Pinellas County Jobs (Tampa, Clearwater: insurance, home, elementary schools) - Tampa Bay - Florida (FL) -Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater - City-Data Forum

silverzrod5 · 06-02-2008, 07:06 PM

How are county jobs in pinellas county... i am applying for a job in the Public Works division and wondering if it is safe to say that I will not get laid off in the near future... I here things are not so good right now with that ammendment one not passing??? any suggestions will help... should I apply or stay where I am??

Jesslyn848 · 06-03-2008, 07:18 AM

amendment one did pass

I have two family members that work for Hillsborough Public Works, and they are both fearful for their jobs at this point for a variety of reasons.

I would definitely apply though, as county positions and benefits can be great. I myself worked in Public Works Admin, and am looking to get my foot back in the door again. It's tough to get in though, and from the small amount of time I worked there, I know that the advertised "available" positions are often anything but. Many times, I saw that the advertising was nothing more than a formality, as most of the positions already had hand picked people to fill them. In my experience, it was definitely "who you know" that helped you get in the door. I do wish you luck though! Stay persistent!

anywherebutpinellas · 06-03-2008, 07:31 PM

Jobs are very bad around here. I live in Tampa, I'm a 30 year state of florida employee, and I'm looking to move back to the Clearwater/St. Pete area (in Pinellas County). I've been trying to get a job there for months, no luck yet. You might as well forget county and city jobs - everything is under a hiring freeze.

They just closed 3 elementary schools today in Pinellas, since the student enrollment is way down - and there is talk of closing more schools. People are unable to stay here with the low pay, high home insurance costs, and property taxes. I think the pay is the worst thing - check out craigslist in the tampa bay area. Under admin/office, they want college degrees, great customer service, excellent computer skills, quickbooks, fast typing speeds, and so on, for a measly $10.00 an hour. Kind of sad to need a college degree for a clerical job.

I used to work for the school system just 2 years ago. I stupidly left for another job and wish I hadn't - but it's too late now, they have NO vacancies, unless you want to work in food service or drive a bus.

Hillsborough county schools (Tampa) are also under a hiring freeze.

silverzrod5 · 06-03-2008, 07:56 PM

so i guess it was a bad thing that ammendment one passed.... no raising of property taxes right?
i am applying for a engineering specialist 1 (roadway design) position for pinellas county... what do you think... say if I got the job do you think I would be able to pull out 30 yrs with out any problems... just trying to get a general feel from someone that knows the county.... I had a feeling they probably are just posting things just for formality......but say

for instance I am registered on the MyFlorida.com - Home website and that shows all county and state jobs avalible in my field... and this particular title is not shown on the myflorida site........but it is shown on pinellas county site....... "hiring within or No"........ just saying cause it shows county jobs on the myflorida site for other stuff... ya know

but what is the deal with the county site........ don't they try hiring within first... and if that isn't possible go to the outside and post on the website in the open hiring section???? just not sure how things work down there......any info is helpful

Also just wondering i am from New York State and have a state job..... but does say pinellas county have civil service test that i have to pass or is it based on qualifications????
thanks so much

silverzrod5 · 06-03-2008, 08:01 PM

should i be fearful of a job in the public works section for civil engineering in roadway inspection or design.... I am just saying cause they are hiring for a position now so if they are in such trouble why would they be hiring for this position.... do you think the position is safe to take and pull out the 30 yrs.

Jesslyn848 · 06-04-2008, 05:30 AM

I don't think anyone can tell you that you'll safely hold a job anywhere for 30 years (county or otherwise) with any degree of certainty. That would be a huge assumption to make. All you can do is apply and see what happens.

mandy_tampa · 06-04-2008, 06:43 PM

As far as I know when they hire you at the County you still have a 6 month "trial" period where they can let you go anytime! I would just apply to see if you can even get "in".

anywherebutpinellas · 06-04-2008, 07:07 PM

With state jobs in Florida, the probation is a YEAR. It used to be six months. They can get rid of you whenever they feel like it. They also used to give merit increases based on your evaluation, but that's been stopped for a long time. AND, everytime you promote to a new job title - guess what? Another year of probation. I know of a few people who won't even try for a promotion because of that. Of course, now there's hardly anything to promote to.

We can thank Jeb Bush (previous governor) for that - and also for privatizing the personnel system with People First (run by Convergys). Everyone hates it, and most call it "People Worst".