project manager

senior project manager

planner

program manager

student assistant

City of Ottawa

What is the best part of working at the company?
Informing residents about the various waste streams and Ottawa's Green Bin Program has been a rewarding experience. My involvement in implementing Ottawa's long-term solid waste plan has been truly fulfilling.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
There has been no stressful part about working with the City.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Multicultural and pleasant. Emphasis was given to team work.  

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
A typical day at the City involves a dynamic mix of responsibilities. It might include:

    Engaging with Residents: Educating the community about waste management programs like the Green Bin Program, answering questions, and addressing concerns.
    Collaborating with Teams: Coordinating with colleagues to develop and implement initiatives aligned with Ottawa's long-term solid waste plan.
    Fieldwork and Assessments: Conducting site visits to monitor compliance and evaluate waste management practices.
    Data Analysis and Reporting: Reviewing waste diversion metrics, preparing reports, and identifying opportunities for improvement.
    Program Development: Working on innovative strategies to enhance waste diversion and sustainability efforts.

The role is dynamic and community-focused, combining fieldwork, education, and strategic planning to support the City’s environmental goals.

Operating buses on route, serving the public with safe transportation and timely information.
Service to the public is its own reward. A driver typically gets treated as well as he treats commuters. First you may have to endure the initial encounter, not take it personally, and rise above the complaints, then respect will be returned.
Selection of managers was always questionable, there was no apparent lick between qualifications, duties and abilities. Qualified candidates are often overlooked, appointed candidate often totally incompetent. The primary skill sought appears to be the ability to deflect responsibility onto subordinates.
Bus drivers are service oriented people, they often become dis-enchanted with the lack of support, lack of needed training and lack of consistency in the application of guidelines. Obvious favoritism creates distrust, the dominate attitude at OC Transpo.
Dealing with supervisors who push for dervice delivery at the expense of safety. Motivating yourself when the management has alterior motives, hiden agendas, and aggressive and disrespectful tendencies towards the front line workers.
The many smiles on customers faces, friendships developed after years of service and satisfaction with knowing I performed to the best of my ability despite management.

A typical day for me at work is logging on to my computer and going through my emails! I list the ones that require immediate attention and are considered a priority. I then listen to my voice messages, respond if possible or gather the information and call back. I also review  my Outlook calendar for notifications and meetings booked. 

Then it's the "to do folder" I created. Ths is to list any outstanding tasks to complete . It's a pleasure to put a red line through tasks that are completed. 

The most enjoyable part of the job is getting work done in a timely manner. I plan in advance and organize my day well. Of course, there are always surprises and the expectation to respond to all inquiries within 24 hours. 

The hardest part of the job, is getting external or internal responses to enquires. I have no control in getting replies. However I ensure I do follow-ups or always have an alternative person to contact.

My co-workers are great. We work as a team. Assisting each other in all aspects of the job. For days off or vacation time, we act as the cover off for that person. It's important to work well with colleagues, to share work load  and be a source of knowledge that  I am willing to share.

If it's a quiet day, I do my filing!

Most days are very busy with high tea service, any other programming taking place, and purple who want tours. Due to this, it is hard to get a lot done in a day. 

I learned about the history of the museum and the family it represents. I also learned how to design programs and deliver them. Most of all, I learned how to be a server in the high tea kitchen. 

I found management does not listen to their workers. We will be told to stick it out even after reporting specific issues over and over. They will find ways to support workers who cause issues, rather than removing them from their role. In my opinion, they do not take the steps that they should to protect their workers. Some managers are also hard to approach as their emotions affect their attitude and response. This makes it hard for workers to come to such managers out of worry and confidence that their issue will be solved. 

The hardest part of this job is trying to balance everything. The tea room is the most important thing to this museum, so even though you are hired to give tours and work on a project etc, you actually mainly work in the tea room. 

I found the research the most enjoyable part, however I did not get a lot of time to do it. 

Provided nurses with all the training and education we needed to provide safe and competent care.  Supportive and readily available supervisors to provide answers or clarification.  Full time nurses given a cell phone and laptop.  Work was satisfying, enjoyable and varied.  Hardest part of the job is lack of permanent positions, vast majority of nurses are temporary contract (6 months) with no benefits, very stressful way to work.  You are notified last minute if contract is renewed and given two weeks notice when contract is ending, no time at all to find alternate work!  Great pay rates but no paid sick days or vacation leaves you exhausted and if you need a break, you have to take it without pay.  Contract work is stressful and no extended health benefits available until 2 years of service!  So much talk about mental health and staying healthy but lack of full time permanent positions leads to so much stress.  Leaves you feeling unappreciated and undervalued as professionals.  I can’t think of any other profession where temporary jobs are the majority of the staff, nurses need stronger union representation to get this temporary workforce some rights.

As a lifeguard with the City of Ottawa, I have learned many valuable skills that can be applied in the workforce. I have learned how to work as a team and how to work with little supervision. As a lifeguard, team work is essential, as the facility is large and many lifeguards are working together to ensure the facility is safe. I also learned advanced first aid skills, included how to operate an AED machine and oxygen tanks. 

As a head lifeguard, a typical day includes setting up the facility, ensuring my staff are performing their responsibilities, responding to public relations, opening and closing the cash, closing the facility, and writing daily reports. As a head lifeguard, I would say the hardest part about my job is balancing work and personal life. As the head lifeguard, I am responsible for the entire facility and my staff. This can be very time consuming and I often find it difficult to allow myself personal time and activities while not at work. The most enjoyable part of my job is working in a great community and getting to know the patrons on a personal level.

This was my favourite job. I would get home from school, and head over to work where I would be meet with my great manager and front desk staff. All the staff members there were amazing, friendly, energetic and kind. After a short time I would take off to pick up the other school of kids down the road. Myself and usually three other councillors would walk with the kids down the side walk and across a road to get to the centre. Once we got there the kids would all head to the gym to get told what the activities were for the day. (Craft, Gym, Homework Room & Circle games). From there each councillor would take a group of kids to do there activity and wait for the parents to arrive, keeping to the 10-1 ratios of kids to councillors.
The hardest part of the job would be coming up with craft ideas being a guy I tended to prefer gym so craft was not my strong suit. Most of the time I would get by with fun crafts that the kids enjoyed.
The most enjoyable part of the job was the ability to feel satisfied with my job and know that I was doing my part in the community I lived in.

As a lifeguard with the City of Ottawa, I have it relatively easy.

I work at a quiet pool, with a simple task set, and a fair number of swimming lesson blocks.

I really enjoy how structured and precise everything is. There is always a plan for everything, and the answers to any question you may have is just simple to find.

The one thing that I don't necessarily enjoy is the management style. At my pool, the PC's office is located within the lifeguard room, separated by a few filing cabinets and nothing more. The level of micro-managing that occurs is difficult to handle at times. 

The pros are numerous. I enjoy teaching higher-level swimming lessons, so I had a few really good blocks of lessons including Swim Kids 8/9/10, and PowerSwim. Teaching these classes is great because the Head Guards provide a strong support and are available as a ready reference whenever you need. 

Overall, I've enjoyed my time at the City.

I worked with another student under the supervision of an inspector on water main sites. I won't name him but he was very bitter and difficult to work for and due for retirement.  The city seems to have a lot of redundant positions and this seemed like one of them.  I stood outside all day watching contractors work and writing notes, and standing around basically just making sure contractor would do work as specified by the city.  Boss would bug me about not doing anything when there was literally nothing for me to do.  I did learn a lot just from watching the watermain construction since I knew nothing about construction going in.  We had no field office for most of the summer so the rainy and cold days were sometimes rough. Overall though, it wasn't to terrible.  Time went by slow most of the time but at least it wasn't too stressful.

Would start off by setting up before the bell ran for school to be over. I would take attendance while kids start to pile in. I would then go over the schedule for the day with the counsellors and get activities set up. It would then become circle time. Circle time is for telling all the kids of any new rules and what the plans were for the day. We would then do one activity and after would be snack. After snack we would then go into the gym for a running game. After the gym it is free time for the kids that haven't been picked up yet. I would then write in the log book about the day, who was working, and what activities we played. After the kids are gone, we would clean up, and sign our hours.

The hardest part of my job is making all the kids happy. There are different ages so there are many suggestions for different games. I try my best compromise for everyone. 

I love going into work because the kids just brighten my day. They are so entertaining and love being around them.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Project manager 17 salaries reported	$100,096 per year
Senior project manager 15 salaries reported	$111,405 per year
Planner 10 salaries reported	$94,785 per year
Program manager 21 salaries reported	$126,685 per year
Student assistant 30 salaries reported	$22.28 per hour

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