Job Talk
The three Dance children could not
wait for school to end on Thursday. It was always a long day at school when
their minds were elsewhere waiting for the hours to pass. At Kelly’s school
there was a special rally in the school auditorium just after lunch. The school
invited some guest speakers from various government and private employment
sectors to come and talk about their jobs and the various career opportunities
available.
“Students,” Principal, Akiko
Yakamoto, loudly addressed the assembly of future workers, “Today is Career
Day.”
The list of guests included a
Building Maintenance worker, a Plumber, a Painter, a U.S. Marine from an
Embassy overseas, a Computer Programmer, a Program Technician from the
California Department of Justice, a Regional Property Controller from the
Department of Corrections, a Criminal Investigator, and a Thespian from a local
drama group, a Nurse, a Mechanic, an Office Manager and more.
“Wow,” said Kelly to her friend,
Suzanne, quietly so as not to disturb other classmates around them, “There sure
are a lot of options out there for good jobs when we grow up.”
“Yes, there sure are.”
Kelly continued, “This is very
exciting to hear what these people actually do every day on their jobs.”
“I agree,” Suzanne whispered, “What
do your parents do for work?”
“My dad is a homicide detective in
San Francisco and my mom is a lawyer. What about yours?”
“My mom is a nurse just like that
lady up on the stage; my father is a construction worker doing drywall
finishing out of a union.”
“Drywall? Is that the walls?”
“Yes, it is also called sheetrock
when you buy it. The normal word used for my dad’s profession is ‘Taper’
because he tapes the sheetrock.”
“I’ve watched that being done,”
Kelly remarked, “The man was using a big, long tube thing and putting paper
tape with some glue stuff under it on the places where the sheetrock pieces
came together.”
“Suzanne proudly replied, “Yes, the
machine is called a ‘bazooka’ and the glue stuff is called ‘taping mud’ by
everyone, but it’s called ‘drywall compound’ in the stores.”
“It appears that we have a lot of
job variety among our own parents,” observed Kelly.
Once the introductory portion of the
presentation was over, the students were allowed to meet the guests and
converse with them if they wished. Kelly and Suzanne met up with the Marine who
was dressed in his military uniform.
“Hello,” greeted Kelly.
“Good day, ma'am,” formally replied
the Marine.
“You said in your presentation that
you work at an embassy overseas,” stated Kelly.
The Marine addressed the young
ladies, “Yes, ma’am, that is correct.”
Suzanne asked, “Is it fun?”
“It’s my duty post, ma’am. But, I
would have to say that it is fun, challenging, rewarding and fulfilling to be a
U.S. Marine.”
The two girls could tell the Marine
was a bit stiff and was definitely selling his career choice to them.
“Which embassy are you stationed
at?” inquired Kelly.
“I am currently in Rome, ma’am. I
was previously stationed in Norway.”
“Norway,” Kelly responded, “My uncle
may go there as an RSO. You know, a Regional Security Officer.”
“Yes, ma’am, I am very familiar with
the duties of the Regional Security Officer.”
“What’s it like in Norway?” Kelly
questioned, “Is it always cold and snowy?”
“No, ma’am, it gets warmer during
the summer months. It is not like here in California though; the four seasons
are more definite and pronounced.”
“How long were you in Norway?” asked
Suzanne.
“Typically for embassy assignments
we complete a twelve month tour of duty at post before we are transferred to our
next assignment, ma’am.”
“It sounds pretty exciting to be
able to travel around the world and go to a new location each year,” commented
Suzanne.
“Exciting, yes, ma’am, but it can
also be very dangerous at times. Many posts are in very dangerous locations.
But our great country must continue to promote diplomacy and United States
interests throughout world.”
“Thank you so much,” Kelly said, as
the girls continued on, making their way around the auditorium to talk to a few
more of the guests.
“Hello, you work for the Department
of Justice as a Program Technician,” Suzanne addressed one of the guests, “Is
that correct?”
“Yes, it is, young lady.”
“What do you do as a Program
Technician?” inquired Kelly.
“I am working in the
Command/Expedite Center processing criminal record checks, motor vehicle checks
and things like that.”
“That sounds busy- We have a lot of
criminals, so you must have a lot to do,” stated Suzanne.
“We do, but it is a 24/7 job with
different individuals working shift work.”
“I see,” said Kelly, “You rotate
around the clock seven days a week. That way everything can continue
uninterrupted.”
“That is correct.”
“Can you give us some details of
what you do during your shift?” asked Kelly.
“Yeah, some of your routines,” added
Suzanne.
“I work the evening shift from 3
p.m. to 11 p.m. When I arrive and after I have entered through the security
checkpoint, I begin doing criminal record checks. I have documents with names
on them to check in the database and in manual records. Names are from people
stopped by police all over the state, prison visitor lists for approval, Grand
Jury lists and many others. When I work the night shift, from 11 p.m. to 7
a.m., I must go down and retrieve criminal record folders myself, but on other
shifts I just drop off a request and pick up the folder later. I also am
required to record on a log sheet every copy I make in our copier.”
“Every copy you make on a copy
machine?” asked Suzanne.
“Yes, every copy. The copiers record
each copy by number and it must balance out with what we workers have logged in
our records. The Department of Justice is very strict with record
confidentiality and does not tolerate employees making any personal copies of
anything. People have been fired for even checking names of celebrities who get
arrested.”
“Wow!” exclaimed Suzanne, “It sounds
so strict.
“It is strict, but for good workers
it is the best place to work in the California Government. Not too many people
goof around in the DOJ.”
“What about kids and their criminal
records? Do they throw them away when they become adults?” questioned Suzanne,
“I heard they get rid of them and it doesn’t matter what you do as a kid.”
“Well, that is not entirely correct.
Generally, crimes committed as a youth are considered ‘offences’ and become
sealed when you become an adult at eighteen years of age. But …” the Program
Technician took a pause to emphasize her point, “there is a tag, a description
that says there is no criminal record and that lets us know that the person had
a record as a youth, otherwise it is left blank.”
“That’s good,” said Kelly, “At least
that way you can see if the person is a habitual offender throughout their
life. Since most career criminals start their lives of crime as youths.”
“Yes, it is, young lady.”
“Do only criminals have criminal
record folders on file?”
“No, it is actually a record of a
person. You will find police officers, day-care employees, school teachers and
every sort of person you can think of who has had their fingerprints taken.”
“Do you have a folder there too?”
questioned Suzanne cautiously.
“Yes. I do,” she replied, “I have
four sets of fingerprint records in mine. One from when I worked as a
Correctional Officer in adult prison, one from when I worked as a Youth
Correctional Officer in a youth prison, another from when I worked at the
Department of Corrections headquarters in Sacramento and another from my
current job. The current one is an automated fingerprint file. That means it is
not done by hand using ink, but by a machine that reads fingerprints and
records them.”
“Do you ever come across people who
have lied about something?” inquired Suzanne, “I mean, does stuff like that
show up as a crime?”
“It would if it was reported, young
lady. It would be something of interest if the lie involved obtaining a job
related security clearance of some type.”
Kelly added, “The trouble with lies
is that one must remember them and who they told each one to. They also need to
flesh out the details of a lie to make it convincing. But, if they simply
conceal something, the person can minimize or even nullify the details.”
“You are a very observant young
lady,” commented the Program Technician.
“Thank you,” replied Kelly, “I try
to be.”
Principal Yakamoto interrupted the
group to announce that this session would be over in just a few minutes. Kelly
and Suzanne continued walking around and their friend, Lindsey Connors, joined
them.
“Hi, guys,” said Lindsey.
“Hi,” responded the girls.
“Is this fun, or what?”
“It sure is,” replied Suzanne.
Kelly asked Lindsey, “Did you get to
talk with any of our guests and find out anything interesting?”
“Yes, I talked to the Property
Controller who keeps track of all kinds of things like furniture, computers and
supplies. He said they call them expendable and non-expendable items. I also
met the Thespian who is part of a drama team right here in Berkeley. She is in
a lot of theater plays. There are so many careers to think about.”
“The horizons are endless,”
commented Suzanne.
The trio of young girls talked about
what they have heard and learned today until the bell rang, ending the
excitement of the moment.
“I guess it’s time to return to the
regular routines of the school day,” whined Suzanne.
The Principal’s voice came over the
loud speakers, “Special thanks to all of our guests. Our students and our staff
truly appreciate your time and efforts here today.”
The afternoon hours passed by quickly
for the students. Kelly wondered how Rob and Becca were doing over at Berkeley
Academic Achievement High School, or ‘BAAHS’ as it is more commonly known by
the students who enjoy making the sound of a sheep when they pronounce it. She
could hardly wait to get home to work on the secret code.
Next Chapter
Chapter Eight: Code of Silence
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