How to Get Tucson Government Jobs

There are plenty of opportunities for those seeking Tucson government jobs.

Tucson's government industry employed 79,900 workers during April, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 78,700 workers during March, but a 2.4 percent decrease from last year.

During 2004, there were 262,000 employees in Arizona's local government industry, which is about 65 percent of all government employment in the state. According to the Arizona Department of Commerce, there are more than 12 city governments and 70 school districts in Maricopa County alone.

Each city, county and regional government, as well as local school district, is responsible for its own hiring process, so application procedures differ throughout the state. If you want to work with a city, county or regional government, you should directly contact the personnel department.

Most employers, including local governments, use applicant tracking systems, or ATS, to measure your resume, so it's important to know what to include. When applying for a government position, your resume should feature:

• Job information - Announcement number, title and grade of the job for which you are applying.
• Personal information - Full name, mailing address, and day and evening telephone numbers; country of citizenship; and veteran's preference. If you were previously employed by the federal government, also include your reinstatement eligibility and the highest federal civilian grade you held.
• Education - Name, city and state of high school, as well as date of diploma or GED; colleges and universities attended, subjects you majored in, and type of degrees you received; and a copy of your transcript if the job ad requests it.
• Work experience - Job titles held; what you did and accomplished; previous employers' names and addresses; starting and ending dates; how many hours per week you worked; what you earned; and whether or not your current supervisor may be contacted.
• Other qualifications - Job-related training courses; job-related skills, such as typing speed, languages you speak, and computer software and hardware knowledge; job-related certificates and licenses you've obtained; and job-related honors, awards or special accomplishments you've earned.

If you're having trouble formulating your resume, try using a free resume builder to help you along the way.

San Antonio Teaching Jobs, Medical Jobs Increase 2 Percent

San Antonio teaching jobs (Click here) and medical jobs saw the biggest yearly increase during April as the city's unemployment rate remained even and more workers were added overall.

During April, the San Antonio-New Braunfels area's unemployment rate remained at 7.3 percent percent for the second month in a row, following a decrease from 7.4 percent during March. The area's rate is lower than the national average of 9.9 percent.

The San Antonio area had a total non-farm employment of 829,000 workers during April, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 826,200 workers during March, but a 1.2 percent decrease from last year.

Six industries managed to see a monthly increase in employment during April, including: construction by 300 jobs; trade, transportation and utilities by 200 jobs; financial activities by 200 jobs; education and health services by 900 jobs; leisure and hospitality by 1,800 jobs; and government by 800 jobs.

Employment in the mining and logging industry remained even over the month with 3,300 jobs.

Three industries managed to see a yearly increase in employment, with the education and health services industry adding the most workers. The industry's workforce grew by 2 percent between April 2009 and April 2010 to 124,300 jobs.

The government industry saw the second-largest increase in employment, growing by 1.1 percent over the year to 162,900 jobs. The financial activities industry increased by .9 percent to 64,900 jobs during April of this year.

The information industry took the biggest hit when compared to last year. The industry employed 18,500 workers during April, down from 18,700 workers during March and an 8.9 percent decrease from last year.

Other industries that saw an over-the-year decrease in employment include:
Construction by 6.8 percent
Manufacturing by 5.5 percent
Mining and logging by 2.9 percent
Professional and business services by 2.5 percent
Trade, transportation and utilities by 2.2 percent
Other services by 1.6 percent
Leisure and hospitality by .9 percent

Portland Jobs Saved Under Revised Budget

A revised city budget will help to save many Portland jobs (Click here).

Earlier this week, Mayor Sam Adams released a revised budget that will uphold public safety priorities and continue to make investments in human services. The new budget will restore several Portland Police Bureau positions that were going to be cut under earlier versions.

"This is a problem-solving budget from a can-do police chief, a new approach that saves the sworn officer positions," Adams said.

In particular, the budget will restore funding for 25 sworn police officer positions, the Police Bureau's Mounted Patrol Unit, Cold Case Homicide Unit, and the school resources officer program. The jobs were able to be saved after Police Chief Mike Reese revised the Police Bureau budget to focus on administrative and overhead reductions.

The Mounted Patrol Unit restoration is possible because of the reinstatement of the sworn officer positions and a $100,000 private-sector donation.

"This budget is about protecting the operational integrity of the Portland Police Bureau" Reese said. "Units like Mounted Patrol and Cold Case are what Portlanders want and expect out of their police bureau, and our priority is keeping officers – newly hired and veterans alike – on the streets as peacekeepers."

In order to balance the overall budget, Adams cut some previously proposed expenditures and instead relied on the proceeds of a bond refunding. In addition to the police positions, the new budget also restores a fire station that was slated to close, as well as one of two rescue units.

Denver Engineer Jobs for Aerospace Engineers

Those seeking Denver engineer jobs should check out the opportunities available for aerospace engineers.

Engineers in general apply the principles of science and math to develop economical solutions to technical problems. Many engineers work to develop new products and are involved in the design, development, testing, production and maintenance phases of their work.

Aerospace engineers design, develop, test and supervise the manufacturing of aircraft, spacecraft and missiles. Aeronautical engineers work specifically with aircraft while astronautical engineers work specifically with spacecraft.

Both types of aerospace engineers develop new technologies to use in aviation, defense systems and space exploration and often specialize in structural design, guidance, navigation and control, instrumentation and communication, or production methods.

Aerospace engineers also may specialize in particular types of aerospace products, such as commercial aircraft, military fighter jets, helicopters, spacecraft, or missiles and rockets. They can become experts in aerodynamics, thermodynamics, celestial mechanics, propulsion, acoustics, or guidance and control systems.

The majority of employers require candidates for aerospace engineering positions to have the minimum of a bachelor's degree. In addition, any engineer working directly with the public must obtain the proper licensing, which is required in every state.

According to the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment, aerospace engineers in Denver can expect to be paid well and will find some job openings during the near future.

During 2008, the average wage for aerospace engineers in the Denver area was $47.47 per hour or $98,743 per year, while the average entry-level wage was $34.55 per hour or $71,861 per year and the average advanced-level wage was $59.18 per hour or $123,099 per year.

Employment of aerospace engineers in the Denver area is expected to increase from 882 workers during 2008 to 893 workers by 2018, accounting for 11 new jobs and an average annual growth rate of .1 percent.

The industries that employed aerospace engineers in the Denver area during 2009 were:

• Professional and technical services - 47.7 percent
• Transportation equipment manufacturing - 38.3 percent
• Air transportation - Confidential percentage
• Management of companies and enterprises - Confidential percentage
• Administrative and support services - Confidential percentage
• Computer and electronic product manufacturing - Confidential percentage
• Machinery manufacturing - Confidential percentage

Some related occupations include: engineering managers; civil engineers; electrical engineers; industrial engineers; marine engineers; marine architects; mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers; petroleum engineers; and industrial engineering technicians.

Nevada Unemployment Could Benefit from Gibbons OPEN Government Initiative

Local officials hope that a new initiative making all budget spending meetings involving taxpayer funds open to the public would eventually help reduce Nevada unemployment.

Gov. Jim Gibbons recently launched the Gibbons OPEN Government Initiative, or Open Public Employee Negotiations. The petition would amend the Nevada Revised Statutes to include all collective bargaining agreement negotiations and meetings in the state's Open Meeting Law.

"Just like the State of Nevada, local governments and school districts are struggling to reduce expenditures," Gibbons said, "It is disappointing to see unions forcing local governments to lay off employees rather than accepting some form of salary reduction to save jobs. Nevada needs to keep as many people working as possible, and the voters of Nevada will pass this initiative to save jobs."

The current state law exempts collective bargaining negotiations from the Open Meeting Law. At the same time, between 70 percent and 80 percent of a local government or school district budget is spent on personnel, but that spending is hidden from public view.

Aside from these union negotiations, no other spending of public funds is allowed to be done outside of an open public meeting. Gibbons has tried twice before to change the law but has been refused by the Nevada Legislature both times.

"Transparency and accountability in government are essential to keep the public trust," Gibbons said. "We must open up all negotiations and meetings where public funds are allocated, especially during these difficult economic times where every penny counts. These are public funds, tax money, we're talking about and the people have a right to know how their money is spent."

The Committee for the Gibbons OPEN Government Initiative has until November 9 to gather the 97,002 signatures needed to place the petition in front of the Legislature during 2011.

Veteran Jobs Training Funded by Microsoft

Microsoft is doing its part to train those with veteran jobs for a smooth transition into civilian life and work.

Microsoft Corporation is asking organizations to submit proposals for the Elevate America Veterans Initiative, which gives veterans and their spouses the technology skills and support resources necessary to be successful in the civilian workforce.

"Our servicemen and women who are separating from the military and reintegrating into their civilian communities and the workforce face a tough job market," Pamela Passman, corporate vice president of Microsoft Global Corporate Affairs, said. "We know that access to technology skills training combined with critical support services can help them succeed, and we look forward to partnering with organizations that can help our veterans and their spouses through innovative approaches to job training and placement."

Microsoft will use a competitive process to award cash, software and IT skills training curriculum to eligible veterans service organizations, workforce agencies, and other nonprofit organizations that provide veterans and their spouses with career transition services.

That support can include technology skills training, job placement, career counseling or other services such as childcare, transportation and housing. Organizations must apply by June 30 and winners will be announced in August.

Successful applications will include collaborative partnerships between two or more organizations in the nonprofit, workforce development, labor and education sectors. Applicants may request between $100,000 and $200,000 cash, but cannot exceed 50 percent of the total program budget, as well as software and IT skills training.

This is the first phase of the Elevate America Veterans Initiative, which will ultimately provide $2 million in cash and up to $6 million in software and other resources during the next two years to organizations that help veterans and their spouses.

A second round of competitive applications will be requested during 2011, providing grant winners a chance to deepen their efforts based on results from the first phase and scale projects that have been effective.

Microsoft also has created an advisory committee to provide guidance throughout the process. The committee includes members of The American Legion, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Paralyzed Veterans of America, United Service Organizations, and Wounded Warrior Project.

Microsoft announced the Elevate America Veterans Initiative in March. The program is an extension of the Elevate America program, which has provided more than 600,000 vouchers for free technology training in 17 states.

If you're interested in working for Microsoft itself, check out this employment and career video production: