Alabama Public Television presents in partnership with the State Personnel Department, Alabama Career Connection a unique look at jobs available in Alabama state government.

All coming up right now on Alabama Career Connection.

Hey, y'all.

It's Governor Kay Ivey.

Welcome to Alabama Career Connection.

This program shines a light on the many departments within our state government and the diverse careers available right here in Alabama.

Serving the people of our state is a rewarding experience, offering the chance to make a real difference in our communities.

Whether you're interested in education, public safety, health care, or technology, there's a place for you in state government.

So if you're looking for a career that makes an impact, I invite you join us in building a brand of future for a home in Alabama.

As I always say, let's get to work.

What I do with the TANF and Jobs program is I help clients who are receiving cash assistance, commonly known as welfare.

They receive cash assistance, and my job is to help them achieve self-sufficiency through work placement or child support programs or anything like that.

I'm a program specialist.

I go into the daycares, I license them, and I also investigate daycares as well.

It's a great job.

I've been doing it for eight and a half years.

I love what I do.

What we do is provide benefits for our clients if they are eligible according to the F&S policies.

We get to help people, and that's what we enjoy most about our job is being able to make an impact on people's lives.

One of my favorite little quotes about Mr.

Rogers is, Look for the helpers.

Look for the helpers.

The helpers are always helping.

That, I think, is the mindset you need when you come to work our DHR is be ready to help these people because these people are coming in in a lowly state.

They are sometimes at the lowest they can be and are asking for our help, and we need to be ready to help them.

What makes a great DHR employee is one that cares about people, have empathy, can relate to what's going on in people's lives.

You care about people, and you have to care about people in order to do this job.

When you have those success stories, when you actually have people come through this program and achieve success, it is very rewarding.

I've had clients who have overcome addictions.

I've had clients who have graduated college and moved on to very successful jobs.

Sometimes you get clients who just need very little, and some you get that you need to start from scratch with basic needs.

I've had refugees come through this program and be successful.

When you get those successes, it's very rewarding.

What we do here matters.

It's important.

We get to help people provide food for their families, and we enjoy that.

We wish that we could help everybody, but the people that we can make a difference in their lives, we appreciate that.

My coworkers, we are very team-oriented.

We help each other.

We're like a family here at DHR.

They're great.

We are happy people.

We work well together.

We make decisions together.

We come here every day and make a conscious effort to do the best that we can for the people in our community that we serve.

It's like an extended family.

I personally don't even live in this county and love my drive every day to come here, to come to work, because it's just one of those places where we all get along.

We're all here for the same purpose to help all those people, and we just have a great relationship.

I would advise someone not to be afraid to apply for jobs because you never know what happens.

They go by your experience so you just take a chance on DHR.

If you're interested in finding out more about these jobs and many others, please scan the QR code on the screen or go to our website.

The Department of Forensic Sciences is one of the nation's oldest forensic crime laboratory systems, founded in 1935.

Alabama is fortunate in that we're an independent forensic lab system, and we process items of evidence associated with any criminal act occurring within the boundaries of our state, from Muscle Shoals in the north to Mobile in the south, and from the Mississippi Line to the Georgia Line.

I love working for the Department of Forensic Sciences because it's an opportunity to collaborate with fellow scientists.

If I were to give someone advice who's seeking a job in the forensic science community, I would encourage someone to get involved, do an internship program.

Every day is an interview, and we have an excellent, very vibrant, exciting internship program.

We make it very engaging for them.

It's a mixture of hands-on laboratory work.

They have the opportunity to attend autopsies.

They're able to attend court.

They're able to observe testimony that we provide.

Going to court is where the rubber meets the road.

Everything we do here, from a criminal standpoint, has the possibility of making it into the court systems, and we will go and defend that type of work, our work in the court systems.

Probably the most recent case that I can think of is a case where, unfortunately, we had an individual who was mmitting sexual assaults with females, and he was able to go undetected for a period of time.

Alabama has a law that if you are arrested for a felony, you have to give a DNA sample.

And this individual was arrested for a felony for drug charges.

And through giving a DNA sample, we were able to provide a name through our testing, which then allowed his apprehension.

One of the things that I personally love the most, I'm a mom.

I have two children.

I have a husband.

I am the President of our PTO.

I have a lot of obligations outside of these walls, but working for the state allows me the opportunity to have a really good work-life balance.

I'm able to provide good insurance for my family.

I'm able to be with them on days off.

I'm able to accrue sick leave and paid time off.

And in some cases, you even have the option to have a flexible schedule.

So if the traditional 8:00 to 5:00 doesn't work for you, you can find a different way to fulfill your work hours.

I would encourage anyone who is seeking an opportunity in public service, who is a spirit of science, to look for opportunities in the Department of Forensic Sciences.

We have opportunities throughout the state, from Huntsville all the way down to Mobile.

If you're looking for a place where you can demonstrate your passion for science, your passion for being part of the criminal justice system, the Department of Sciences is the place for you to be.

It is very rewarding to serve the constituents of Alabama.

This is my first time getting the opportunity to see people get their permits for the very first time, get their license for the very first time, have locations available to them that haven't been there in the past where they don't have to travel great distances just to get a license.

We take calls from citizens as well as other agencies.

We dispatch troopers to crashes, road hazards, public assistance.

Helping someone if you break down on the road, we can send a trooper to come and help you.

If you come up and there's something in the road and you're like, "Hey, we don't want to run this over."

we're able to send troopers out to remove that item from the roadway to keep our roadways as safe as possible.

We also assist our SPI, Marine Patrol, Motor Carrier, and other outside agencies, including our county 911, and city 911, and the public.

I'm a driver's license examiner two, for ALEA.

My job entails processing applicants for their first-time identification cards, driver's license tests, conducting road tests.

We do a lot of various different programs from a motorcycle testing, vessel testing, visual testing.

I work in driver's license as an examiner.

It is definitely a rewarding job.

It could be life-changing for a lot of people.

You just never know who walks through that door, what they may have going on.

Just some people have test anxiety, and sometimes just being patient and taking your time with them and just slowing down and helping them and trying to help them with their needs and what they can do to succeed.

It's really rewarding to know that I was part of that success.

This is honestly one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had.

I leave feeling like I had a sense of purpose and I was able to bring good to someone's life may have been struggling that day, and I leave knowing that I made a difference every single day.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is comprised of more than 1,300 employees, both sworn and non-sworn, who are called to protect and serve the citizens and visitors of our state.

In 2015, 12 legacy agencies consolidated to become what is now known as ALEA, one of the greatest law enforcement agencies in the nation.

While ALEA is largely made up of law enforcement officers that are assigned to our various divisions and units, there's also a multitude of non-sworn career opportunities all across the state.

We offer a variety of positions such as public communication officer, also known as a dispatcher, intelligence analyst, driver's license examiner, and IT technicians.

These individuals are the backbone of our organization and provide provide essential support for all our law enforcement efforts, as well as excellent customer service to the citizens we serve.

While our job may not always be easy, I can assure you that public service is one of the most rewarding and impactful careers.

I am proud to lead such a dedicated team of men and women and serve alongside them.

No question that I have the best job in the state of Alabama becauseet to go to schools and see the really good things that are happening in communities, whether they're urban or rural, large schools, small schools, high schools, elementary schools.

We have all these people out there each and every day, whether they're working in the classroom, whether they're coaching a teacher, or they're pulling students out for special intervention who care deeply about the lives of children.

And that's why I do what I do, because I have this great team of 100,000 educators who really do believe in investing themselves in the lives of children.

The reason I come to work every day is because I know that we're giving children opportunities that they would not have if we weren't here.

I began teaching several years ago, and I loved being with students.

I loved affecting students.

After I left the classroom, I ended up going into administration, and loved being able to serve the teachers who were serving our students.

And from there, I felt like coming to the department was nderful opportunity to extend my reach and to really be able to serve our leaders.

The Alabama Reading Initiative is in charge of K3 Literacy and the implementation of the Literacy Act, which the goal of that is to have readers in kindergarten through third grade be able to read by the end of third grade.

I work with some very knowledgeable people, very caring people who have a passion for doing what's right for Alabama's children.

I work with people who were well-versed in the different alternative approaches that the department has so that you can become a teacher if you are a career changer.

Let's say we have military that are recently retired that want to transition into teaching.

We have alternative approaches for them.

In the department that I serve, we get to talk to them about the many different approaches for them to have that support that they when they have questions, and then also to just encourage and motivate them along their way.

ve the most amazing team.

I have state members that are here in-house, and they work to support the whole structure that's going on in our state.

We have regional leadership specialists who work to support principals in central office.

Then every school with a kindergarten, first, second, or third grade has been awarded a local reading specialist.

The opportunity that you have here to impact lives is priceless.

Every single day that I get to interact with one of our local education agencies is a wonderful experience.

We're looking for people who want to come to work for purpose, and we're looking for people who may be educators, they may be school administrators, but we're also looking for people who are accountants.

We're looking for people who've been involved in local school transportation.

And so there are many, many, many career paths that lead to the State Department of Education.

And I hope that those folks who are watching will give it a try, will think about State Department of Education might be a place where I want to invest my life because I believe in giving back, and I want to invest in the lives of young people.

You could call us Agriculture and Consumer Protection because really, 90% of what we do is consumer protection.

It's making sure if you buy a gallon of gas, you get a gallon.

If the scale's at any grocery store, there's a scale there.

We make sure whatever, if they're charging it by the ounce for those grapes, and when it goes to that scale, that scale will give you the right price.

We actually are responsible, too, for the price scanner.

If they post the price to be so much for a box of cereal and you come and that scanner, it's got to have the same price as they do on that shelf.

I've been with the Department of Agriculture for 13 years.

I really like my job.

I like what I do, and I like the people I work with.

Being in the Department of Agriculture, I'm located in Montgomery, but there's offices all over the state of Alabama.

We test pumps.

We make sure the customer is getting a gallon of gas for a gallon of gas.

The price is right with the pump, we test the fuel quality, make sure that the fuel is what it is advertised on the pump, make sure it don't have any water or any contamination in there.

Department of agriculture is a great place to work.

I actually grew up on a cattle farm.

I have a cattle farm now, so that fits me very well.

I enjoy what I do.

It is never boring.

I work from home.

I have a pickup there, and when I leave my house, I go straight to where I'm going to work, and then I come back there.

If you like travel within the state, this is about as good as it gets.

It's just amazing.

We touch everybody's life every day, and they don't know it, and that's okay, because that means we're doing our job when we're not in the news.

I've been employed here for a number of years.

We're going to say 37 and counting.

And from day one, we have been family.

We're not your normal, typical workplace.

I came from a family of farmers.

My daddy was the best farmer, I think, in Marengo County.

I came here not knowing that this place existed.

And when I got here and when I saw what I saw, it was like I knew that this is where I belong.

Yeah, it's been an unbelievable place to work.

I can tell because when I go out, people always compliment me on the job I'm doing.

I realized I don't even know that person.

I've never had any contact with them.

And it's the people that work here that they're having contact with, and that reflects back on me.

I really encourage you to inquire about coming to work with us, joining our team.

It's a great place to work.

I don't think you'll ever regret it.

We've had people leave here, and it's not unusual for them it doesn't, it seems like.

But it's a great place to work.

Love to have you on our team, and we'll do something great together.

Apply.

Apply with the State of Alabama.

There's so many divisions within the State of Alabama.

I think agriculture is the best.

There's just so many opportunities with the State of Alabama.

Hello, I'm Mark Fowler, Commissioner at the Alabama Department of Insurance.

In addition to being the Chief Regulator of Insurance in our state, the Department also houses the Alabama State Fire marshals office.

The State Fire marshals office is a law enforcement agency consisting of 42 of the finest officers in our state, as well as numerous dedicated state employees who support the state fire marshals mission to keep Alabamians safe.

The team is tasked enforcing the state fire codes to ensure that buildings are safe.

They also make sure that buildings provide adequate exits in the unfortunate event of a fire, disaster, or other emerg encies.

Among their primary duties include investigating arson and insurance fraud.

Our officers work cases in every county and truly make a difference in the lives of all Alabamians.

We are a public safety agency.

Our primary responsibility, people that, what they know of us, know us for, is we are a criminal investigative agent, meaning that we're all state law enforcement, and we investigate things such as fires, particularly when there's some belief that there's a criminal act involved or when there's a fire death.

Also, since 2013, we've taken on the responsibility of insurance fraud.

I have two assistant fire marshals, one over the arson side, one over the fraud side, and their teams that handle both of those.

I'll be honest with you, I've worked for cities before, and this is the best job I've had, simply because they're not over top of you all the time.

They expect you to do what you need to be done, and they let you do it.

It's a great job.

You get to see a lot of different things and meet a lot of different people, help a lot of different people.

We have a great organization here under Department of Insurance.

We have great deputies out in the field who do a fantastic job, determine the cause in the origin of fires, doing code inspections and things like that.

One of the requirements is to have a background in investigation.

I just worked a case the other day where we put somebody in and arrested somebody for arson, and I'm out by myself.

You have to know the steps you have to take.

You have to know what to do as an investigator, how to handle it, how to handle yourself, the steps and processes of the port system, and how to handle your case.

It's important so that if you are interested in this career field, that you learn the processes in the area or the municipality or whoever you work for first, because it is a requirement in order to get a job here that you have so many years of experience in investigations.

My favorite part of working here is the people.

Again, we have very good people.

It's a very rewarding job.

It's good to have people that you can put out there that are seasoned professional investigators that go out there and do the job without you having to worry about it.

If you're interested in a career in law enforcement and keeping Alabamians safe, we'd love to talk to you.

If you're interested in finding out more about these jobs and many others, please scan the QR code on the screen or go to our website.

Tax world intersects almost every area of society.

And in state government, you think about all the things that we do as a government here in Alabama.

Everything is funded by the work that we do here at the Department of Revenue.

So we enable the state to provide for our people, that the state provides.

All the money comes through the Department of Revenue.

I am the recruiting coordinator for the Alabama Department of Revenue.

I find candidates that are interested in working with the Department of Revenue, and I connect them with the divisions that they can work for within our agency.

Some of those positions allow you to go out in the field where you can do field work, collect sales tax or business taxes, and it gets you outside of the normal office.

I am a Revenue Tax Accountant/Auditor II.

I recently got promoted to a II, so that's exciting.

I basically audit tax returns.

We get them in from downtown and we just look at them.

We just try to see if the taxpayers are in compliance.

I'm a field auditor, which means I go on site or a taxpayer to come in and we hold their audit appointments and we just help the taxpayers as much as they can to stay in compliance with Alabama taxes.

My name is India McCants.

I've been working for the Alabama Department of Revenue since 2019.

I started off as a student intern, and now I'm a revenue tax accountant/auditor II, and I have my own mentee.

It's extremely rewarding to be able to help the citizens of Alabama.

They call in for help about their accounts or if payments haven't been applied to the correct location or their correct account.

Being in a private firm, I don't think it would have been as rewarding because it would have took away from my family life.

I would have been working a lot of overtime.

Working with revenue, you get off right at five o'clock and get to go home to your family.

You have weekends, you get to have your time and not be stuck at work at all the time.

Something I really love about working here is the people.

The people is very welcoming, understanding, and they help me to achieve what I want to be, and they have everything I need.

I'm currently in the Certified Public Manager pro.

This is actually an advancement for my career here.

The state offers this as just a part of progress and promotional, and this is something that I want to use in my future.

We do have great benefits for the Department of Revenue, great health, vision, even dental, not just for you, but for your family as well for a great affordable price.

We are very family-oriented.

I do feel like this is a wonderful job, and I would tell anyone to work for the Alabama Department of Revenue.

It's really an honor for me to be here and to represent the Department of Revenue.

I am deeply proud of our team, of our people, of what we do every day, and it's an honor to be able to represent them.

If any of this sounds good to you, we'd love to have you on the team.

I'm very proud to be the head of an agency with the type of staff that we have here today.

Their work, their dedication, their actual love for teenagers and the work that we're doing, shines through.

The most important staff that we have in this department is the one spending the most time with our students because that's where the difference is made.

My position here is where I really engage with the kids.

We are the people that pick them up to and from school.

When the teachers are out, we are the ones that are here with them.

I help with a lot of students in their activities if they have any school work.

So we're really intricate with the students.

Once you understand that you come here and you have an impact on the boys' lives, it becomes more than a job.

It becomes normal.

So I talk to them.

They understand me, and I understand them.

They are just like I was when I was their age.

They can get past it.

That's all it is.

Coming from industry and coming into it at first, I was nervous.

But it's just the opportunity to come out here, work with young men that remind me, look like me or remind memyself.

The best days is graduation days.

When a kid or either when a kid get past his GED or get something, he come running down the street with paper in his hand and excited, those are some good days.

But when we hold graduation for GED and getting their diplomas and just to see the faces, and then they see the parents come out here and see that child has achieved something that they couldn't do at home, but they got here with a little instruction of somebody behind and supporting them.

I teach brickmasonry.

I come from a masonry family.

My dad was a brickmason.

My uncles were brickmasons.

It's nothing like knowing you're building a retirement, a pension retirement.

It's nothing like knowing you got great benefits, that you can go to doctors and get the stuff you need.

You get sick leave days.

You get these days that being in the industry, being out there, you weren't getting it.

Working at DYS is a wonderful stepping stone for me.

I'm pursuing a degree in criminal justice, and so this was a way for me to get in-hand experience.

If you're interested in wanting to move up, this is the place where you can really take leadership.

If you have ever considered having a career working for an organization that helps troubled youth get back on track, the Alabama Department of Youth Services may have a career opportunity for you.

The Department of Youth Services employs adults with various levels of education and experience.

It takes dedicated adults with many skills and talents to help change the path for our students.

DYS hires youth service workers, case managers, therapists, and counselors.

We even employ teachers and nurses.

Our students benefit from engaging with the staff who are committed to providing the help they need through mentoring, learning of skills, making better decisions, and continuing their education so they can transition successfully into adulthood with personal goals, a vision, and hope.

At DYS, we consider this a Department of Second Chances.

The work is challenging, but the effort is worth it when you know that you have helped change the trajectory of a young person's life.

Join us for Alabama Career Connection, an in-depth look at career opportunities available in Alabama state government.

Alabama Career Connection, Sundays at 1pm on Alabama Public Television.