Department of Health

Department of Health anchors a workforce of 6,611 employees, one of the biggest payrolls in state government.

The most common title is Human Services Assistant (8% of staff), followed by Human Services Technician and Medical Security Officer 1. Median pay is $70,850, about 16% below the statewide median.

Median tenure is 8.8 years. CWA represents the largest share of its unionized workforce (about 51%).

About Department of Health

This payroll line covers the Department of Health, which carries the state's public health work: disease surveillance and outbreak response, licensing and inspection of hospitals and long-term care facilities, vital records, emergency medical services oversight, and the state public health laboratory.

The roster is heavier on hands-on care than the department's regulatory role alone would suggest. Human services assistants and technicians, charge nurses and medical security officers together outnumber the scientists and analysts, which is what a payroll line containing staffed inpatient facilities looks like. Building maintenance and food service titles sit alongside them for the same reason. Research scientists and health-facility surveyors represent the public health and licensing side. AFSCME represents the direct care titles, CWA the professional and administrative ones.

Who works here

Ranked by headcount, these are the jobs that make up most of this agency's payroll. Follow any title through to its specification for the duties and requirements behind it.

• Human Services Assistant500 employees
  7.6% of staff · median $44,155 · AFSCME
• Human Services Technician463 employees
  7.0% of staff · median $61,653 · AFSCME
• Medical Security Officer 1454 employees
  6.9% of staff · median $68,314 · AFSCME
• Charge Nurse, 12 Months316 employees
  4.8% of staff · median $98,503 · CWA
• Building Maintenance Worker186 employees
  2.8% of staff · median $45,453 · IFPTE
• Senior Food Service Handler168 employees
  2.5% of staff · median $47,427 · AFSCME
• Residential Living Specialist130 employees
  2.0% of staff · median $67,499 · AFSCME
• Research Scientist 2109 employees
  1.6% of staff · median $117,796 · CWA
• Senior Human Services Technician86 employees
  1.3% of staff · median $64,527 · AFSCME
• Health Care Services Evaluator/Nurse82 employees
  1.2% of staff · median $102,428 · CWA
• Quality Assurance Specialist, Health Services78 employees
  1.2% of staff · median $111,094 · CWA
• Supervisor Of Nursing Services78 employees
  1.2% of staff · median $108,073 · CWA

At least 100 distinct titles appear on this agency's payroll. The 12 largest are listed above.

Titles you will not find elsewhere

A useful way to read an agency is by what only it employs. 29 titles on this roster are held overwhelmingly here, including 16 that exist nowhere else in state government.

• Human Services Technician463 of 470 statewide
  99% of the statewide total
• Medical Security Officer 1all 454 statewide
  only at this agency
• Residential Living Specialistall 130 statewide
  only at this agency
• Senior Human Services Technician86 of 93 statewide
  92% of the statewide total
• Health Care Services Evaluator/Nurse82 of 84 statewide
  98% of the statewide total
• Licensed Clinical Psychologist 254 of 59 statewide
  92% of the statewide total
• Program Coordinator Mental Health53 of 58 statewide
  91% of the statewide total
• Public Health Representative 2all 44 statewide
  only at this agency

Concentration is measured against the same payroll file, comparing this agency's headcount in a title with the statewide headcount in that title.

How pay is spread

Median pay on its own hides how wide an agency's ladder is. These are the quartiles, set against the same points in the statewide distribution.

The middle half of this agency's employees earn between $55,986 and $98,503, a ratio of 1.76 between the two quartiles. That is about the same spread as state government as a whole (1.81).

• Lowest recorded salary$38,027
• Lower quartile$55,986
  statewide $62,428
• Median salary$70,850
  statewide $84,796
• Upper quartile$98,503
  statewide $113,264
• Highest recorded salary$161,000

Based on 6,153 salaried records, with 164 statistical outliers excluded from the quartile calculation.

Union representation

Bargaining unit representation across the agency. The unit a title falls into determines which salary schedule it is paid from.

• CWA3,348 employees
  50.6% of the agency
• AFSCME2,104 employees
  31.8% of the agency
• IFPTE497 employees
  7.5% of the agency
• IBEW128 employees
  1.9% of the agency

Union coverage is identifiable for 92% of this agency's payroll records. The remainder are unclassified, exempt or managerial positions that sit outside a bargaining unit.

How long people stay

The length of service profile below is worth reading alongside the pay figures, because a long-tenured workforce sits higher on its step ladders.

Half of this agency's employees have been on the state payroll longer than 8.8 years, well short of the statewide median of 9.6. 35% joined within the last five years, and 25% have twenty years or more behind them.

• Under 5 years2,198 employees
  34.6% of those with a hire date
• 5 to 10 years1,273 employees
  20.0% of those with a hire date
• 10 to 15 years685 employees
  10.8% of those with a hire date
• 15 to 20 years587 employees
  9.2% of those with a hire date
• 20 to 25 years960 employees
  15.1% of those with a hire date
• 25 years or more652 employees
  10.3% of those with a hire date

Hire dates are present for 6,355 of this agency's 6,611 payroll records.

Overtime

3,204 employees here recorded overtime, 48.5% of the agency, against 31.6% across state government. Agencies that have to cover a post around the clock always sit above that line.

Together they were paid $39,909,413 in overtime, averaging $12,456 for each employee who earned any. Overtime is not part of the salary figures elsewhere on this page, which report base pay.

• Employees with recorded overtime3,204
• Share of the agency48.5%
• Total overtime paid$39,909,413
• Average per employee earning it$12,456

Civil service coverage

90% of this agency's payroll records carry a title that matches a published civil service specification. That is a high match rate, and it means the hiring routes described elsewhere on this site apply to most jobs here: an announced examination, an eligible list, and appointment from that list.

• Records matched to a specification5,956
• Records with no matching specification655
• Distinct civil service titles on the roster100 or more

Where it sits among state agencies

By headcount this is the 4th largest of the 39 payroll lines in New Jersey state government, holding 8.8% of the state workforce.

These are the agencies closest to it in size, which makes them the fairest comparison for pay and tenure.

• Department of Law & Public Safety8,324 employees
  median $101,708
• Department of Children and Families6,866 employees
  median $95,654
• Department of Human Services6,533 employees
  median $72,427
• Department of Corrections6,513 employees
  median $103,187

Study guides for this exam

• Civil Service Arithmetic National Learning Corporation · $39.94
• Civil Service Grammar and Usage National Learning Corporation · $34.95
• Civil Service Administration, Management and Supervision National Learning Corporation · $55.95
• Clerical, Office & Administrative Support Positions (COAST) (Career Examination) National Learning Corporation · $39.95
• Logical Reasoning National Learning Corporation · $29.95
• In-Basket Examination National Learning Corporation · $49.95
• GRAPHS, CHARTS AND TABLES (Tabular Material) National Learning Corporation · $39.94
• Abstract Reasoning / Spatial Relations National Learning Corporation · $49.95
• CIVIL SERVICE READING COMPREHENSION (General Aptitude and Abilities Series) (Passbooks) National Learning Corporation · $39.95 · general prep, not specific to this title

The Civil Service Commission does not publish official study guides or release past tests. These are independent equivalency guides.

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