Thanks for sharing; I'm passing it forward to some friends that are desparately looking.

I know of a couple of people that had interviews. I haven't heard if they got it yet though.

They've been talking about it a lot on the news. They're having trouble finding people. So it sounds like they're taking most anyone.

Is this a job where you would be a census taker? I can understand why they would have trouble finding people. I did the job a couple of times here in Canada and never again, I don't care how desperate I was for a job. I would rather clean somebody else's toilet than be a door to door census taker. LOL I have held some rotten jobs in my day, this was by far the worst.

Anne

I did it one time and I only called people who did not finish the paperwork rightI. I might try to do it again.

I worked the 2000 cesus and it wasn't bad. I think it depends a lot on the area you get. Most of my area was nice but a few places were really creepy. DK how they get people to go into some areas though.

Passing along to friends who have lost their jobs...will consider myself...thanks for posting.

Thanks, always can use a lead on work!
I took the cencus test in 2000, but was never called.

Trin

If you take a job doing the actual door-to-door recording, please BE CAREFUL - in Kansas City, where I'm from, a pretty lady, age 54, disappeared while doing this job - she just vanished in broad daylight - they found her body along a creek two years later.

I've worked for the census several times and enjoyed the work. I did the door-to-door the first year, I think that was in 1970 and I had houses in the country. Last time I worked for them in 2000 I only checked out houses that had been reported empty to verify that no one lived in them.
I don't think I would like doing the job in a big city.

I wouldn't want to do it. I'd be afraid of people's dogs (and some of the people too!).

I've never done it, but you never know when it might lead to another opportunity. I know this is probably rare & depends on the people you are visiting, but below is a true story.
A census taker visited our home in 2000. I got to talking with the guy & discovered that he knew network wiring, etc. He was working odd jobs & hoping to find a full-time job in networking. DH & I had a business doing wiring & we needed a supervisor for our crew so DH could focus on other things. I told DH about the guy & ended up hiring him. He was a great employee.

aside from the security issues of walking neighborhoods they are only averaging $11. per hr. not worth bothering w/ for most. our pet sitter gets almost double that lol ~ liz

$11/hr plus good mileage reimbursment puts more food on the table than not working at all. And if I remember correctly, it was tax free. Rural settings are a piece of cake.

Or is this another one of those jobs Americans "won't do"?

hmmm... think i'll put in my application with liz! :)

alot of people collecting unemployment will not get off just to get $11 per hr. i think if $11 is all you can find then take it but for most that is certainly not what they need to make it. i have never collected unemployment and don't even know anyone who ever has either. i have never gone a day since i was 13 w/o a job (since 18 w/o full-time work) but there are alot of people who are not like that and who are just willing to collect what they consider their dues and not take a job beneath their normal pay. i have definitely read on this very forum people say they are going to collect their till it runs out, not trying to find a job...of course that's a big reason sooo many are collecting right now plus no one prepared ahead w/ their 12 months of expenses in cash on hand.

$11 pr hr is also not much for metro areas. during 2006-2007 when i did high end residential landscape design, foreman made atleast $18 per hr and laborers $15. of course we could never find non-mexicans willing to do that backbreaking work for only $15 per hr LOL. even in the nursery group i work for only mexicans are willing to work outside and we pay well, w/ benefits and OT.

so yeah i'd say maybe working the census is not exactly a job most want, especially in southside chicago, gary IN, south miami...detroit... i think the work, aside from having a bad territory would be interesting but i have a well paying job i earned tht is secure, so i would not take $11 per hr. i support myself & DH while he works on an honors masters in engineeering, plus 2 big old dogs & a cat. i could not pay the house, food, cable/internet, cell phones, utilities, tuition/books, insurances, on and on w/ $440 a week. we saved cash up for yrs to afford to continue our lifestyle as it is while DH doesn't work and i make no appologies for being overly financially prepared for the worst case senarios... ~ liz

I have found going door to door in a upscale neighbourhood looking for census information is by far worse than going into a lower income neighbourhood to get the information. In Canada every 5th house gets the long census form. I have found that the people who have "money" don't want to divulge any information to you. They sometimes just get downright nasty and territorial. You don't receive the census information from them you have to go back maybe 3 or 4 more times and they don't like that. Some of our workers were physically harmed, beaten up, thrown bodily off property, owners having their dogs threaten you. One of my good friends, a retired teacher was hit in the face and thrown onto the ground by a householder. You should have seen his face. I was so shocked that this could have happened to him.

I found that in the poorer neighbourhoods people were willing to divulge their information because they knew that somewhere down the line it might help them.

I found apartment dwellers were more apt to give you all the information you needed without any problems.

When it comes to giving out census information you will be surprised at the people who won't co-operate.

I was offered the job as a "supervisor" for census. Sometimes that is even worse that being a census taker. Cleanup (getting information that the census workers couldn't get)is a b'tch and your job isn't done until you get that information.

Also passing the test can be hard - so it isn't a job anyone can be hired to do. I was also surprised at the number of professional people I knew who failed the test.

I've done many door to door jobs in my life - enumeration, selling dog tags for the city, election work. Census taking is not a job I would ever do again. Did it once - poor me, did it twice -how stupid was I, do it again for the third time - smack me upside the head. LOL

Anne

I think you would have to speak fluent Spanish in our area.