level above the call of the average Computer Lab Assistant and thus preparing me for futures in both Customer Service and IT Support alike.

For a desktop support personal, each day comes with different challenge depends on the type of technical issues and the customer we get to work with. Learning is an ongoing thing in this field as technology advancing every day. Management is pretty critical subject in this department given that different techs has different work style which is hard to manage while it adds very important value to team performance. In my team, we have very good combination of skill set that covers a wide area of knowledge. Therefore, communication is very important to us and all team members understand the importance of sharing experiences. The hardest part of this job is when the process of troubleshooting and fixing an issue required collaboration of more than one party from different department. The most enjoyable part of this job is the appreciation from our direct customer when we provide a solution that help them to do their job in much easier way.

PCC is a great place to work if you are upper management. They are paid well and the college seems bent on cramming in as many dean/vp/upper management positions as they can justify despite the fact that our budget is shot and they have been hacking and slashing lower level positions based on the justification that we don't have any money. If you are a classified/ academic professional the prospect for advancement is dreadful. The college creates little to no pathways for advancement or professional development and there is an established cronyism that is nearly impossible to break through. Lower level management positions are nearly unattainable due to job requirements and the ability to gain management experience when you are not a manager is negligible. When I first started working here I was told that if I wanted to advance at PCC I would have to leave and come back, which sounded then and still sounds today, totally and completely ridiculous.

A typical day at the bookstore starts with preparing for the day with some light cleaning, organizing and stocking of the shelves, and prepping to do book runs. For some it means working on web orders or recording inventory on merchandise shipments, depending on your personal level of experience and interest in these projects. Everyone is friendly, accepting, and compassionate, including the management. The most difficult part of working in the bookstore throughout the term is being a self starter and keeping busy during the slow times when there are one or two customers coming in every other hour. The most enjoyable part of the job is the people; coworkers, management, and the customers are all generally friendly, smiling people whose goal it is for everyone to succeed in their college goals and have a great day.

Working for Portland Community College was a great experience because I had the opportunity to work with very helpful and friendly people. At no point in time did I ever really feel overwhelmed, as there was always someone to provide me with support if I needed

The overall environment will motivate you to bring out the best you have to offer in order to get the job done. In fact, most days than not, going to work did not feel like a hassle because I was actually looking forward to it.

The hardest part of my job was the volume of emails and files I wuld be dealing with on a daily basis, especially when keeping in mind that, as I was working on files and emails, more were coming in. The volume of work can be a bit daunting at times.

What I enjoyed most about my job there was knowing that my work was making a positive difference in people's lives. It is a good feeling, thinking about that at the end of the day. It is part of the motivational aspect of this job that kept me coming back day after day.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The students with whom I work are highly motivated and committed to working in the field of aging.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The dissonance between the purported values and mission of the college and how staff and faculty are treated. My expertise, commitment, and experience are not valued or rewarded.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I’m the only full time faculty for my program, so in addition to teaching three online courses per term, I also oversee all of the program-level administrative tasks, managing part-time faculty, and supporting students.  I also attend a lot of meetings, respond to various requests from supervisors, and try to have a professional life outside of the college (research, writing, advocacy, and service).

A typical day at work consists of answering calls (non emergency and emergency) for Portland Community College in the Public Safety Dispatch office. I dispatch calls to public safety officers on five different campuses. The hardest part of the job is juggling between multiple phone lines, radios, and documenting all at the same time. Another difficulty is working with a group of people who can be extremely offensive, unprofessional, and not at all politically correct. It is difficult having to remain seated at the computer all day with little time for breaks or to move around (I have always had more active jobs in the past). The most enjoyable part of the job is being challenged and learning new things. The benefits are very good as well.

Very busy atmosphere requiring multi-tasking. Worked with other departments and students to ensure students enrolled in classes and were given necessary information to help them succeed. Face to face and on the phone admissions assistance. Processing of applications, registration forms, marketing input, ongoing training and meetings, heavy phone volume and student traffic. This was similar to my previous education position. Lots of great employees who were fun to work with. Could be stressful as students not always prepared and waited past deadlines for class registrations, grade remedies and payment options. Great Public Safety Department available to help students who were lost, ill, or had car troubles.

A strange time (covid) to review my workplace. Public funding dictates some of my lower ratings. I work in a "closed" program so lots of things are different. Sometimes this is good, as layoffs would be unusual. Sometimes this is not so good. We require weekly meetings as a faculty team, we work as a team and so some definitions of what we do (and get productivity "points" for) don't count. Requirements (and the work it generates to meet them) come from outside accreditation required by law, not just PCC. 
But PCC on the whole is my home and place of work. I am happy here. Administration is slow to move. They do though. Try to consider your expectations with the reality of public funding and educational oversight requirements. And know you will have to push for issues to help students and the community. It's part of the job as educator in a community college.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Faculty 78 salaries reported	$85.19 per hour
Instructor 1 salary reported	$76,160 per year
Instructional assistant 5 salaries reported	$64,575 per year
Dean 3 salaries reported	$136,192 per year
Employment specialist 4 salaries reported	$75,480 per year

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