# Looks like I may be working on the census **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 16, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203 "2010-01-16T16:41:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/21 "2010-01-27T04:28:08Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > First day of training today. Holy mother of pearl, I’d forgotten what a bunch of inept knuckleheads work for the government. But I sort of expected that. The other people in the room were okay except for the 40-somthing hottie who thinks she’s a 20-something hottie and is a dimwit to boot. She’ll never survive as a supervisor without being fired. The woman can’t figure out the simplest of paperwork tasks. Or maybe she’s just an attention whore. Either way, I have zero patience with high maintenance fools. Hope it gets better. If it makes you feel better, pretty much everyone you’ll be working for/with is temporary. Meaning that, at some point over the next several months, they’ll be unemployed again. I like to think the permanent Federal workforce is smarter. > [@Broomstick](#): > > My worst experience with the Census last year were the white folks who stopped me on the street, expressed their EXTREME displeasure that I, another white person, was working for the Federal government with a _[racial slur] [vulgar word for sexual act]_ up the White House. The phrase “race traitor” was used, along with “whore”. Fortunately, they were all talk and nothing more but it was… uncomfortable. Three of them, one of me, and they were between me and my car. That was in the “nice, white neighborhood” > > Oddly enough, walking around with a vampire-white skin in the black slums of Gary people were actually _nice_ to me, or at the worst indifferent/cold. Not that I dropped my guard, I mean, you need to be aware no matter what neighborhood you’re in. Plenty of people peeking out of the living room curtains wondering who the heck I was no matter where I went. > > But for the most part, it was one of the better jobs I’ve had. I have heard so much bullshit since I’ve been with the Census. We got the Acorn comments until about November or December. Then we got the assorted Beck fans for a while. Now that the Census Bureau has begun to roll out its media campaign, most of the people we’ve talked to are actually rational and open-minded. Or else we’ve just gotten to work events that aren’t populated by anti-government crazies. It’s hard to tell sometimes. The prize goes to the winner who told me (in the checkout line at Rite Aid, no less) that the Census is unconstitutional. I had to requisition a new head after that, because mine assploded. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/22 "2010-01-27T15:28:26Z")
I’m pretty sure that it’s the getting up at 0630 that’s souring my outlook. I haven’t used an alarm for over a year and it’s not my friend. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/23 "2010-01-27T15:35:06Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Looks like I may be working on the census. Woops, I thought this thread was going to be about you having a new baby. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/24 "2010-01-28T15:14:11Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Woops, I thought this thread was going to be about you having a new baby. You lookin’ to take a beatin’? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/25 "2010-01-28T15:38:37Z")
Wait, the title of a Census worker is “Enumerator”? That’s awesome! I wanna get that job just so I can have people call me “Enumerator Simplicio” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/26 "2010-01-29T02:27:16Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Wait, the title of a Census worker is “Enumerator”? That’s awesome! > > I wanna get that job just so I can have people call me “Enumerator Simplicio” “Enumerator III: Fudgement Day” ---
**Author:** ![Slypork](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@Slypork](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slypork)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/27 "2010-01-29T17:08:32Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Wait, the title of a Census worker is “Enumerator”? That’s awesome! > > I wanna get that job just so I can have people call me “Enumerator Simplicio” I wouldn’t count on it.😉 ---
**Author:** ![InterestedObserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@InterestedObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InterestedObserver)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/28 "2010-01-29T23:35:06Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > My wife wanted to take the test to perhaps work on the upcoming census. Just for the hell of it, I took it also. Well, they called me and want me to fill a supervisor position for a couple of months. I wasn’t really intending to work again, let alone for the government. As in ever. But it would pay for the work we’ve had done on the house, I guess. I’m just not sure that $15.75/hr is worth the aggravation of working for the fed. I worked as an enumerator for them last summer…really enjoyed it. (same pay rate, btw, plus mileage). We finished up my area a bit too quickly for my tastes, but it was great while it lasted. They kept me on and wanted to call me back to do follow-ups but I was headed back to college and the timing was wrong (as in, first day or work also first day of classes!) I would have done it in a heartbeat otherwise. My only beef to date is that I have yet to receive my damn W2 from them…have everything else I need, but cannot file my taxes until I get it. :mad: Not technically late yet, but…:smack: ---
**Author:** ![InterestedObserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@InterestedObserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InterestedObserver)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/29 "2010-01-29T23:43:19Z")
And yeah, I ran into one nut-job out in the field…(to be fair, out of thousands I encountered). Drunk, self-professed Viet-Nam vet, started out ok and then proceeded to rant and rage about Obama and liberals and abortion etc…as he followed me down his long drive (which I had to go up to confirm the lack of other living areas behind the house) raging all the while and finally screaming at me, “I bet you VOTED for that (guy), huh? I bet you did! I bet you LIKE killing babies, huh?” sigh. I just walked really fast and marked him down as a potentially dangerous contact. There is some scary, crazy stupid out there. ☹ But overall, most I encountered were fine. Even the obvious census haters just grumbled about the gov’nent intrution and let me get on with my job (which was simply to verify and GPS addresses so the census can be mailed out. ---
**Author:** ![loshan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce73a5/32.png) [@loshan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loshan)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/30 "2010-01-29T23:57:43Z")
> [@](#): > > If you’re looking for an enumerator position, they won’t start filling those until around April 1st, as I recall. I just got the call (and hired) today as an enumerator. Training is Feb 23-26th. I am WAY too far from an office for those jobs. I am a little worried about the backwoods anti-society types we have up here, as well as the fact that this area has a large number of marijuana growers. But, at least I can be sure of a little excitement to go with the extra money this spring! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/31 "2010-01-30T00:32:31Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Wait, the title of a Census worker is “Enumerator”? That’s awesome! > > I wanna get that job just so I can have people call me “Enumerator Simplicio” We found out today that they can’t call this “the largest peacetime effort” because we’re in a war. So they’re calling it the “largest undertaking”, which means you’d be called an Undertaker, I guess. In all, when the enumerating effort kicks off, there will be over 1,000,000 employees engaged in this, largely paid for by stimulus dollars. **InterestedObserver:** I heard the supervisor talking today about a bunch of the W-2s being issued with incorrect information because of a computer problem. They are probably scrambling to get them all corrected. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/32 "2010-01-30T02:12:24Z")
> [@InterestedObserver](#): > > I worked as an enumerator for them last summer…really enjoyed it. (same pay rate, btw, plus mileage). We finished up my area a bit too quickly for my tastes, but it was great while it lasted. > > They kept me on and wanted to call me back to do follow-ups but I was headed back to college and the timing was wrong (as in, first day or work also first day of classes!) I would have done it in a heartbeat otherwise. > > My only beef to date is that I have yet to receive my damn W2 from them…have everything else I need, but cannot file my taxes until I get it. :mad: Not technically late yet, but…:smack: Tell me about it. It’s the last document I need, and I can’t file without it. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/33 "2010-01-30T02:20:46Z")
> [@InterestedObserver](#): > > My only beef to date is that I have yet to receive my damn W2 from them…have everything else I need, but cannot file my taxes until I get it. :mad: Not technically late yet, but…:smack: I got my Census W-2 just yesterday - it’s probably on the way and will arrive tomorrow or Monday. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/34 "2010-01-30T02:35:14Z")
> [@loshan](#): > > I just got the call (and hired) today as an enumerator. Training is Feb 23-26th. Darn! I _so_ want a phone call like that! ---
**Author:** ![MarkofT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@MarkofT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarkofT)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/35 "2010-01-30T05:25:36Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > They didn’t call me so when my form comes, I’m gonna toss it out and throw off their numbers > > Hee hee hee hee hee > [@MsRobyn](#): > > **Markxxx** , I know you’re just kidding, but there is a LOT of money on the table available to communities that is allocated based on Census data. ($435 million a year over the next 10 years.) Other things also depend on your filling out and returning your Census form, like Congressional representation. The Las Vegas paper was reporting that someone in the state government did some calculation and figured that each person counted is worth $735 in federal funds. > [@toofs](#): > > If you get hired, let us know what scanners they are using this time. They used custom made HTC handheld devices that had WiFi, Cellular, and an RJ11 phone jack for connecting to the home servers. No word yet if they are going to use those for the main census as they used paper forms this last round to decide if the handhelds were worth the trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/36 "2010-01-30T12:13:48Z")
In 2000, I was disappointed with the options to check off for Homo Whitey. Blacks and Latino’s get a couple of choices, checking Caucasian is a bit bland. So, I created my own ethnicity, one that had to be non-existant in the Wonder Bread World in which I [live](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandon_Township,_Michigan). I also did this as a micro-protest over races. There is only one race and that is the Human Race. Everything else is just a difference in how we celebrate holidays and eat food. After careful thought and deliberation, I made myself: Hasidic Jew-Fiji Islander. Which makes me .1 of the population here. 😃 (Something that has been brought up in convo with locals as to “Pacific Islander …living in Michigan?” ) I’ve decided that this decade, I need a new race and cannot figure out if Vulcan-Jedi would be too dorkwad or Race-Religionist or maybe I could put down Gryffindor. All suggestions would be greatly appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/37 "2010-01-30T12:36:52Z")
> [@MarkofT](#): > > The Las Vegas paper was reporting that someone in the state government did some calculation and figured that each person counted is worth $735 in federal funds. However much it works out to, it’s not a small amount. It’s also the counterargument to the “don’t count illegals!11!!!” people; yes, you _want_ them counted so your community gets the money for the services they use. Otherwise, well, you get to wait in line because the money just isn’t there. > [@](#): > > They used custom made HTC handheld devices that had WiFi, Cellular, and an RJ11 phone jack for connecting to the home servers. No word yet if they are going to use those for the main census as they used paper forms this last round to decide if the handhelds were worth the trouble. I don’t think they’re using the handhelds for the non-response operation, but I could be wrong. I’m not part of that, so I may be speaking out of turn. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/38 "2010-01-30T14:34:55Z")
welcome to census work. it will be a wild year! ummmm, 6-9 months… i’ve been working with them since nov. 2008. you really can’t make the census stories up, fiction would be more logical. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/39 "2010-01-30T15:40:41Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > However much it works out to, it’s not a small amount. It’s also the counterargument to the “don’t count illegals!11!!!” people; yes, you _want_ them counted so your community gets the money for the services they use. Otherwise, well, you get to wait in line because the money just isn’t there. We were told the amount works out to about $1400/year per person. For a city of 250,000, that works out to $3,500,000,000 dollars over ten years. That’s a lot of simoleans. ---
**Author:** ![Lok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e8c25b/32.png) [@Lok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lok)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203/40 "2010-01-30T16:02:26Z")
I just wish someone would call me to do some work. Does missing 3 questions on the test put me that far down the list. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looks-like-i-may-be-working-on-the-census/525203.md?page=3)