paralegal assistant

attorney

paralegal

social worker

trainee engineer

State of Connecticut

What is the best part of working at the company?
The team work and bond with my co-workers, Supervisors and Managers

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The outcome measures by far. Everyone [From the Commissioner  to the in field Social Workers are very stressed about the outcome measures, case plans and meeting the Juan F. Consent Decree.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The state always felt to me after 11 years and even now like an extension of my family. I started in my late 20's and left in my early 40's. I made friends for life. Impacting the family, youth and children I met while there was so fulfilling. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I was a Mental Health Social Worker so it was usually one crisis to the next.  I never had a dull moment. I love being on the go so the excitement matched my personality.  You go into the office review emails, make calls and depending on your supervision day you are either out and about visiting families, picking up kids, attending meetings, school, medical, and in my case Residential Placements and Specialized Foster homes or Group homes. You spend quality time with your client's ensuring safety or if you're investigator you're running out on reports and making first contacts with all involved. I won't lie removals in the beginning are emotionally a nightmare for all involved however if your a Veteran Worker it's a lot less traumatic for the families and you. Unless you're investigating it's usually not a surprise. In my area Parents and Caregivers needed help so they were usually happy to have help.  No day at the State was "Typical" in my Agency.

I am a maintainer.  Job is very straightforward and can be done with little to no management. 
Hours are great and weekends off is a plus.


Low pay compared to other positions requiring less skill. We drive State vehicles, yet a janitor is paid more. No advancement in this area. You can apply for other state positions to move up in pay. Though you'll find nepotism is an obvious hurdle.
Often they have a candidate picked out before the job is posted, but still must post it for legal purposes. 

You'll find most jobs take up to if not more than 6 months to hear from. In most cases it's a denial. I've applied for positions I'm qualified , over qualified and under qualified for and I am always denied.  Obviously they know who they want, but need to post it due to union rules and legal obligations. 

If it weren't for the retirement and health care it wouldn't be worth keeping the job.

I do enjoy my fellow employees and my manager. Our manager has no say in day to day operations,  in fact he can't even discipline employees who under perform or simply just don't do their job. 
It's not his fault, he has to fall in line or someone else will after he loses his position. 

Get your feet in the door and apply repeatedly to any job you desire. You may be lucky enough to get hired. 
I applied for my job in 2019 and they hired me in 2021. Yes 2 years later. So patience is a must.



The agency could be so much more than the missed opportunity it is, were it not run by a bunch of people who have,over and over again been promoted far beyond their useful capacities.  Under the current "administration," there is no Life-work balance.  This job is supposed to be the epicenter of your life, and then some.

"Management" in Hartford lack any insight as to how to run the Department. And, they are never held accountable for anything. It is a cavalcade of endless expectation after endless, unrealistic expectation.  And then, they turn around and wonder (1) Why isn't anything getting done and (2) Why do we have such a morale problem? If a social worker caused the problems management causes,that poor person would be in HR within minutes, maybe less.

While the salary appears high, it pales woefully when stacked against the expectations which grow monthly.Under no set of circumstances could I ever in good faith honestly or ethically recommend this miasma of bureaucratic inefficiency to anyone.

If you think you'll be doing good for families or children, think again. All that matters is covering management, making sure they are in no way, shape or form inconveniences, and at all times, protected from liability.If there's time left over,maybe, just maybe you can have some inconsequential level of contact with a family.

Working for the state offers some amazing career opportunities. I started out as the equivalent of a nurse's aide (Mental Health Assistant) in the psychiatric field at $16.75 in 2001 with the state and they pretty much paid 100% (with tuition reimbursement program) for my LPN education, 80% of my RN education, and 75% of my APRN education. Now am an APRN with them at $46/hr. They also had (and still have) a special program called career mobility where you basically show up at your school of choice instead of work for 3 days out of your 5 day work week and you get paid as if you were at work. These are unbelievable educational benefits that you won't find anywhere else! Only downside in working in nursing field is the occasional loss of freedom with *some* nursing jobs when you are forced to work another 8 hours if the next shift staff does not come in for whatever reason. Also, pay rate with state nursing jobs is definitely lower than private sector but well worth trade off in exchange for the educational benefits I mentioned earlier.

I worked with the State of Connecticut for over 26 years, including 22 years in Human Resources. Since 2020, the centralization of HR services into pods under the Department of Administrative Services has created a stagnant and politically charged environment. Promotional opportunities have become limited, and roles are assigned with little consideration for employee strengths. Unfortunately, leadership often seems chosen based on internal politics rather than competence. When employees raise concerns, it's not uncommon for them to face pushback or even retaliation. While the benefits and job security used to make this a great place to build a career, the current structure makes it difficult to recommend.



This pertains to the Dept. of Developmental Services, (DDS) not all of State of CT jobs. Within the DDS, there are different factions, some focused on serving all people  in CT who are individuals with intellectual disabilities and  families of people with intellectual disabilities of all incomes, ethnicities, including immigrant families. Another faction focuses on intensive  expensive services primarily for educated middle and upper class families who are best able to advocate for their disabled relatives. Unfortunately the dominant perspective in the Central Office (CO) decision makers is catering to the wishes of the more well connected families. But the structure is loose enough where there is room at the local level for staff giving direct service, professionally or para-professionally, to give more egalitarian service to all effected Connecticut families. However conflicts sometimes arise, and CO is always trying to get more control over all services, but usually not succeeding.

Provide direct assistance to Bureau Chief and Director of Dept., of Policy and Planning, basic workday as follows:  managing emails, calendars and meetings, accordingly.  Produce, review and prepare correspondence, as directed.  Provided excellent customer service whether on the phone, or greeting customers.Supervised 3 clericals, held quarterly meetings to discuss workflows, any new updates/information within their respective units. Utilized Microsoft Office

Management: Bureau, Director and 4 Assistant Directors.  Bureau Chief reported directly to the Commissioner of Transp.


Learned about new projects within the units, i.e, environmental, GIS and more.

Workplace culture; pleasant working environment. Always willing to assist employees for any workshops that would be beneficial to their jobs.

Hardest part of job; not being able to cross train within other units, (5) if required as positions became vacant.

Most enjoyable; representing the Bureau Chief's office in maintaining a positive, courteous, and friendly attitude.

As the oldest civil rights organization in the country, the Commission has the responsibility to ensure that everyone's protected rights are defended and unfortunately, not everyone that had that responsibility took it as seriously as they should have. We were trained by the United States Equal Employment Opportunities Commission that every file respresented a life. I concurred with that ideology and acted in kind.
We had to review complaints and determine if it had any merit before we could proceed. The most difficult part of the job was explaining to complainants that while what they had endured was rude and or disrespectful, it wasn't against the law, and that was what we used to process claims. We were legally bound by the Connecticut General Statutes that governed our agency. I rejoyced when following the paper or facts, as it were, lead to a victory for someone whose civil rights had been legally violated.

I interned at the Connecticut Auditors of Public Accounts for six months and I had a great time there. I was treated as a full time employee and was paid $15/hour. By the end of the internship, I was writing most of the final audit report for an entire government department. They offered an incredible amount of flexibility as I was able to choose my hours and I was even allowed to shave off one day of work every two weeks by working an extra hour on most days. The management was incredibly inclusive and respectful, and the office I worked in was incredibly diverse. As interns we were even given mentors outside of our supervisor that we could ask about anything, within or without of the agency. The mentors would help interns and new employees choose what they wanted to accomplish within their employment, as well as narrow down what their goals were. It was an incredibly helpful experience to me as an intern and the only reason I was unable to continue working with them immediately afterwards was due to me having to finish my final semester at college.

Typical day is completing appraisals, cost estimating of acquiring private property for road projects and assigning appraisals to outside fee appraisers.
I learned how to value easements and see the affect they have on private property.
Unfortunately the work place culture was the mentality of entitlement for those that never held a job outside of state service. It bred laziness due to a strong union environment. 
There wasn't really a difficult part of the job for me as I already had 25+ years of appraisal, real estate and property management experience in dealing with the public. Those whose first job was with the state had a difficult time in talking to people over the phone or in person and learning empathy. Taking someones property is difficult for the property owner.
The most enjoyable part of the job was learning new things. In appraising property we would valuing different types of takings and easements and no take was the same and all the different effects it has on property.

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