Residence Requirements:

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. There is one vacancy at Central Police Services and one vacancy at the Department of Information and Support Services.

Examples of Duties:

A Junior Programmer Analyst assists in gathering and analyzing information used to develop and modify data processing systems; assists in defining requirements for improving or replacing systems; assists in systems development and implementation activities; develops accurate and effective computer programs; maintains current knowledge of Object Oriented Programming, Structured Query Language (SQL), C++ Interactive Development Environments (IDE), coding and debugging methods; conducts thorough testing of program logic and linkage to other programs; prepares documentation of current systems operations; assists in turnover of new and changed systems to production.

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 four year college or university with a Bachelor's degree and one year of data processing experience in programming and systems development; or:

B. Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with an Associate's degree in Data Processing or Computer Science and two years of data processing experience, at least one year of which was in programming and systems development; or:

C. Satisfactory completion of a certified course in computer programming as offered by a New York State approved technical training institute and two years of data processing experience, at least one year of which was in programming and systems development; or:

D. Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and four years of electronic data processing experience, at least one year of which was in programming and systems development; or:

E. An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A) and (D) above.

Notes:

NOTES: 1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting full-time 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.

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: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

The written test is designed to test for knowledge, skills, and/or abilities in such areas as:

1. DATA PROCESSING CONCEPTS AND TERMINOLOGY: These questions are designed to test for knowledge of computer characteristics and operations that is relevant for computer programming and analysis. They may cover, but not necessarily be confined to, basic terminology of data processing, data entry, data access, and data communications; basic characteristics of storage media and data bases; types of data processing (e.g., time-sharing), the functions of operating systems, and hierarchies of computer memory.

2. LOGICAL REASONING USING FLOWCHARTS: These questions test for ability to reason logically by solving problems involving given variables expressed in flowcharts and accompanying information. All information needed to answer the questions is included within the flowcharts and the accompanying information. Prior knowledge of flowchart conventions is necessary to answer these questions.

3. PROGRAMMING TECHNIQUES AND CONCEPTS: These questions test for basic structures of higher-level computer programming languages and their applications. They cover such subjects as programming techniques and terminology, program documentation, and flowchart interpretation.

4. SYSTEMS ANALYSIS: These questions test how well you can make judgments in an information technology context, and are intended for candidates who do not necessarily have any formal training or specific experience in systems analysis. Questions cover such subjects as planning, documentation, feasibility studies, forms design, and systems implementation.

**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.