Comments on: Census Worker: A Brilliant Part-Time Opportunity

By: Marge Simpson

Marge Simpson — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:49:25 +0000

Don’t be discouraged – my son JUST got called in late July, 2010 after taking the test in early 2010. It is going to be hot walking around Miami in late July heat, but he will have to do it. It is actually the perfect time because his job at the restaurant is very slow in the summer and he can actually keep both jobs. He still isn’t working in the field he went to college for, but can’t complain. Does anyone know if you can carry mace to protect yourself from dogs and such?

By: Lenetta @ Nettacow

Lenetta @ Nettacow — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:06:04 +0000

Linked on my weekly roundup, post is under my name. Thanks! After reading this, I grabbed a slip of paper with the number from a poster in the post office…

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:37:09 +0000

I tried to get through & couldn’t. I know people who took the test were told they would be hired & now haven’t been. These are people with the right qualifications too, retired from social work.Just too many people out of work to get any job here.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 03:39:32 +0000

I disagree, almost there.

The census provides a ton of useful data for all kinds of organizations and whatnot.

Anyway, I called and am scheduled to take the test next week. Lady told me that a lot of the work would be in the summer, which is perfect since I’ll just be getting out of high school.

By: almost there

almost there — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:21:00 +0000

I agree with the census per the constitution, but not the intrusive information and demographic gathering. All the constitution requires is number of people per location. Not name, race, age, income, employment status, etc. Each time the census asks more and more information and frankly, it ain’t none of their business. I always complied in the past but don’t intend to this time. Here is an article from a libertarian site titled: The 2010 Census: Beware the State’s Assault on Privacy!

http://www.lewrockwell.com/barnett/barnett15.1.html

By: anonymous

anonymous — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:03:08 +0000

Where I live the election working jobs are given as perks to the friends and family of the local party in power. Unless you are connected, it’s just not happening. Not my imagination- that is how my family all got their election jobs! Civil service is rife with patronage.

By: brad

brad — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 02:44:02 +0000

took the test. test admin called and said i did exceptionally well. COME ON MANAGEMENT POSITION!!!

By: Jordan

Jordan — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:09:00 +0000

Dear Trent,
just wanted to say how thoughtful and awesome you are for posting this information. I live in Australia so it’s not really anything I can access, but I really thought it was good of you to put this out there for people to hear about.
:-)
Jordan

By: Louise

Louise — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:09:54 +0000

Thank you, Trent, for this great idea! I called my local office and arranged to take the test on Tues, 2/02. The pay is $17/hr. here in CA, so I’m hopeful!

By: Jill

Jill — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 16:53:07 +0000

I did this for the 2000, and lasted about two days after training. Even though they claimed that ‘we assign you to neighborhoods near you’ they kept giving us lists for the largely, um, extremely high poverty/high crime area on the other side of town. I decided to start my list for the day with the non-ghetto houses on it, spent 15 minutes getting gnawed on by the homeowner’s pomeranian (thought its teeth were too small to break through my pants and skin) went and dropped off my list at lunch, where I got talking with a group of other people, who also all seemed to have dog attack stories far worse than mine. At that point, I decided it just wasn’t worth the dog bites and urban youth encounters and handed in all my lists and gear and quit.

By: MelodyO

MelodyO — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:43:37 +0000

Hey, I was a census taker for a few years! In Canada, but still. I’m in a city, so it was just a matter of walking around a designated area and getting the info, then tallying it up at the end. The worst part is making two, three, four attempts to catch somebody at home if they won’t call you back. It was good money, and not too stressful as long as you started early and gave yourself enough days to catch those elusive types.

By: Redetta

Redetta — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:00:42 +0000

Concerning the Census, a young friend of mine in his early 20′s was laid off, fired, etc. a few months ago. He was told because of this no job with the Census. With all the people losing their jobs this doesn’t make sense to me.

By: littlepitcher

littlepitcher — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:32:08 +0000

Sounds great, if they have work-at-home opportunities. I cannot leave in the morning (answer phone for someone, and can call or do clerical for census) and work in the evenings.

By: Scoobey

Scoobey — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:29:59 +0000

Henry: Serious question:

How do you know they will seize your census earnings if you owe back taxes? I mean, it seems logical that they could cross-reference your social security number, but we all know the federal government isn’t perfectly efficient. So I’m really asking: are you certain of this? Has it happened to you or ?? Was it for taxes or for welfare (one might be tougher than the other)?

I owe income taxes from nearly 10 years ago that I haven’t been able to pay. (I’ve met with them, they’ve stopped trying to collect for the time being, they just have liens on my house.) But I just landed a census job, and don’t want to screw things up (or waste my time). Thanks!

By: Bonnie

Bonnie — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:14:37 +0000

Some of the gripes that people have mentioned are really location-specific. If you’re interested in doing this, you should really call your local census office to see what kinds of positions and hours they’re offering. I called my local office last week, had no issue getting through, and took the test this past Monday (very easy 28-question test, BTW). Here in Honolulu, pay is $17/hr and will start in late March. You walk around your neighborhood, knock on doors and try to get census info from people who haven’t bothered to fill out the census yet. Over here, our census office estimates only 70% of our state population was counted in the 2000 census. So, they’re taking all the help they can get and are willing to work w/ workers’ schedules, although census-taking will mainly be done on evenings and weekends. Also, depending on your neighborhood, our office said to expect 2-8 weeks worth of work. It all depends how many homes in your neighborhood actually send the census form back on their own.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:59:33 +0000

@Henry – Wow, just wow. Any more tips on how to cheat the system?

By: Henry

Henry — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:04:36 +0000

Just another little way to make some money to get you through that doesn’t have to be reported or declared to the gov’t or those pesky debt collectors.

By: Henry

Henry — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 05:02:16 +0000

I work every election. I work primary and general, we have one year without an election every four years. Depending on position, you can make between $85-120 for 12 hours of being absolutely glued to the polling place. You should also be there 1-1/2 to 2 hours before, and stay until things are wrapped up. You may also have to report to the clerk’s office until you are released, depending on position, and that may take up to four hours. You may also have to attend a 1-1/2 to 2 hour training session before election day, without pay. You can also claim mileage and a small meal stipend for lunch and dinner on election day.
The good news about this is that your paycheck will come from the county, and is not reported to the IRS as income. It is not subject to seizure by the Federal or State Gov’t if you owe those entities, but if you owe child support or have some other judgement against you at county level, you are SOL.

By: Shevy

Shevy — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 04:10:50 +0000

Or how about being a Returning Officer for an election? Elections at every governmental level happen a lot more frequently than a census, also pay decently, require a limited amount of time (although you have to be available literally all day on the day of the election) and allow you to be involved in the electoral process.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:15:40 +0000

Called and scheduled a test for next week. Hoping for the best! The pay is fantastic for those who’ll be graduating HS this spring.