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.

Every day I work cases and assist taxpayers whenever they called in to help them and provide them the best information about their needs.

My favorite part, I would say is helping out the taxpayers when they actually say thank you.

I thought this was going to be so hard, but you just made it so much easier.

I really appreciate that.

I enjoy the work life balance that it provides.

Get lots of weekends so I get to hang out with my family and get to work bankers hours.

I enjoy that.

And get good benefits, get paid vacation, banking, holidays, weekends off.

They got so many different packages that you can get when it comes to dental and eye doctor and There's so many different plans they have set aside that makes sure you're well taken care of.

We get time accrued for vacation and also for sick leave and we accrue time every pay period.

So depending on how many years you've been here is how much time you might accrue that pay period.

You may have some people that only been here a year or two years or maybe three years.

If you have a question you can ask anybody.

Everybody's well knowledgeable, always eager to learn and gather more information.

So you can always depend on your neighbor next to you.

I like it when it's a challenge because sometimes it can get very repetitive doing the same thing.

But then sometimes you always get something that's different, you know, always something to learn.

So I love that part about it also.

Manager supervisors are very nice.

We always do competition, we setting goals and when we accomplish those goals, we try to reward ourselves through a little get together, have a look, cook out or party.

And then we just set another goal for the next month and we try to achieve that as well.

So everything's been lovely.

So that's something you can look forward to.

I like the leadership.

They're very helpful.

They teach you how to think and learn how to solve problems so you can be put in a leadership role later on down the road.

Group leaders who are wonderful and that have the answer to any problem.

So working as a team is something that's off the chart.

Never had any kind of issue.

Every problem has been solved.

Your work doesn't go unnoticed.

There's going to be always somebody watching to let you know that, hey, I'm proud of you.

And they see that and then your name, they get thrown in the hat for the next position up.

I do get the help the taxpayers of the state of Alabama.

It's an important job to collect because it helps fund police, firefighters, build roads and bridges, and just keeps infrastructure moving in the state.

Just go for it.

I say if you want to work and you want to meet new people, talk to different people, do new jobs, new challenges, someone that comes in with a good work ethic, a positive attitude, and willing to face anything and just have fun, be themselves, talk to new people, then just go for it.

Don't hesitate.

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.

Hello, I'm Mark Fowler, Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Alabama.

The work of the Alabama Department of Insurance is first and foremost about consumer protection.

We regulate insurance companies, we assist consumers with complaints, and we ensure that the people who sell you an insurance policy are licensed and qualified to do so.

People insure their most valuable possessions, their cars, their homes, and their lives.

And they buy insurance hoping nothing ever happened, but auto accidents, fires, somebody passes away.

That's when they need that policy the most, and we aim to give them the benefits they that they've bought.

A lot of times we're able to do that for consumers that contact our department.

To be perfectly honest, I did not know that the insurance department existed.

I'm a 2003 graduate of Troy University, and when I graduated, I started looking for jobs because I had a degree in business.

I started doing some research online, looking around, and came across the insurance department.

When I understood what their vision was, what their goals were, I said, Well, this would fit me perfectly.

The favorite part of my role with the insurance department is being a positive impact on employees, helping them to realize what it is that they want to do with their life and their career, and also just working with the insurance department, it's a very professional department, and I've really enjoyed my time here.

My favorite thing about working for the state is the opportunity to help the citizens of the state of Alabama.

Doing what we do, we are at the tip of the spear with insurance regulation, insurance companies are financially solvent, and ultimately, taxpayers, the citizens of Alabama, can trust and rely on their insurerers when it's time to make a claim.

So I think the future is bright for the Alabama Department of Insurance.

The insurance landscape, it shifts on cyclical patterns.

Right now, the insurance market is hard, which makes my job that much more important because you have more people looking for alternative forms of insurance.

So I think the Alabama Department of Insurance's future is extremely bright.

The main areas of opportunity would be in our examinations division, the insurance examiner.

Also the rate analyst one position, which is in our rates and forms division, and also the consumer complaint specialist position, which is in our consumer services division.

We also have the actuary classification that is also housed in the rates and forms division.

Insurance in Alabama is a $33 billion industry.

Millions of Alabamians are insurance consumers.

Here at the Alabama Department of Insurance, we get to impact lives and livelihoods in many positive ways.

We feel incredibly fortunate to be here, working hard for the people of Alabama.

We have more than 170 dedicated state employees who help fulfill our mission every day, and we would love to have you join our team.

I'm Stephanie Azar, the Commissioner of the Alabama Medicaid Agency.

Medicaid plays a crucial role in delivering high-quality, cost-efficient health care with a workforce of about 700 skilled professionals.

Our agency has employees in health care fields such as nurses, physicians, and pharmacists, as well as other professional areas such as accountants, auditors, data analysts, IT professionals, and lawyers.

Some people start in entry-level positions such as Medicaid eligibility specialist or clerical roles, and still others come from the private sectors with many years of experience.

I'm Tiffany Minnifield, a legislative liaison in the Governmental Affairs Division here at Alabama Medicaid.

In this role, I research and track legislation that may impact Medicaid to ensure that the agency is in compliance with federal and state regulations.

I enjoy working at Alabama Medicaid because it gives me the opportunity to help people daily.

Alabama Medicaid pays for health care benefits to more than one quarter of the state's population at some point in time.

We offer health care benefits to a range of eligible individuals, including children, pregnant women, parents, and other caretakers and family planning recipients.

Additionally, Medicaid pays for coverage for the elderly and disabled populations.

Working for Alabama Medicaid has been nothing short of amazing.

My career here began as a Medicaid eligibility specialist, and I enjoyed servicing our recipient population.

We commend ourselves on connecting our recipient population with some of the best providers, along with affordable care by preventing fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicaid program.

As a Medicaid employee, I understand that helping one person might not change the world, but it could change the world for one person.

That's my purpose.

Before joining Medicaid, I worked as a nurse at a busy hospital environment.

Now, I enjoy a consistent work schedule with time off on weekends and holidays.

This predictable routine has significantly improved my work-life balance.

Serving vulnerable populations and making a difference in their lives gives me a profound sense of purpose.

If you're looking for a rewarding nursing career focused in public service, I highly recommend considering a role at Medicaid.

Making a difference is a team effort.

Medicaid employees across the state collaborate to ensure that recipients receive the services they need.

Here at Medicaid, we take great pride in providing effective and efficient health care services in Alabama.

Please consider joining our team.

We want you.

At our agency, we are driven by the core values of respect, integrity, excellence, teamwork, and innovation.

We eagerly seek dedicated professionals who share our commitment to these values.

Together, we will take meaningful steps to address the health care needs of thousands of citizens across the state of Alabama, ensuring a positive impact on our communities.

Please consider joining our team.

Scan the QR code on the screen to see the variety of positions available at Alabama Medicaid.

I'm a Human Services Program Manager, so I manage our CBCAP federal funds, which stands for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention.

Each state is given those funds, and I'm in charge of Alabama's.

And we then grant out those federal funds to different various community-based provincial programs across the state.

And so I provide them oversight and technical assistance.

Here at Children Trust Fund, I am the Administrative Support Assistant.

I do mostly anything and everything to help each and every staff that I can.

It's very rewarding.

I see where we help promote healthy families, healthy communities.

It also provides partnership with other agencies that help in the prevention of child abuse.

And doing the work that they do, I see that it can prevent it as well as thrive to make the communities and the families more stronger together.

The work couldn't be any more important because we're focused like a laser beam to prevent child maltreatment.

So the programs we fund are positive programs.

They're all parenting, education, fatherhood, mentoring, respite, anything that we know that will strengthen families and advocate for children where they can thrive.

I've worked for several different companies, but this really does feel like a family.

Everyone here is dedicated to helping children and helping families.

We have a wide range of people from different backgrounds, some from the private sector, some teachers, some social workers, and they really just all come together to make an amazing team and a team that's very effective and, again, passionate about the work that we do for Alabama.

I would just like to say that the work that we do here is very rewarding.

The partners that we have, they are very strong in their feelings about the work that they do.

I think in doing so, it's really preventing the child abuse, the neglect, and it makes the communities and the family stronger knowing that they can call on some of them to help them through all their problems.

The mission of our agency to prevent child abuse and neglect prevention is so energizing to get to do this work each day.

It is really motivating to know that you're really making an impact in the lives of children and families, and that's so rewarding.

I would highly encourage anyone I met to come work for the Children's Trust Fund.

It is a wonderful organization.

We have great leadership, great coworkers, a great space.

Again, you can always feel good about the work that you do.

It doesn't feel like a job.

It just really feels like you're helping out and helping the community.

You think you might want to work here, you got to have a passion for children and families.

Just be willing to come in and be a part of the team because we're a family, we're a team, we work together.

I can call any one of my coworkers anytime and say, Hey, I need this, or, Tell me what I should do in this circumstance, and they're always there, and they help me so much.

I love them all.

I think my favorite part of my job is when I get to see the programs in action, when I get to go on school tours and see the kids are engaged, the teachers are excited, and everyone is just happy.

There's really only two places you get to do that here, and it's us, the Alabama Historial Commission, and the Department of Archives and History.

Here, it's, I feel like, more of an operation.

You know everybody who works here.

We are an interesting group.

Historians usually tend to be, but we all have different areas of expertise, and we work together to paint a full picture of what it is that we do in the history of Alabama and its buildings.

Be ready and open for new experiences that you might not have felt prepared or trained for.

When I started at the Freedom Rides Museum, That wasn't my background.

I didn't study civil rights history in school.

When I got my master's, I got it in early American history, like the federalist era.

I knew a little bit about the Freedom Rides, but barely anything when I started about the museum and ended up loving it.

If you are offered a job at one of these historic sites and you feel like you don't know a whole lot about the history of that site, be ready to learn.

It's a lot of fun, the process of getting involved in that.

You never know, you might end up being really passionate about it.

One of the projects that I'm most proud of, that something that I had never even thought to do would be possible is under my African-American Heritage Coordinator title, I found places in Alabama that are associated with the reconstruction era.

So the state capital, which is an AHC property, is one of those places that I found.

And so I wrote the nomination.

And so now the Alabama state capital It's listed on the National Park Service Reconstruction Area Network, recognizing the black legislators that work there during the reconstruction era.

You always have something to do.

You're always busy, but it's not stressful busy.

You're enjoying your work.

I've never come to work feeling stressed.

I come to work energized.

I come to work ready to start a new project.

I'm never feeling overwhelmed or anything.

And the benefits are nice.

The health insurance is great.

Dental, eye, especially eye insurance.

We have really good health insurance through SEHIP.

We've got a really good retirement plan through RSA.

Tons of great benefits working for the state government.

Pay is not bad either.

I'll say as an employee of the Alabama Historical Commission, I was able to buy a house here in Montgomery, something that I know a lot of people my age aren't able to do.

Great to work with a group of people that have the same passion for history like you do.

I love teaching people history.

I love learning new things.

Everyone here has the same mindset.

It's a lot of fun.

We have a lot of fun here.

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.

Alabama is blessed with over 23 million acres of forest land.

Most of that land is owned by small private timberland owners, who manage it for a variety of different reasons, whether it's hunting, recreational opportunities, whether it's to grow timber for income, which gives us a unique biodiverse state.

The forest industry in this state is one of the most lucrative industries.

It's one of the most important part of our economy.

More than 90% of the forests that are in this state is owned by non-industry private landowners.

Our responsibility to assist them is very important because if we help them reach their management goals and to implement practices that can sustain the forest, we can continue this industry for years to come.

The Dispatch Center for the Alabama Forest Commission is vital, a very vital part of the agency.

Without the Dispatch Center, our firefighters would not be able to communicate back and forth to each other, not only on the ground, but across the state.

As a fire analyst, my job is to look at fire behavior and fire models for the state and help with decision support on determining wildfire restrictions or movement of resources during times of wildfire severity.

What I do in my job is to help determine where we're going to have problems, and that way we can have resources staged and available.

By doing that, the Forestry Commission is better equipped and suited to respond to wildfires and provide fire support as needed to protect Alabama's resources.

Last year, we've had a lot of drought, so we did see an increase in wildfires.

So that is something that it just shows that this is a job that isn't going to go away and that there is going to be more need for firefighters as things progress.

Our dispatches at work in our dispatch center of the lifeline for all those guys on the other side of the radio.

There's a very symbiotic relationship that works hand in hand.

And without the dispatch center, our agency would not be able to make the great advances that we make on a daily basis to assist our stakeholders and landowners throughout the state.

The people that we have in this agency are, in my opinion, second to none.

They are willing to step up and do what needs to be done, whether it's fighting a fire, cleaning up after a tornado or a hurricane, or helping a landowner learn how to better manage their timber.

If you enjoy being in the outdoors, I would recommend working for the Alabama Forestry Commission.

It's a great place to work.

I'm outside most days and around heavy equipment, and it's something different every day.

It is not the same thing day in and day out.

One of the best things about the Forestry Commission is that there's such a wide variety of things that you do.

Obviously, I'm a communications population specialist, and a lot of people don't realize that there's something that you can even do in an agency like this.

But there's also the Foresters, the rangers, there's accountants, there's a wide variety of careers that are available at an agency like this.

It's truly whatever you want to do, whatever difference you want to make, you can do it at a place like this.

Getting into, corrections or law enforcement in general, it's not a job that you just think, Hey, I just need something to make a paycheck, pass time.

You might get hired, but you're not going to stay.

My experience in law enforcement, it has to be the public service oriented people that that is just something that's in their DNA that they want to be of service to the public.

And law enforcement is their chosen path.

The citizens of the state of Alabama have entrusted us to provide a service not only to confide, protect, but also to provide rehabilitative program for these incarcerated individuals.

In doing so, what we do is we send people out in a better state than they were when they came in.

Therefore, we are impacting the community.

Also, we are helping those that have been incarcerated.

The best day for working for the Department of Corrections is the day that I received notification that I was employed because I knew I was about to embark on a career that was going to offer me stability.

It was going to offer me the ability to serve my state.

It was also going to offer me the ability to promote.

The growth potential is limitless.

It's all up to the employee.

So as high as you want to go, you can obtain that if you put in the effort.

I like to think about working for the Alabama Department of Corrections is a city within a city.

There are certain positions that you have to go elsewhere to work, but with the Alabama Department of Corrections, we have anything from a shift clerk or administrative assistants, all the way to a psychologist, and everything that falls in between.

So we have that here with the Alabama Department of Corrections.

The advice I would give someone that's interested in coming to the Alabama Department of Corrections is, run, don't walk.

Come to the next hiring event.

All you have to do is get on our website, doc.alabama.gov, and you will find a list of our hiring events, our upcoming hiring events.

And the great thing about our hiring events is they're not location-specific.

You can attend any hiring event that's convenient for you at any date, and you can apply for any institution while you attend that event.

For individuals that are public service-minded and they want a career, not just a job, then please consider Department of Corrections because you can come in on the ground floor and the sky's the limit.

There's growth opportunity here.

There's opportunities to come in, get other jobs, move around, expand your knowledge base.

We have facilities all over the state of Alabama.

So if you actually like to move somewhere we have jobs there.

So if you're career-minded and want a professional career, consider coming to work for the Department of Corrections.

I've always wanted to do something that had a net positive.

My goal has always been to help somebody, to help people in everything I do.

And I couldn't think of a better way to accomplish that than being at the epicenter of need.

Where people need you the most is in the health department.

So it was a no brainer for me.

It is very rewarding to see the results that you make in a person's life, to see them improve in their health wise and to also give them the education they need to continue to make those improvements.

It is very rewarding when you see a family after the six month or one year assessment and they've made changes of things that you've recommended for those families just to make their family a healthier place or their homes a healthier place because they've taken in the nutrition education that you provided to them.

It's a fantastic opportunity to be here.

Once you're here, you get to meet a lot of good people that also have the same mindset of just doing good in the world.

And something about being surrounded by people who are in that mindset just, it makes everything easier even it makes the hard days more fun.

Everyone going towards the same goal of just the common good is all you can really ask for with that.

We do get paid holidays Monday through Friday, eight through five.

You have weekends free and so just enjoying those times off and then being able to spend time with your family once you've had a good work week as well.

Retirement is a plus as well.

I am 16 years in, almost in October.

Of course after 10 years you are vested.

So yes, that is a plus as well.

Alabama Department of Public Health benefits is competitive.

It's cutting edge.

It's like none other.

It prepares you for short term and long term, holidays, retirements, you name it.

You get a chance to take paid vacation time, sick leave, you can accumulate so many hours a year.

Private sectors, you may not so much, but working for public health, the benefit packages short term and long term in just a matter of months and years, you'll be amazed.

Being a state employee is really good.

I know when I'm getting off, I know what the benefits are.

I'm a young father, so my son's just under a year old.

Having the benefits to be home with him and then also the health insurance to let everything take care of itself and not have to worry is really fantastic.

And then also the work hours are great.

It's Monday through Friday.

You leave right after breakfast, get home right before dinner.

That's really all you can ask for.

There is a local health department in every county of state of Alabama where you can work.

There may be one just a few miles from your home, so you do not have to work at one that's multiple miles away from the house.

There's one in absolutely every county, and everyone will be very welcoming to have you on board.

Once you apply, depending on the position, you'll just put the county, the first few counties that you prefer to work in, and so they have availability in a lot of those counties as well.

And then if it's not something that you want right away, just go ahead and apply.

You never know what can come available anytime soon.

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.