Roadside Worker 

(Female, Age 25) from Cherokee, NC

This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 25 who works as a Roadside Worker in Cherokee, NC. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.

At a Glance

Current Job

Basic data on your current job

Job Title Roadside Worker
Salary $20,100
Other Compensation None Set
Hours/Week 30
Company Size (not answered)
Location Cherokee, NC
Years Experience 3.5 years

Career Ratings

Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)

Years in Career 0
Education (not answered)
Income Rating 0 / 10
Interest Rating 0 / 10
Work-Life Rating 0 / 10
Fulfilment Rating 0 / 10

Current job Q&A

Describe the type of organization you work for.
My company is fairly small and locally ran, with about 25 people. We get many different contracts, mostly from DOT but also for putting up Christmas lights, watering flowers around town, landscaping, housekeeping, and construction cleanup.

Describe your job role and responsibilities.
I pick up roads around town as they accumulate trash, weed flower beds, plant flowers and shrubs, water flowers around town, put up Christmas lights and clean the construction work at our town’s casino.

Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
no benefits

Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
under

Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
I just work with my fellow employees which I like usually. There are only a couple people I don’t like working with because their work ethic is not like mine and they don’t do a good job.

Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes

Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes

Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
We usually work outside which I usually like unless it’s super hot or cold. When we have to clean a business it’s inside work but I just don’t like using cleaning materials and working inside. I love the fresh air.

Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 7
Benefits: 8
Hours: 3
Co-Workers: 2
Supervisors: 1
Job Title: 6
Level of Responsibility: 5
The Actual Work: 4

A day in the life of…

Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:

5am to 6am
6am to 7am
7am to 8am Get up, eat, shower, get dressed and off to work by 8.
8am to 9am Meet at designated area for our daily meeting. Receive our instructions/assignments for the day. Use pinchers and trash bags to pick up trash in 5 parking lots before tourists come by, and check trash cans to see if they need the old bags taken out and new ones put in. Take another truck some shovels and a take.
9am to 10am Went to new bridge and tied up strands of garland with red bows and bells for the holidays.
10am to 11am Went to an elderly man’s house and started dusting, washing laundry, dishes, and cleaning the bathroom.
11am to 12pm Finished cleaning house – made the bed, swept, mopped, folded laundry, and emptied mop buckets before loading up work truck with our supplies.
12pm to 1pm Lunch break, went home and ate and checked mail, then met back at meeting spot to continue working.
1pm to 2pm Went to the old bridge and put up garland, bows, bells and wreaths to decorate for the holidays.
2pm to 3pm Started cleaning side roads around town – 2 people get dropped off with trash bags and pinchers, and start walking and picking up trash. The other 2 drive ahead then park the truck, jump out, and start walking picking up trash. We leapfrogged till each road is clean.
3pm to 4pm Finished our roads and took all tools back to the work sheds and parked work vehicles in designated parking area. Dropped off other workers at employee parking. Left truck keys in secret spot for tomorrow.
4pm to 5pm
5pm to 6pm
6pm to 7pm
7pm to 8pm
8pm to 9pm
9pm to 10pm
10pm to 11pm
11pm to 12am

Table of Contents

How you got your job

How did you get your current job?
my friend referred me

What was the application process?
I submitted my resume and got a call back offering me the job

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
No I did not have an interview

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
N/A

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
No, I had to learn most things once I started working. I also didn’t realize there would be so much walking.

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
I attended an osha class and a class on herbicide spraying.

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
No my education was focused on metallurgical engineering which has had nothing to do with my current job.

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
N/A

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Go to the local unemployment office or your town’s job bank. An online site like careerbuilder may show openings but usually the local job bank.

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
You need to be able to work well with others, stand on your feet for long periods of time, lift heavy objects, spend long periods of time bending, and use cleaning agents.

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
nothing special needed, but osha training is helepful

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Get some exercise to make sure you can walk all day if necessary, and bring a jug of water to work.

Long-term career plans

Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
No eventually I would like to go back to working at a law firm which has nothing to do with my current job.

What are your current career goals?
Build up my strength and endurance, and get along better with a couple coworkers.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
It can be physically demanding and at times very cold or very hot. If you like office work this is not for you.

Prior work history

Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:

Title Length Salary Description
Prior Job 1 barista 6 months 15000 Making coffee drinks, running cash register, cleaning shop, and ordering supplies.
Prior Job 2 legal assistant 1 year 25000 Opening case files, negotiating with borrowers and lenders, answering phones, running mail, typing dismissals.

Educational background

Please list your educational background:

High School GPA:2.5

GPA School Degree
College (Undergraduate)
or Technical/Vocational
2.7 Montana college of technology Metallurgical Engineering
Graduate or Professional
(Masters or Doctorate)

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