Department of Health

Department of Health anchors a workforce of 6,477 employees, one of the biggest payrolls in state government.

The most common title is Human Services Assistant (7% 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 Assistant479 employees
  7.4% of staff · median $44,155 · AFSCME
• Human Services Technician465 employees
  7.2% of staff · median $61,653 · AFSCME
• Medical Security Officer 1453 employees
  7.0% of staff · median $68,314 · AFSCME
• Charge Nurse, 12 Months302 employees
  4.7% of staff · median $98,503 · CWA
• Building Maintenance Worker184 employees
  2.8% of staff · median $45,453 · IFPTE
• Senior Food Service Handler165 employees
  2.5% of staff · median $49,063 · AFSCME
• Residential Living Specialist129 employees
  2.0% of staff · median $67,499 · AFSCME
• Research Scientist 2109 employees
  1.7% of staff · median $117,796 · CWA
• Senior Human Services Technician86 employees
  1.3% of staff · median $64,527 · AFSCME
• Health Care Services Evaluator/Nurse80 employees
  1.2% of staff · median $102,428 · CWA
• Quality Assurance Specialist, Health Services78 employees
  1.2% of staff · median $111,094 · CWA
• Practical Nurse77 employees
  1.2% of staff · median $71,629 · AFSCME

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. 28 titles on this roster are held overwhelmingly here, including 15 that exist nowhere else in state government.

• Human Services Technician465 of 472 statewide
  99% of the statewide total
• Medical Security Officer 1all 453 statewide
  only at this agency
• Residential Living Specialistall 129 statewide
  only at this agency
• Senior Human Services Technician86 of 93 statewide
  92% of the statewide total
• Health Care Services Evaluator/Nurse80 of 82 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 $56,253 and $98,503, a ratio of 1.75 between the two quartiles. That is about the same spread as state government as a whole (1.80).

• Lowest recorded salary$36,449
• Lower quartile$56,253
  statewide $62,428
• Median salary$70,850
  statewide $84,548
• Upper quartile$98,503
  statewide $112,646
• Highest recorded salary$159,624

Based on 6,031 salaried records, with 165 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.

• CWA3,278 employees
  50.6% of the agency
• AFSCME2,078 employees
  32.1% of the agency
• IFPTE489 employees
  7.5% of the agency
• IBEW127 employees
  2.0% 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 26% have twenty years or more behind them.

• Under 5 years2,201 employees
  34.8% of those with a hire date
• 5 to 10 years1,263 employees
  19.9% of those with a hire date
• 10 to 15 years650 employees
  10.3% of those with a hire date
• 15 to 20 years603 employees
  9.5% of those with a hire date
• 20 to 25 years1,006 employees
  15.9% of those with a hire date
• 25 years or more610 employees
  9.6% of those with a hire date

Hire dates are present for 6,333 of this agency's 6,477 payroll records.

Overtime

3,042 employees here recorded overtime, 47.0% of the agency, against 29.6% across state government. Agencies that have to cover a post around the clock always sit above that line.

Together they were paid $22,436,211 in overtime, averaging $7,375 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 overtime3,042
• Share of the agency47.0%
• Total overtime paid$22,436,211
• Average per employee earning it$7,375

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 specification5,859
• Records with no matching specification618
• Distinct civil service titles on the roster100 or more

Where it sits among state agencies

By headcount this is the 5th largest of the 39 payroll lines in New Jersey state government, holding 8.9% 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 Children and Families6,751 employees
  median $95,925
• Department of Corrections6,486 employees
  median $101,674
• Department of Human Services6,433 employees
  median $72,427
• Department of Environmental Protection4,647 employees
  median $86,027

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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