You're not going to believe this if I tell you, so I'm just going to give you the web address instead:
http://www.lemonjellos.com/
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
applying to work at the Census Bureau
So I've been exploring government jobs for a while. Last year Congress passed a law that forgives student loan balances remaining after 10 years of working for the government or non-profit organizations. I have a lot of student loans, so this seemed like something I should explore. I've worked at non-profits, and I'm not really gung-ho to go back because of the low wages and low job security. The federal government is, of course, just the opposite.
Enter usajobs.com. There are some jobs I would be qualified for but would find mind-numbing (i.e. "administrative assistant"). Then there are jobs that would be really interesting but require a top secret security clearance (i.e. political analyst for the CIA), which I really don't think I could - or want to - get at this crazy point in my life.
Turns out there aren't a whole lot of jobs in between those two poles that I'm well-qualified for. But, not to despair - there's still the Census Bureau. Turns out they are hiring lots of statisticians these days. Now I've never really thought of myself as a "statistician," per se. But it turns out I have the qualifications - 15 credit hours in stats and/or research methods. Cool, eh?
Last week the University of Michigan (Wayne State's better funded, better ranked, better organized neighbor to the west) held a career fair that included several government recruiters, including one from the Census Bureau. So I went, resumes and transcripts in hand. I even bought a businessy-looking blazer and pants for the occasion. I got there right as the fair opened and had to wait about 2 hours for the Census recruiter to get there - her connecting flight from Chicago was delayed. (FYI, don't fly through Chicago during the winter if you can help it. It's one of the more unreliable airports. Come to Detroit instead!! lol.)
While I was waiting for the Census recruiter, I talked to recruiters from the Social Security Administration, Department of Justice, Central Intelligence Agency, and the Sault Saint Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The DoJ guy was cool. We chatted for a while about DC. He's a Virginian. I lived in Maryland most of the time I was there. If you've never lived in DC it may not make sense when I say this, but there's a real psychological separation between VA and MD folks in the DC area. At least I experienced that. So the DoJ guy and I had a few good laughs about this phenomenon.
Anyway, just as I was ready to go the Census recruiter showed up. I actually only spoke with her for a minute or so. I had wanted to ask her lots of questions, but there were several people waiting in line to talk to her. So I just told her that I was interested in the statistician position and I had already started my application online. She wanted to interview me on campus that day, but due to U Mich policies, non-U Mich students aren't allowed to use the campus interview rooms. She was still really interested in talking to me, so she said she'd call me the next day.
I emailed her that night to thank her for her time and reiterate my interest in the position. She responded the next morning, asking me if I could come back to U Mich that afternoon for an interview. So I did. I think the interview went really well. She said that she was going to "highly recommend" me to the hiring managers at the Census (yippee!). So I have to wait until a manager of one of the sections (economic, demographic, international, etc.) is interested in me - that could take a while.
If I am hired, it's likely that it would be to the headquarters in DC. That's where the permanent positions are. I could also be hired for a term (2-year) position at one of the field offices. There's a field office in Seattle. I'd love to be there. But I'd also like to have a permanent job.
So, yeah. I'll keep you updated.
Oh, and no sequel to the Pakistan dream yet... :(
Enter usajobs.com. There are some jobs I would be qualified for but would find mind-numbing (i.e. "administrative assistant"). Then there are jobs that would be really interesting but require a top secret security clearance (i.e. political analyst for the CIA), which I really don't think I could - or want to - get at this crazy point in my life.
Turns out there aren't a whole lot of jobs in between those two poles that I'm well-qualified for. But, not to despair - there's still the Census Bureau. Turns out they are hiring lots of statisticians these days. Now I've never really thought of myself as a "statistician," per se. But it turns out I have the qualifications - 15 credit hours in stats and/or research methods. Cool, eh?
Last week the University of Michigan (Wayne State's better funded, better ranked, better organized neighbor to the west) held a career fair that included several government recruiters, including one from the Census Bureau. So I went, resumes and transcripts in hand. I even bought a businessy-looking blazer and pants for the occasion. I got there right as the fair opened and had to wait about 2 hours for the Census recruiter to get there - her connecting flight from Chicago was delayed. (FYI, don't fly through Chicago during the winter if you can help it. It's one of the more unreliable airports. Come to Detroit instead!! lol.)
While I was waiting for the Census recruiter, I talked to recruiters from the Social Security Administration, Department of Justice, Central Intelligence Agency, and the Sault Saint Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The DoJ guy was cool. We chatted for a while about DC. He's a Virginian. I lived in Maryland most of the time I was there. If you've never lived in DC it may not make sense when I say this, but there's a real psychological separation between VA and MD folks in the DC area. At least I experienced that. So the DoJ guy and I had a few good laughs about this phenomenon.
Anyway, just as I was ready to go the Census recruiter showed up. I actually only spoke with her for a minute or so. I had wanted to ask her lots of questions, but there were several people waiting in line to talk to her. So I just told her that I was interested in the statistician position and I had already started my application online. She wanted to interview me on campus that day, but due to U Mich policies, non-U Mich students aren't allowed to use the campus interview rooms. She was still really interested in talking to me, so she said she'd call me the next day.
I emailed her that night to thank her for her time and reiterate my interest in the position. She responded the next morning, asking me if I could come back to U Mich that afternoon for an interview. So I did. I think the interview went really well. She said that she was going to "highly recommend" me to the hiring managers at the Census (yippee!). So I have to wait until a manager of one of the sections (economic, demographic, international, etc.) is interested in me - that could take a while.
If I am hired, it's likely that it would be to the headquarters in DC. That's where the permanent positions are. I could also be hired for a term (2-year) position at one of the field offices. There's a field office in Seattle. I'd love to be there. But I'd also like to have a permanent job.
So, yeah. I'll keep you updated.
Oh, and no sequel to the Pakistan dream yet... :(
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