environmental specialist

teacher

repair technician

program specialist

administrative analyst

State of New Jersey

Based on my opinion/experience:

A typical day, for me, consisted of working with my staff, reviewing their work, attending meetings,  when necessary, and preparing environmental assessments for water quality-based infrastructure projects that local government units sought funding for.  

Work culture was diverse and interesting.  State government encourages diversity.  Employees were respectful to one another.  Most employees took their work seriously and did their best, but there were some slackers that could make work life difficult.  I supervised one particular employee who had to be disciplined several times for not doing his required assignments: This created problems with applicants who had construction timelines to meet.

Supervising an individual that I tried to motivate and grow to no avail by initiating daily progress meetings, providing training, and providing work strategies to get the workload finished, was the most difficult part of my job, which lead to my retirement.  This individual went on approved medical leave for months at a time, so this person's work was constantly being redistributed.  

My other two staff thrived under my supervision (one was even fortunate enough to be promoted.  Both employees had very good output with their work.  They became very independent and accomplished under my supervision. None of my staff were unfriendly:  Even the one that was having difficulty never blamed me for not being able to finish his assignments.  All of them got along and encouraged each other, too.

It was difficult to see one of my staff, who was acknowledged as a very successful hard worker with difficult projects, not be promoted.  I think it is because this individual announced that she was looking forward to retirement in the next 18 months.  

Managers were knowledgeable about their jobs, but tended to be influenced to choose employees for positions and opportunities by other managers, sometimes from other divisions.  Employees were not always promoted based on their experience and skills.  This caused existing employees, with the knowledge and experience to do the required job for the promotional title, to feel degraded and affected their self worth.  The managers did not do a lot to promote moral.  The encouragement ("pats on the back") that WAS given eventually turned to resentment with employees who waited years, and even decades, to be promoted, just to see the promotion given to an individual who was younger and less experienced than them.  This seemed to cause a lot of individuals to retire or resign.

The most enjoyable part of my job was seeing my motivated staff get acknowledged by upper management and local government units for their timely reviews and guidance through our complicated funding program.  I also enjoyed working with so many talented individuals.  From their experiences and skills, I learned the most.  

If I had to go back and choose a career again, I would not have chosen this one.

I have been employed with the State of New Jersey since high school. The work hours and benefits were very desirable and I felt confident in working for The State of New Jersey as a public servant. I have worked my way from the supply room to the fiscal department. I started off filling supply orders for departments, maintaining an inventory for supplies, placing item/staples requests. From there I worked my way into the fiscal department with my knowledge of vendors, ordering skills and maintaining all records for everything coming in and out of the supply room. 
     I have spent the past 7 years with the department furthering my fiscal abilities and retaining the knowledge to run different programs, process order requests through either contracted, non-contracted, waiver, and inner state orders. I am and have been accountable for maintaining a low cost for various departments at once. A typical day would consist of me processing daily, maintenance costs and contracts, staple supplies, IT software and programs, along with any other purchasing needs for the department. As well as making payments on all orders I have processed  in a timely fashion. I also make inner state payments, have done travel reimbursements, given breakdowns on cost expenditures, transfer of funds from and to state accounts. All while adhering to all state contractual guidelines/laws and maintaining well kept records for all transactions processed within the fiscal year and keeping 3 prior records on hand as per the state requirements. 
     My management has been very helpful and has given me the reins and trust to go about my work day without any interruptions. They are thankful of the job I do. I get along with everyone in my office and the staff and co-workers are very pleasant to work with. 
     I cannot say that there is a hardest part of my job. If I had to mention one it would be the fact my workload changes daily which I enjoy thoroughly but the fact I am only one of very few that can handle and operate many different programs and tasks at once while carrying the lowest title in my department. 
    The most enjoyable part of my job is the satisfaction that I can save money for my State and I am a public servant for the people and I am someone I believe they can rely on and will do the best job possible.

When I got the call for an employment offer, I was excited.  Actually, I had already planned on finishing my career there.  The work itself was challenging, but it was rewarding.  I was hired under a one year provisional appointment and had to take the Civil Service exam before the end of that year period, OK.  

Well, I quickly realized there was never any real management, my supervisor was always "buried" under their work, so most times it was 'learn under fire", a quick visit to instruct me, at times heated as they were in a rush and did not want to be there, and definitely not a pleasant learning environment.  I can work independently with the best of them, but the State has so many provision, policies, statutes, executive orders, it was hard to make decisions, especially having no prior experience.  Luckily, fellow co-workers were ready & willing to assist.  It took over 6 months months to get a Director for our unit, who announced at our first meeting, they had very little (if any) purchasing background. It seemed to be they went by whatever conception the supervisor may have had to offer or say.  

My one year came and went, they never offered me the Civil Service test, and I was let go.  Ok possibly if there was a justification, but I was simply told they were doing away with the position.  If it was performance related (speculating of course) never once was I asked an opinion, consulted or otherwise. I did have a review a couple of months after being there and it was a stellar review.  I must admit, fellow workers were fantastic, and the environment was pleasant enough, so needless to say, it was a major letdown when my one year provisional term expired and the position was eliminated.  There was never any prior knowledge, or conversation of that possibility, and no real explanation as to why or what the might have been, again, assuming there was a problem?  A lot of the longer employees, knowing my progress and work ethic were left shaking their heads in disbelief.

I strongly suggest that if you decide work there, make sure to get in managements space and ask questions, and ask for regular meetings on your progress. Don't ever assume everything is going well, a mistake I possibly made?

I thoroughly enjoyed my law-enforcement career.   I was exposed to wide range of diverse cases which ranged from homicide to environmental crimes.  Moreover, the job was always interesting.  During my career I interacted with all levels of the social strata, from the street criminal in Camden City, to organized crime figurers associated with the crime families of New York City.

The most interesting part of my career occurred when  I commanded the Professional Standards Bureau.   These cases were unique and complex criminal and civil matters which dealt with all aspects of State, County, and Municipal government. 

A typical day....it all depended on the unit, Basically, the hours changed as you moved up the ranks.  Initially it was an eight hour day, you worked your case and went home.  By the end, it was a 24 7 job and you were always on call,  and there was never a routine day. 

What I learned is,  take nothing for granted and, most importantly .......you don't know until you know.  

Management :  As a manager I was goal orientated.  My philosophy was that each man has to make the job his own, and what may work for me my not work for you.  I allowed the guys to bring  their own talents to the job and let them enjoy the job. I was fortunate in that the staff I commanded was talented and I appreciated the fact that that they had expertise in areas that I did not possess.  The lesson I learned was, you do not have to know about everything to manage people.  As a manager your mission is to keep them focused and keep the cases moving.  

Co workers:  I married one of my co-workers, smartest move I ever made.  I was fortunate that the Division of Criminal Justice  it was a nice place to work and, for the most part, all staff member had the same goals and objectives.  However, as my responsibilities within the agency changed, so did my relationship with co-workers.  It just comes with the territory.

The hardest part of the job:   Being a part of the decision making process to let someone go, then taking the gun and badge away. 

Most enjoyable part of the job:  In different phases of my career I had different enjoyments.   Early in my career I was more focused on getting the bad guy to confess, or to make the arrest, or find the key piece of evidence to make the case.  During the latter portion I received extreme pleasure in clearing a person against false or malicious charges.

There are few things in life that make you feel better than helping others, working with-in the prison education system is an extreamly fullfilling vocation. So many inmates never had the oppertunity that many of us take for granted, such as family, a meal on the table, clean clothes, the oppertunity to go to school and to live in one place and develope roots. When you meet these people you have no doubts as to how they landed where they are. You have to feel that way or you might not be able to deal with the personalities you will face, and thus your co-workers are going to people of like mind to stay there. Co-workers and not just people you work with, they become family, friends who watch your back ( inmates are always looking to make you the bad guy to earn some kind of reward or get even with you for enforcing structure)and your best support.
I was hired initially to serve in the Law Library, at that time it was being run by the inmates, but the future plan was for civilian managment. No one was keeping records the draws were stuffed with papers, I came in and reorganized and computerized all the records. I also took over duties which had been shirked by my predisesor providing thrice weekly service to the inmates in adminastrative segragation, and learning the steps in courtline representation. Learning to manage the rules of a prison and still being true to ones self is often a difficult balance. I left Trenton State Prison and transfered to Ednah Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton NJ. There I begane testing inmates as they entered the system, some for the first time, others were repeaters. My assigned duties did not fill my day. I saw that the gym was no longer in use as the recreation director had been let go several years preceeding my employment. I offered to restart the program and make use of that freetime. This was well received by mnagment and established. The hardest part of the job was the day we learned that the Govonor was destaffing the prison and that I would loss my job.

A lot of your experience working at for the state of NJ will depend on your Bureau and Manager/Team. But overall, it is a fairly good environment with a solid work life balance, decent benefits, and great job security. 

Pay is not great, particularly in the first few year of starting, but it is decent enough for the amount of hours put in. The time off given (13 Holidays, 15 sick, 12 vacation, 3 admin days to start) is incredible in the context of the USA’s typical PTO policies. 

2 telework days a week is also very nice, though the NJ CSC (civil service commission) is very staunchly against increasing this amount right now. Commuting in and out of Trenton can be difficult and frustrating at times.

Other core benefits are still pretty decent overall, but have been worsening in recent years. Healthcare costs/premiums are constantly rising as they have been all over the country, and the NJ PERS pension is not as attractive for new hires as it used to be. It can be still be a good deal if you’re willing to put in the time here (25-40+ years depending on age & retirement goals).  

There  is sometimes a lot of  Bureaucracy and several layers of decision-making that can make progress a bit more tedious and frustrating than it needs to be. These processes can be hard to follow, and communication between necessary sections/Bureaus can suffer as a result. 

Promotional & upward mobility is present, however the process is not always easy to follow and your options are pretty limited if you don’t want to supervise or manage people.  Transferring between different sections can also be tedious and unclear, and should be more easily facilitated. 

A lot of these factors can negatively impact long-term outlook here if you don’t enjoy the work, your team, or believe in the mission of your projects. Because of this, I’d give my own experience a 3.5/5 but understand it could fluctuate pretty drastically depending on the Department and team.

Working as a Secretarial Assistant for the Chief Nursing Officer in a psychiatric facility was fast paced and never the same each day.  Multitasking was necessary as you handled many things; from an incident that took place, meeting with the Verizon worker to switch seven or more phone lines, taking minutes, scheduling for one of the two conference rooms used hospital wide, typing policies and procedures needed immediately to be signed and  distributed to notifying the nursing stations that the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Hospitals is here on grounds.

I learned so much there over the years and really enjoyed most of my employment. I've worked for the Volunteer Coordinator which I loved, as a fill in for the post office, duplicating room, as a timekeeper for over 80 people, as secretary to a Complex Administrator, as secretary to the Chief Nursing Officer and as treasurer to the hospital Auxiliary.  I volunteered there. I was an hourly switchboard operator there for over 18 years.

I believe that management there could have done more to promote their clerical/secretarial staff.  Ninety five percent are held in the same position for years with nothing but cost of living increases.  

I've always gotten along with my coworkers. My department overlapped with so many areas that it would have been disastrous not to get along with others.  You can get or resolve things much better being courteous and humble.

The hardest part of the job was realizing that no matter how hard you worked or how dedicated you were, it never warranted a promotion.

The most enjoyable part of the job was when I worked on policies and procedures.   I loved it when I had supervisors who were good writers and when we worked on the policies and procedures together. When I kept abreast of Joint Commission standards and could help out with suggestions for monitoring corrections put in place.

If you can take being cursed out by clients most of the time then this job is a good fit for you, I am a very laid back person so because of this it became unbareable to deal with disrespectful clients that I was trying to help by keeping them on the right path so their children would not be removed from the home. Some clients have nasty homes that you have to go into in dangerous areas and to me it just isn't worth it. The stories that you hear and see first hand will be enough to make anyone depressed so if you don't have thick skin and are a parent then this may not be the job for you. This was not the job for me. The managers meet with you to discuss cases once you get a new family that you are assigned to but I feel like the training that you go through is too much back to back and was an information overload for me. Once you finish one training you jump right to the next which doesn't work well for my particular learning style. Some staff are helpful while others will let you hang to dry. There are events and ongoing training to show staff appreciation and help staff de-stress. The hardest part of the job for me was dealing with aggressive, disrespectful clients. The most enjoyable part of the job was pay day and that still was questionable because they tax so much of your pay it is ridiculous. I was grossing $2,000 every two weeks and only receiving about $1200 after taxes. If you like seeing your family, good luck with this job. There are times where you can be at work until 1 am or longer as you can literally be about to go home and all of a sudden at 4:50 pm something happens such as an emergency with one of your clients or a call comes in and you are asked to buddy with another staff member. You just never know how it may go.

If you're working in a customer-oriented position like an agency services rep or any job that involves dealing with the public, let me tell you, it's tough. Especially if you're someone who genuinely cares about others. The office politics and gossip can be overwhelming, and the training they provide is minimal at best. Even if you try to stay neutral, it feels nearly impossible. You can't be too quiet or too friendly; there's a fine line you have to walk. And don't get me started on favoritism and those social media cliques. This job is definitely not for those who are introverted or lack assertiveness.

To make matters worse, if you actually do a great job, you become a target for rivalry. People will do anything to bring you down, from digging up dirt on you to deliberately withholding important training information. They want to undermine you and break you mentally. When you're just starting out, you'll end up doing all the dirty work that no one else wants to do. And if you excel at it, guess what? You'll be stuck in that role forever, without any real appreciation.

The whole promotion process is a mess. It's not transparent, it's sketchy, and it takes forever. It's almost better to pretend to be incompetent to avoid attracting unnecessary competition. The only positive thing I can say is that the union rep did help me with some of the issues I faced, but even that has its limits. If you have a strong support system, like family or friends who work there, and if you have a solid group of friends outside of work, you might just survive. But honestly, I wouldn't recommend this job if you're a loner or if you're not good with people. You really have to know how to play politics. There are a few good-hearted, honest  and knowledgeable individuals who genuinely want to see you succeed, but believe me, they are extremely rare. 


I absolutely love my team (Deputies and Support Staff).  I know it may be hard to believe...but yes I work for the government and I like helping others; and I think I can say that for my team as well.  As part of the support staff for the following sections:  Banking and Insurance/Judiciary and Prosecution/Employment, Counseling and Labor/Personnel Community Affairs and Elections. A typical day for me is re-checking the calendar for any changes, responding to emails and following up with my DAGs regarding meetings, deadlines and conferences scheduled; sorting, reviewing and stamping incoming mail; reviewing, typing , finalizing and revising pleadings, memorandums and correspondences; preparing various types of mailings, filing pleadings with state, appellate and federal courts; forwarding maintenance and supply requests; answering and make phone calls using a multi-line phone to assist callers and relay messages; maintain files (both hard-copies and electronically); updating file case notes, faxing, scanning and performing research. And if by chance I have a little free time on my hand I check with my team to see if I can be of any assistance to them on a separate project.   

Perhaps the only frustration I have had while working with my departments is the occasional Defendant/Appellant who calls and doesn't fully understand the process of law and doesn't understand that the law prohibits me to give them advice; even when I know the answer. 

Honestly I can't say enough good things about this group.  I enjoy working with them, have learned a great deal from them, and hope to be with them for many more years.

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