New York State Department of Civil Service Announces Examinations Open to All Qualified Individuals

Engineering Research Editors

Appointees who work in the five boroughs of New York City or in Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, or Westchester Counties will receive an additional $3,026 annual downstate adjustment. Appointees who work in Dutchess, Orange, or Putnam Counties will receive an additional $1,513 annual mid-Hudson adjustment.

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Minimum Qualifications

On or before December 6, 2008, you must have a bachelor's degree including or supplemented by 18 semester credit hours in natural, physical, environmental, or applied science; engineering; or technical or scientific writing or editing. Up to six of the 18 semester credit hours may also be in advanced writing, communication, journalism, or statistics. You must submit a list of qualifying courses with your application including the number of semester credit hours per course. Applications submitted without a course list WILL NOT be reviewed.

Substitution

Each year of experience in a position in which your primary duty was communicating technical information to peer technical audiences or translating technical information for non-technical audiences may be substituted for three of the semester credit hours, up to a maximum of 12 semester credit hours. Experience CANNOT be substituted for the bachelor's degree requirement.

In addition for examination Numbers 25-028 and 25-030 you must have experience as follows:

	Number 25-030	Number 25-028
General experience in: organizational public relations, newspaper or magazine writing, electronic publishing, or editing. Substitution: a master's degree or 24 graduate semester credit hours in natural, physical, environmental, or applied science; engineering; or technical or scientific writing or editing may be substituted for one year of GENERAL EXPERIENCE.	2 Years	4 Years
Specialized experience in: Editorial and layout or electronic presentation work or website planning, development, and content management. Supervision of professional staff; or ongoing responsibility for project management, including staff assignments, budgeting, and scheduling. Education cannot be substituted for the SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE.	1 Year Not Required	2 Years 1 Year

Notes

1. Your degree or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the NYS Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. If your degree or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to the Examination Information Desk of the NYS Department of Civil Service for a list of acceptable companies who provide this service. You must pay the required evaluation fee. If you are applying on the Internet, you must mail the independent verification of equivalency to the NYS Department of Civil Service, Alfred E. Smith State Office Building, Albany, New York 12239. Attention: S2CMH.
2. Although a promotion examination is being held for Associate Engineering Research Editor, it is expected that appointments will be made as the result of this examination open to the public.
3. If you expect to meet the educational requirements by June 30, 2009, you can be admitted to the written test but you cannot be considered for appointment until you submit proof of successful completion of the educational requirements to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
4. You may file for these examinations by completing one OC-APP application form or applying on the Internet. Unless you are eligible for a fee waiver, the indicated processing fee must be submitted for each examination listed on your application.
5. Appropriate part-time and volunteer experience, which can be verified, will be accepted on a prorated basis.
6. New York State residence is not required.

The Positions

These positions exist in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

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Duties

As an Engineering Research Editor Trainee 1, you would serve in a two-year traineeship consisting of an intensive on the-job training program in which, under the supervision of a Senior or Associate Engineering Research Editor, you would write, edit, and prepare copy for a variety of formats (reports, technical papers for publication and/or spoken presentation, newsletters, articles, brochures and booklets, web pages, slide presentations, and broadcast scripts) for diverse technical and/or non-technical audiences. You would gather information through written source, research, and interviews; identify and characterize audiences; and select illustrations and graphics. In addition, you might plan, coordinate, and schedule print and web publications. You would work to develop the skills needed to cooperate satisfactorily with a variety of people.

As a Senior Engineering Research Editor, you would apply the principles of good communication to meet the needs of your agency. You would translate scientific, engineering, planning and research data, and program and technical studies into form and style understandable by technical audiences in other fields and by the general public. You would explain, in technical or lay terms, as appropriate, the substance and importance of highly technical programs and decisions, and edit and revise documents to ensure accurate clear communication of technical and program information. You would prepare and disseminate information about significant problems and programs in coordination with scientific, engineering, and public affairs staff and programs managers. You would write and edit copy and coordinate effective illustration for a variety of formats (reports, technical papers for publication and/or spoken presentations, newsletters, articles, brochures and booklets, web pages, slide presentations, and broadcast scripts). You would oversee and occasionally implement formatting of information for print and electronic presentations, often acting as project manager for complex presentations.

As an Associate Engineering Research Editor, you would be responsible for broad management of print and/or electronic communication, including assigning work and managing workloads, budgets, and schedules. You would be responsible for supervising staff in the performance of the duties described above for Senior Engineering Research Editor.

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Subject of Examination

There will be a written test which you must pass in order to be considered for appointment. The written test is designed to test for knowledge, skills and/or abilities in such areas as:	For Examination Numbers
	25-029	25-030	25-028
1. Editing technical material - These questions will test for the ability to edit engineering, planning and research data and technical studies into a form and style which is understandable by the target audience.	X	X	X
2. Preparing reports and official documents - These questions test for the ability to prepare reports and other official documents for use within and among governmental agencies, in legal or regulatory settings, or for dissemination to the public. Some questions test for a knowledge of grammar, usage, punctuation, and sentence structure. Others test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, to use the proper tone, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly.	X	X	X
3. Understanding and interpreting technical material - These questions will test candidates' ability to comprehend typical scientific and agency data and technical reports upon which editorial assignments might be based.	X	X	X
4. Preparing informational materials - These questions test candidates' knowledge of basic principles and practices of print and electronic publication. Topics may include such aspects as production terminology and practices, layout and design for print and the Internet, and incorporation of photographs and graphics into narrative material.		X	X
5. Supervising a project - These questions test for the ability to conduct and supervise the activities necessary to achieve the goals and deadlines of a specific project. The questions cover such topics as setting up the project, developing the workplan for the project, assigning and reviewing work, evaluating performance and progress, coordinating phases of the project, handling problems as they arise, and meeting deadlines.			X

Your final score must be 70 or higher in order to pass. Rank on the eligible list will be determined after adding any wartime veterans' and Civil Service Law Section 85-a credits to your final passing score.

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How To Apply

Additional Information

New York State is an Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the policy of the State of New York to provide for and promote equal opportunity in employment, compensation and other terms and conditions of employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, disability, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, or arrest and/or criminal conviction record unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception.

Appointment to many positions in State government require candidates to undergo an investigative screening. This may include a thorough character investigation, a Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Record History Check, a Child Abuse Registry clearance, or other similar procedures. Candidates may be fingerprinted and may be required to pay any necessary fees for that procedure. Depending on the nature of the job, the criminal convictions discovered, or any falsified or omitted information revealed, the investigative findings may bar appointment or result in removal after appointment.

Eligibility for Employment

You must be legally eligible to work in the United States at the time of appointment and throughout your employment with New York State. If appointed, you must produce documents that establish your identity and eligibility to work in the United States, as required by the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Religious Accommodation

Most written tests are held on Saturdays. If you cannot take the test on the announced test date, due to a conflict with a religious observance or practice, check the box under “Religious Accommodation.” We will make arrangements for you to take the test on a different date (usually the following day).

Reasonable Accommodations in Testing

In addition, it is the policy of the Department of Civil Service, in accordance with the New York State Human Rights Law and the Americans with Disabilities Act, to provide qualified persons with disabilities equal employment opportunity and equal opportunity to participate in and receive the benefits, services, programs, and activities of the Department. It is the policy of the Department to provide such persons reasonable accommodations and reasonable modifications as are necessary to enjoy equal opportunity. Persons with disabilities who require an accommodation to participate in an examination must note this on their applications. Further information is available from the Special Arrangements Unit of the Department of Civil Service at 518-457-2487 [press 2, then press 2] in the Albany area, toll free at 1-877-697-5627 [press 2, then press 2], or via TDD (telecommunications device for the deaf) at 518-457-8480.

Admission to Examination

Notice to appear for the test may be conditional as review of applications may not be made until after the test. If you have not received your notice to appear for the written test three days before the date of the test, call 518-474-6470 in the Albany area or toll free at 1-877-697-5627 [press 2, then press 1].

Multiple Examinations Scheduled for the Same Day

With the exception of written tests announced by New York City, if you have applied to take a written test announced by a local jurisdiction (county, town, city) scheduled to be held on the same test date as this written test, you must call 518-474-6470 in the Albany area or toll free at 1-877-697-5627 [press 2, then press 1], no later than two weeks before the test date, to make arrangements for taking all tests at one test site. All tests will be held at the state examination center.

S2/TB2 CMH-vla
Issued: 9/12/08

This announcement is subject to amendment or cancellation without notice. Do not copy it, or post it to any other site, but link to it instead.

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