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US Census Bureau

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Ups and downs - Field Representative US Census Bureau Employee Review

4.0
Mar 14, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

As a field representative you have mostly freedom to complete your work. The majority of your time will be in your vehicle, travelling around your county and sometimes surrounding counties to locate houses which, depending on the survey you work, may be clustered together or spread apart. Generally you don't alert anyone as to when you go out, or when you come back. You complete payroll at the end of the day and transmit your work, and are given discretion as to how you organize your cases and which area you work in each day. You may work 2 hours for a case or two that are nearby, or you may spend 4-5 hours in drive time depending where you are and how far your cases are from you home. The mileage is extremely reasonable, and the pay is reasonable for many areas. The ability to manage your home/work life without permission is by far the greatest perk, as you can work around your life schedule.

Cons

You will deal with rude people, although the majority are nice. You will undoubtedly get yelled at, possibly threatened, and dogs are something you need to watch for. Most importantly you will travel to areas you are unfamiliar with and may feel are more dangerous than you are comfortable with. You are expected to complete your assignments, and sometimes repeat visits are needed without any progress because some people simply won't answer the door. Management changes constantly, and while your immediate supervisor may stay constant, anyone in the regional office plays hot seat and enters a new role thinking they can revolutionize the work we do while often making it worse. Support needed to do out jobs is shaky, sometimes nonexistent. You must be self motivated and you will complete a thankless job while upper management will pass along new and "innovative" ideas to help, often not having any idea what it is like to work in an area or in the field at all.

Explore other reviews about US Census Bureau

5.0
May 21, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Able to set your own hours as long as you're productive

Cons

Some people did not want to participate at all

3.0
May 27, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Worthwhile work to benefit the city you are working in. Most everyone I worked with was pretty nice and willing to lend a hand if needed. But I feel like I saw the other side of how upper management treats people they don't like as much and i saw aspects that weren't as good through upper managements treatment of others.

Cons

Constantly changing directives from upper management. And they don't have your back when you get questioned why you followed the most recent order from your boss. Inconsistent pay scales by position. Pay varies by location. But they don't adjust it upward. If you hire on in a city that pays less, you don't get a bump if you stay with the company and work in a new city that pays better in your next assignment. Meaning new hires with no experience can easily make more than you because they started in the city that pays more. One of my best employees was paid the least. I felt bad and tried to get their rate adjusted with no luck. It very much has the vibe of they are figuring out things as they go, The department is grossly understaffed. Technology is lacking creating inefficiencies.

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