Residence Requirements:

CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT.  At present there is one vacancy at the Department of Environment and Planning. 

A promotion examination will be held at the same time as this examination. The list resulting from the promotion examination will be used first but appointments from this open competitive examination are anticipated. Use of the list may be suspended after it is one year old for any position which it is practical to fill through a new promotion examination.

Examples of Duties:

An Assistant Sanitary Engineer performs routine sanitary engineering work and assists in the coordination of related construction activities; 

Assists in making engineering and economic studies of alternative methods for eliminating or alleviating sewage pollution and providing sewage collection, transmission and treatment facilities;

Assists in drafting reports concerning the engineering and fiscal aspects of sewerage systems for information and consideration of municipalities;

Assists in development and revision of master plans for sanitary sewerage and drainage;

Assists in making field reconnaissance to determine topography and/or geological conditions affecting sewerage planning, supervises field parties in such work and assists in water pollution surveys and stream gauging;

Assists in preparing engineering drainage and hydraulic designs for sewer systems and treatment works; computes engineering data;

Assists in preparation of specifications, rules and regulations and in the review of plans and specifications submitted by others for action;

Assists in the design of sewerage projects by either in-house staff or overseeing the work of consultants;

Assists in the preparation of grant applications and related documents for purposes of obtaining State or Federal funding;

Assists in letter preparation and regulatory reporting and certification

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

A) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Bachelor's degree in Civil, Chemical, Environmental, Mechanical or Sanitary Engineering or closely related engineering specialty, and four (4) years of experience in the planning, design, construction or supervision of major engineering projects; or:

B) Completion of a minimum of 60 semester credit hours at a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university which includes a minimum of 24 semester credit hours in engineering and drafting courses and eight (8) years of experience in the design, construction or supervision of major engineering projects; or:

C) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (B).

Notes:

1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements.

2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However,candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

2. Principles and practices of sanitary engineering as related to wastewater collection, treatment and disposal

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices of sanitary engineering involved in wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal processes, and may include such areas as the design, analysis, installation, upgrading, and maintenance of wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal systems; wastewater treatment plant operations, processes, equipment, and maintenance; and proper disposal of treated wastewater.

3. Understanding and interpreting construction plans, specifications, and estimates

These questions test for the ability to read, understand, and analyze construction plans and specifications; and for the ability to calculate material and cost estimates.

4. Construction terms, methods, and materials related to hydraulic facility installations

These questions test for knowledge of the principles, practices, methods, materials, and terminology involved in constructing and maintaining hydraulic facility installations such as water, sewer and stormwater systems. 

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  It is recommended that candidates use a quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculator.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited.  You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.