NJ Civil Service Navigator

Program Support Specialist Family

Career series with 11 positions across 3 levels

In New Jersey civil service, Program Support Specialist names a 3-level progression covering 11 distinct titles.

Entry is typically through Program Support Specialist 1, Quality Control, advancing through the ladder toward Program Support Specialist 3, Quality Control and, from there, into supervisory roles. Pay across the family spans $69,668 to $141,386, around the 70th percentile of all civil service job families by top pay.

Program Support Specialist commonly advances into Program Specialist and Hazardous Site Mitigation Specialist.

11
Positions
3
Career Levels
4
Specializations
Salary Range: $69,668 - $141,386/year

Specializations

Assistance Program, Bilingual In Spanish And English Assistance Programs Assistance Programs, Bilingual In Spanish And English Quality Control

Positions in This Family

What the Program Support Specialist family covers

Program Support Specialist is a graded series in the New Jersey civil service classification plan, running 11 title codes across 3 levels. Every title in it is a state title, so the employer is a state department, commission or authority rather than a county or municipality.

This family does not sit cleanly in one occupational group. New Jersey's classification plan carries a long tail of titles created for a specific program, a specific facility or a single consolidated local post, and they keep their own codes even when only one position exists. Reading the individual specifications below is the fastest way to see what the work actually is, since the family name alone will not tell you.

The ladder, ordered by pay

Ordered by what they actually pay rather than by the number in the title, the Program Support Specialist rungs look like this. Here the numbering happens to agree with the pay order, which is not guaranteed elsewhere in New Jersey's plan.

The distance from the bottom of Program Support Specialist 1 Assistance Programs to the top of Supervising Program Support Specialist, Quality Control is $71,718, an increase of about 103% over the entry minimum.

What each title does

Each title in the family carries its own published definition. These are the opening lines of each one, which is usually where the difference between two neighboring rungs is actually stated.

Showing 8 of 11 published definitions in this family. The full list of titles is below.

What it takes to qualify

Across the 11 titles we have parsed, the education requirements read as a master's degree on 11 of them. Stated experience runs from 1 year at the lowest rung to 3 at the highest, which is the main thing separating one level from the next.

On how the jobs are filled: 11 are competitive, filled from an eligible list after an open competitive or promotional examination.

How the pay is set

Titles in this family are paid on the A-P-R-S salary schedule. See every step in that schedule. Bargaining is handled by CWA. Union contracts and rights are collected here.

Where these jobs exist

Hiring for this family runs through state service. Departments, commissions and boards fill these titles from eligible lists built by the Civil Service Commission, so the route in is an announcement and a filing deadline rather than a posting you apply to directly. What state jurisdiction means, and a breakdown of who employs what.

Related titles elsewhere in the plan

These titles sit elsewhere in the classification plan but share vocabulary with Program Support Specialist, which usually means overlapping duties or a related eligible list.

Families next to this one

New Jersey's classification plan links families by shared terminology and by the routes people actually take between them. These sit closest to Program Support Specialist.

Common questions about Program Support Specialist jobs

How many separate Program Support Specialist classifications does New Jersey have?

The Program Support Specialist family holds 11 title codes arranged across 3 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.

How much is a Program Support Specialist paid?

Published salary data for this family runs from $69,668 at the bottom of Program Support Specialist 1 Assistance Programs to $141,386 at the top of Supervising Program Support Specialist, Quality Control. Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.

Is there a civil service test for Program Support Specialist?

Yes for most of the family. 11 of the 11 titles are in the competitive division, which means appointment comes from an eligible list built by an open competitive or promotional examination.

What are the requirements to become a Program Support Specialist?

The most common education requirement in this family is a master's degree, named on 11 of the 11 titles. Stated experience ranges from 1 to 3 years depending on the rung. Read the individual specification for the exact wording, including any experience substitution.