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Mta station agent questions


lisandrojosh9

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TA usually hires a class of 15 to 20 agents every month or every two weeks. And TA is not laying off agents. They're replacing them as people retire. Also not every S/A job involves working in the booth as well. And while there may not be as many booths as ten years ago, but every station still has at least one booth on it, with new ones set open on the 2nd avenue line and the new Hudson Yards station.

 

 

Station Supervisor Level I

And getting the job just requires having a clean background., and no drugs in your system. There's no medical guidelines for the job.

 

 

Station Supervisor Level I

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They usually go all the way to the end. You don't need a super high score on the exam to get called. Getting over an 80 will be good enough to get called. And the customer service requirements are listed in the notice of examination. Usually they're looking for people whom were bank tellers, phone customer service reps, sales associates. I've proved a link to the 2008 notice of examination, which would require the same as the last exam.

 

https://www.nyc.gov/html/dcas/downloads/pdf/noes/200808011000.pdf

 

 

Station Supervisor Level I

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They usually go all the way to the end. You don't need a super high score on the exam to get called. Getting over an 80 will be good enough to get called. And the customer service requirements are listed in the notice of examination. Usually they're looking for people whom were bank tellers, phone customer service reps, sales associates. I've proved a link to the 2008 notice of examination, which would require the same as the last exam.

 

https://www.nyc.gov/html/dcas/downloads/pdf/noes/200808011000.pdf

 

 

Station Supervisor Level I

Thanks Will for posting that previous NOE. At least on that one it's specified what exactly they think proper customer service experience is. Is top pay still at $27.79 and will there be OT for newbies?

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The Mta is downsizing this position. In 2010 there were 3,200 positions. Now there are only 2,600. I just read it online.

 

I've also had my concerns for this position also but I've heard that if anything, they'll probably move them outside of the booth to helping out passengers with fare issues.

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Thanks Will for posting that previous NOE. At least on that one it's specified what exactly they think proper customer service experience is. Is top pay still at $27.79 and will there be OT for newbies?

 

The newer exam stated exactly what they consider as proper customer service experience as well. And top pay is about $29.50 currently. And as a newbie you don't want to be doing OT noways. You want the least amount of exposure in that booth as possible while on probation. Because that's when you'll end of up getting that customer complaint that could put your job in jeopardy/. As a newb you want to do your normal 8 hours and go home. Plus OT is given out in seniority order, so you won't get much of it anyway. Plus the assignment desk has their favorites they give lots of OT to anyway/

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Which is an easier job to get? Station agent or conductor?

 

I don't think it's necessarily about being easier to get due to both crafts being accessible only by means of taking and passing both tests if you're an outsider and through promotions if you're already with MTA

The newer exam stated exactly what they consider as proper customer service experience as well. And top pay is about $29.50 currently. And as a newbie you don't want to be doing OT noways. You want the least amount of exposure in that booth as possible while on probation. Because that's when you'll end of up getting that customer complaint that could put your job in jeopardy/. As a newb you want to do your normal 8 hours and go home. Plus OT is given out in seniority order, so you won't get much of it anyway. Plus the assignment desk has their favorites they give lots of OT to anyway/

 

I guess I missed it. Thanks. 

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Which is an easier job to get? Station agent or conductor?

There is no easier job to get between the two or any TA job. You still need to pass either exam with a high enough score to get called for pre-employment. Now if you ask what exam is easier, the C/R exam is very easy, so is the S/A, buts it's just slightly harder.

 

Only difference once being called is C/R has medical guidelines in order to be hired, and S/A doesn't. S/A requires previous work experience of 2 years in customer service that, they feel is relevant to the title. C/R requires no work experience and only a high scoop diploma.

 

C/R school car is 6 weeks, S/A training is 4 weeks. One title is safety sensitive and one isn't. One you're responsible lives, thee other TA's money. So as you can see, easier or harder is subjective on how you look at things.

 

 

Station Supervisor Level I

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Like I said speaking from experience there's no harder job to get with TA. Each job has its requirements. Either you have them or you don't waste your money and time applying. But given you have the relevant experience it's not harder to obtain any job. Just need your back ground to check out, and if medical guidelines are set for the title make sure they're up to code. There's no interview for either job, so it's not like you have to tell them why you want to be a conductor or station agent.

 

 

Station Supervisor Level I

Willbx,

 

Quick question since CTA are labor class are they eligible to take the conductor exam as a promotional test?

Yes, Cleaners are eligible to take the Conductor Promotional exam.

 

 

Station Supervisor Level I

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So Will, is that also true if you're given the Cleaner position from MTA in place of waiting for Station Agent?

Doesn't make a difference. Either way you'll be a labor class employee. In fact one of my classmates for supervision class was a cleaner whom took the 2008 S/A exam, and took the cleaners job for the meanwhile. She made off great because she instantly got a $16/hrs raise by going to supervision. More then she would've gotten as an agent. And without waiting five years until top pay.

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No. That was only done due to the layoffs of 2010. They had to offer people a job after paying money for the 2008 exam. They didn't have any open jobs once they hired all laid off agents in 2012. So they offered folks the cleaners job in the meantime.

 

 

Station Supervisor Level I

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  • 2 weeks later...

Willbx, my friend was a NYC public school teacher for 13 years and resigned. She took the station agent exam and has the customer service requirement from her work before a teacher. She was part of the teachers retirement system, not the NYCERS. What happens to her time? Does it count on the back end or front end? Does it transfer at all since it was under a different retirement system but she was still a city employee before.

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Willbx, my friend was a NYC public school teacher for 13 years and resigned. She took the station agent exam and has the customer service requirement from her work before a teacher. She was part of the teachers retirement system, not the NYCERS. What happens to her time? Does it count on the back end or front end? Does it transfer at all since it was under a different retirement system but she was still a city employee before.

I'm not sure on that. She'd have to consult with NYCERS once hired. Also it would depend on how long ago she was in that pension system. I know NYCERS will allow you to keep your account open for five years once you're separated from city service. After that, they close your account and refund your money.

 

 

Station Supervisor Level I

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Mta is downsizing this position. In 2010 there were 3,200 positions. Now there are only 2,600. I just read it online.

 

The number of Station Agents is not an indicator of downsizing. There are a set number of booths and jobs. These jobs must be filled. The disparity is due to people leaving for other positions or retiring faster than the MTA can fill the position. Since I have started in 2013 the senority list has never been at 2600. When there is a low number of Station agents that means there is a lot of OT available. The MTA is still calling off the 2008 Station Agent List. Does the MTA plan on eliminating jobs when they implement the new fare media system. probably not but no one knows what their needs are as of yet.

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  • 3 weeks later...

The Mta is downsizing this position. In 2010 there were 3,200 positions. Now there are only 2,600. I just read it online.

.

 

As of 2/2/2016 their are 2704 S/A's working in title according to the seniority list. And when I look on the daily notices they've been hiring at least 30-40 new agents every month this year so far. When I started there was over 4200 agents. Yes TA has downsized this job, but they can't down size it anymore until they find a way to make the agents job irrelevant. Even with the new fare system they still need a live person on the station to assist customers. TA needs a minimum of 2800 agents to run daily operations. The numbers only dip below this due to promotions, terminations, resignations, retirements. Almost 3 times out of 5 whenever I go into a booth I'm meeting a new probationary agent, or I'm tasked to do a performance review on them. Also there was more agents working in 2019 because there were more booths then too. TA has already cut deep to the bone as they can. They can't eliminate any more booths at this point, because they need at least one service booth on each station. Only large terminal stations have more than one booth. Some have part time booths. Also some agents do other work outside of being in the booth or stations. Some work in offices as well.

 

 

Station Supervisor Level I

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  • 3 weeks later...

Willbx- do the station booths have air conditioning for station agents? Do they get a lunch break during their shift? Is it considered a stressful or easy job?

Yes all booths have air conditioning and heating. Sometimes AC's go out in the summer because people tend to run them 24/7 for days on end. Normally during the late winter they inspect all AC's to see that they're working properly. And yes you get lunch. There's jobs S:A's pick called Lunch Reliefs. And their job is as it sounds, to give other agents lunch for 30 minutes. They have a schedule that lists stations and times they're to give those agents lunch. And yes the job is beyond what you would call a stressful job. Especially in the beginning because you'll be assigned to the highest trafficked stations mostly, and when you can pick a job it'll be busy stations with not very good days off. With the S/A job you really have to earn your stripes. People tend to not leave the job frequently. The number one guy has been working in the same title since 1970!

 

 

Station Supervisor Level I

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