When it comes to providing for yourself and your family, we know how important jobs are to you.
The good news is there are hundreds in the Bay Area.
One place you may want to try looking is the county.
We did some research and learned there are lots of high paying options-- with benefits. And, many don’t need a college degree.
Derrick Brown has always been intrigued by the water.
Looking for work, he applied to be a lifeguard and it stuck. He’s been doing the job for the past 10 years.
“There’s a whole lot of aspect of what we do behind the scenes that no one really thinks about,” said Brown, Pinellas County Aquatic Program Supervisor.
Now on a career path, he manages other lifeguards on Pinellas beaches.
With the summer season approaching, it’s too busy for his current staff, so he’s putting out a call for help.
“Our lowest paying position is $12.55 and our highest paying position is $14.98,” Brown said.
No degree is needed for the job, but it does take some certifications.
With lives on the line, it’s a huge responsibility.
“We can go from active drowning situations, to sting rays situations, to lost children,” Brown said.
A lifeguard is just one of many jobs available in Pinellas right now.
The county hires 300 to 400 people a year.
A quick look on their website shows open jobs paying $40,000 to $60,000 a year in animal services.
On the high end, you can get $80,000 to $100,000 working as an IT analyst in Public Works or an architect.
“Our applicant pool has decreased throughout the years,” said Hillsborough County Communications Supervisor Alex Diaz.
If you can multi-task, another huge need all across the Bay Area is for people helping others during the most difficult times, 911 dispatchers.
“Starting rate while in training is about $30,388, so about $14.61 an hour. Training takes up to seven months,” Diaz said.
After training, the pay rate goes up to $16.29 an hour with benefits.
Bilingual applicants could be paid more. But in the long run the true pay off for these jobs isn’t monetary.
“We have a unique role in the community and we’re making a difference every day,” Diaz said.
“We’ve had people come back to thank us after they’ve made a full recovery because our efforts out here really made them pull through in the long run,” said Brown.
Something else on the job front:
Pinellas County is focusing efforts on hiring millennials.
A new study shows people born after 1980 will make up more than half of the work force in five years.
In addition to offering tuition reimbursement, they’re looking into the possibility of offering signing bonuses or repaying student loans as an added incentive.
Click on jobs under top searches. There you'll find all the openings and even links to other jobs around the state.
