Job Responsibilities
Working on computer, completes applications for SSI aged, blind
and disabled benefits, via face-to-face and telephone
interview. Adjudicates claims, ensuring that all non-medical
eligibility factors are met (the actual disability decision is
made by the state). Knowledge of complex federal law and
regulations is essential (the regulations fill over fifty
binders). You must be able to communicate complex issues to a
clientelle with a seventh-grade education level. Illiteracy in
English is common.
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Job Requirements
Employer values college credits in Logic, English, any foreign
language (but especially Spanish); computer proficiency is a pre-
requisite. Once hired, you must complete a 12-week training
program provided by employer. This is a hateful ordeal. You
will then undergo on-the-job training, working with an
experience mentor, while taking actual claims. Full proficiency
in all areas of responsibility take years to acquire.
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Uppers
Helping others. Good benefits, especially paid leave and health insurance. I
was fortunate to have pleasant, dedicated and supportive co-workers.
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Downers
Oh boy. Difficult clientelle -- some kind of mental deficiency
or dysfunction is the rule. Drug and alcohol addiction (and the
accompanying belligerence) is common. Many homeless people.
When open to the public, the office is noisy, and stinks.
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Lifestyle
Eight-hour workday, thirty-minute lunch with two fifteen-minute breaks.
Flex-time: you can start work between 7:00 and 9:00 AM. Little (if any) travel or
outside socializing required. Relaxed dress code -- I usually wore dress slacks
and shirt, no coat or tie. Diverse racial mixture, and wide variance of
education among co-workers. Excellent accommodation of disabled employees,
including the blind.
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Compensation
Starting salary is about $45,000. A skilled journeyman at the
top of the pay-scale will earn about $75,000. This is a
deferred compensation job -- you do society's dirty work for
relatively low pay, in order to qualify for a generous pension
at age 55.
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Advice to Jobseekers
Do you have a quick temper? Are you highly reactive and
impatient with difficult people and bureaucratic inertia? Then
this job is not for you.
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