Department of State

Department of State is a substantial state agency, employing 220 people statewide.

The most common title is Government Representative 2 (7% of staff), followed by Education: Program Specialist 3 and Customer Service Information Specialist 1. Median pay is $92,199, about 9% above the statewide median. About 79% of its employees are mapped to a civil service title specification, lower than most state agencies because it employs more agency-specific or unclassified roles.

Median tenure is 5.9 years, shorter than the statewide median of 9.6 years. CWA represents the largest share of its unionized workforce (about 66%).

About Department of State

The Department of State holds a mixed portfolio. The Secretary of State is the state's chief election official, and the department also carries business development through the Business Action Center, along with the arts, history, travel and tourism programs.

The roster is correspondingly mixed and quite flat, with no single title carrying much of the headcount. Government representatives, program specialists and economic development representatives cover the business and program side, and customer service information specialists handle public-facing work. People do not stay here as long as they do in most departments, and the median length of service reflects that. A department this varied is a good illustration of why agency-level salary medians are worth reading alongside the title mix rather than on their own.

Who works here

These are the titles that carry the most people on this payroll. Each one links to its civil service specification, which sets out the duties, the minimum requirements and the salary range.

• Government Representative 216 employees
  7.3% of staff · median $104,625
• Education: Program Specialist 310 employees
  4.5% of staff · median $94,028 · CWA
• Customer Service Information Specialist 18 employees
  3.6% of staff · median $42,990 · CWA
• Administrative Analyst 36 employees
  2.7% of staff · median $97,821 · CWA
• Program Specialist 25 employees
  2.3% of staff · median $73,257 · CWA
• Executive Director5 employees
  2.3% of staff · median $130,754
• Economic Development Representative 34 employees
  1.8% of staff · median $99,482 · CWA
• Economic Development Representative 24 employees
  1.8% of staff · median $116,402 · CWA
• Economic Development Representative 14 employees
  1.8% of staff · median $110,923 · CWA
• Administrative Assistant 14 employees
  1.8% of staff · median $96,045 · CWA
• Executive Assistant 34 employees
  1.8% of staff · median $127,826 · CWA
• Education: Program Specialist 24 employees
  1.8% of staff · median $119,886 · CWA

64 further titles appear on this agency's payroll, 76 in all. Government Representative 2 is a catch-all title used for very different jobs across agencies, so the median pay shown against it covers a wide mix of roles and does not describe a single position.

Titles you will not find elsewhere

8 of this agency's titles are concentrated here rather than shared across departments, and for 8 of them every single position in the state sits on this payroll.

• Education: Program Specialist 3all 10 statewide
  only at this agency
• Economic Development Representative 3all 4 statewide
  only at this agency
• Economic Development Representative 2all 4 statewide
  only at this agency
• Economic Development Representative 1all 4 statewide
  only at this agency
• Archivist 1all 4 statewide
  only at this agency
• Museum Registrar, Fine Artall 4 statewide
  only at this agency
• Assistant Curator, Fine Artall 4 statewide
  only at this agency
• Senior Research Associate New Jersey Historical Commissionall 3 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

Below are the quartile boundaries for this agency's salaries, with the statewide equivalents alongside them for reference.

The middle half of this agency's employees earn between $76,229 and $118,016, a ratio of 1.55 between the two quartiles. State government as a whole sits at 1.80, so this agency's pay is bunched more tightly than average, which tends to happen where one or two large titles carry most of the staff.

• Lowest recorded salary$41,336
• Lower quartile$76,229
  statewide $62,428
• Median salary$92,199
  statewide $84,548
• Upper quartile$118,016
  statewide $112,646
• Highest recorded salary$175,000

Based on 188 salaried records, with 4 statistical outliers excluded from the quartile calculation.

Union representation

Which contract covers a job decides its salary schedule, its step ladder and its grievance route. This is the union mix on this payroll.

• CWA146 employees
  66.4% of the agency
• IBEW12 employees
  5.5% of the agency
• IFPTE3 employees
  1.4% of the agency

Union coverage is identifiable for 73% of this agency's payroll records. The remainder are unclassified, exempt or managerial positions that sit outside a bargaining unit.

How long people stay

Tenure tells you something a salary table cannot: whether this is a place people arrive at or a place they stay.

Half of this agency's employees have been on the state payroll longer than 5.9 years, well short of the statewide median of 9.6. 49% joined within the last five years, and 18% have twenty years or more behind them.

• Under 5 years104 employees
  48.6% of those with a hire date
• 5 to 10 years36 employees
  16.8% of those with a hire date
• 10 to 15 years21 employees
  9.8% of those with a hire date
• 15 to 20 years14 employees
  6.5% of those with a hire date
• 20 to 25 years18 employees
  8.4% of those with a hire date
• 25 years or more21 employees
  9.8% of those with a hire date

Hire dates are present for 214 of this agency's 220 payroll records.

Overtime

4 employees here recorded overtime, 1.8% of the agency, against 29.6% across state government. Little overtime usually means salaried professional work with no shift to fill.

Together they were paid $7,574 in overtime, averaging $1,894 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 overtime4
• Share of the agency1.8%
• Total overtime paid$7,574
• Average per employee earning it$1,894

Civil service coverage

79% of this agency's payroll records carry a title that matches a published civil service specification. The rest are unclassified, exempt or agency-specific positions filled outside the competitive examination process, so the standard exam and eligible list route covers most but not all of the jobs here.

• Records matched to a specification174
• Records with no matching specification46
• Distinct civil service titles on the roster76

Where it sits among state agencies

By headcount this is the 25th largest of the 39 payroll lines in New Jersey state government, holding 0.3% of the state workforce.

Its nearest neighbours by headcount, for readers who want a like-for-like comparison.

• Civil Service Commission281 employees
  median $92,711
• Board of the Public Utility249 employees
  median $99,717
• Governor's Office201 employees
  median $110,000
• Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness162 employees
  median $110,268

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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