deputy sheriff

office assistant

social worker

public defender

staff services analyst

Tulare County, CA

I came from the private sector and didn't know what to expect. If you are also coming from the private sector, it is a whole lot different. Whatever you have heard about the government, all the cliches and all of the jokes...it's all true unfortunately. Waste and bloat, power-mad higher-ups, taxpayer money being wasted, frivolous things being purchased, the government mindset ala the loser employee, the end of year push to spend, spend, spend, yes, all of that can be yours!

Ok, enough bashing. Don't want to scare you off. Benefits are ok. I hear that the retirement is awesome (they take a certain $ amount out of your paycheck each pay period whether you like it or not, so it's either good because you HAVE to save for retirement, or it's an added expense you can't afford, based on your age). I'm not retired, so I don't know how it goes yet. They take out about $165 out of my paycheck each time. The medical insurance is ok. For a county that joins with Fresno county to fight for better insurance, it is sorely lacking. But, it's better than nothing. Vacation time is accrued. You probably start out with 2 weeks out of the year and the max is 5 weeks I think. You get paid sick leave (which a LOT of people abuse).

Hopefully your best asset will be your co-workers. They should be the helpful ones and the supportive ones. Each department thinks they are the best, and need the most attention and whatnot, so be careful. Being in the public workforce might be really good experience to put on a resume, so hang in there.

After 5 pay steps, that's it for raises. Now the union might get you a 3% or something cost of living every year, but you never know. If you want to make more, then you have to transfer to another department that has higher steps (if they want you). But if you are at step 5 you will idle there forever so to speak.

Holidays are around 12 to 13 days off a year, so it's like having another 2 weeks vacation spread out. Just remember that a lot of employees are here because they can't get a job in the private sector because of one reason or another, usually stupidity. Just putting it out there. Again, not trying to discourage you, just letting you know.

Emails are the first form of communication, phone calls secondary. Be prepared for paperwork, paperwork, paperwork (govt right?) and documentation, documentation, documentation.

Enjoy and have a good sense of humor

Job starts at 7 am, we are supposed to schedule our days out and only allow for appointments at a specific time each day. Unfortunately we cannot do this as we must work around the clients schedule not our own. We are to grant cases within 30 days, we are to pay all child care claims within 30 days, we are to authorize all ancillary within 5 days of receipt of the request, we are to complete all paperwork for orientation and turn the paperwork to case manager within 24 hours. Work experience is to be worked each and every week and the clients are to be meeting the 20, 30, 32, or 35 hours per week. The hardest part of the job would be making clients meet hours without places we can put the clients for these hours. We have no programs available in the county. Work experience is the Dog Pound no matter what type of work the client is interested in. Co-workers are great and working under impossible circumstances. Management has no clue what they are expecting from staff is not possible. They keep adding more and more tasks. No time to do it and no compensation for the extra work. I have learned that management needs to keep open door policy and take the workers ideas and use them to make the job better for all staff.
The most enjoyable part of my job is the successes of our clients.

Check in to station and check daily log books for any previous problems or occurrences that happened while off duty. Check in inmates and make sure they were capable for kitchen duties. Set menu plan for inmates and supervise them for each duty of food perpetration for staff and all inmates. Supervise inmates while serving and portioning of each meal. Deliver food for other jail and supervise inmates while food delivery. Make sure they keep their temps of all hot and cold food then also supervise while kitchen was cleaned and sanatized for next use. Co workers are friendly,fun but very professional. The hardest part is just to never drop your guard in the facility even if the inmates are being friendly. The hours was the good part with four 10hour days and three days off and had good health benefits.

A typical workshop required advance preparation by myself and my co-leader.  We experienced much support from the Program Manager who was always ahead of schedule and considerate of our personal time.  When training was required, snacks and lunch was generously provided.  I learned additional confidence in public speaking and also management of people in difficult situations with a wide range of mental health challenges.  My co-workers for presenting the seminar were very pleasant and sometimes we got to choose who to work with.  The hardest part of the job was living in Fresno and commuting to various parts of Tulare County.  The most enjoyable part of the job was the positive changes the seminar attendees expressed and their thank you's.  Simply great satisfaction knowing we made a difference in somebody's life that would be long-lasting.

OK if you just want to show up to get a bit of money on the side, but hard to rely on to make a living and support a family. Stability is nice once you are passed probation period, but wages are not adjusting for inflation. Fast food is paying more than most county positions. 2022 will have a 1% cost of living adjustment when inflation is at 7%. This year was 3% COLA when it was 6% inflation. If you think you will get benefits for your family, think again. The county will cover you, but the cost to add dependents is more than many positions make after taxes. Pension is a net negative if you are a new hire. You get to pay for all the things older employees promised themselves by contributing more and getting less. 

It is a interesting place to work with its advantages and disadvantages. A lot of the employees have been there for years, and technically would not be hired to do their current job today, because of lack of education. Although some of the employees are hard-working and knowledgeable of different job functions. Management is not the best, but not the worst either they made some good and bad decisions. The hardest part of the job was sometimes doing tasks that were not part of your job, because some other employee was not wanting to do them. The most enjoyable part was learning from individuals who knew what they were doing, and were willing to help you.

Depending on the school site I'm sent to, the day is either easy OR it is tedious and insulting. 
I used to teach with my service dog there, but when I was in Earlimart one day, some little child kicked him (the beautiful Golden Retriever), and hurt my dog and my feelings as the disabled handler. 
In Tulare County, animals are mistreated, and the schoolteachers are not (even the Special Education Teachers) even aware of their value in controlling youngsters. It is a sad thing to say, but people around here are not well-educated.
A typical day began too early, and that was the hardest part of the job for me.

The most enjoyable part of the job was seeing that little light go on when a student understood a point.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part about working for Tulare county was being able to help clients and community 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part/s about working for Tulare county was taking/requesting time off. Always getting on you for calling off or using time. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment is bad and the culture is diverse. Everyone keeps to themselves. Very robotic environment.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Work, work, break, work, lunch, work, off. Always need to be productive in tasks completed or will be called in about not competing task-taking cases to complete or look for.

Upper management does not recognize hostile work environments. If you speak up for yourself you are automatically shunned and treated even worse. There is absolutely ZERO support from management regarding ANY aspects of the job. The management has been there for YEARS and they treat the staff horribly and disrespectfully. Even though there have been multiple complaints about management nothing is ever done to solve the problem/issues. Any complaints that are made are not kept confidential. HR will notify the person that there was a complaint against them and will let them know who submitted the complaint.

We would be really busy with patients but we worked together. Sometimes we didn't have to say anything we just helped each other.
I also worked the Dairy Lab.  I was a Dairy Lab Tech and this was fast high energy job. Even though it was a fast moving job it still was calm because we knew what was expected and we did it. The hardest part is when we would receive 400 Samples from Dairies from all over Kings and Tulare County and only having 2 people to do this plus replenish the supplies for the next day. I loved the people I worked with. The county was cutting jobs and I was the last one hired so I had to look elsewhere.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Deputy sheriff 81 salaries reported	$83,223 per year
Office assistant 25 salaries reported	$45,133 per year
Social worker 16 salaries reported	$63,647 per year
Public defender 16 salaries reported	$98,037 per year
Staff services analyst 9 salaries reported	$75,025 per year

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