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The Value of a Career in Public Service


I consider a career in public service to be a privilege.

Every day I have the opportunity to make my community a better place. 

Every day I have the opportunity to do meaningful work, work that matters. 

Every day, I have the opportunity make a difference in someone’s life.

Do you believe what you do every day is important?

To some people, this may simply be a job. Perhaps they were only looking for good benefits, steady pay, or something closer to home. This job offers those things, but it also provides an opportunity to serve others. For those of us who have chosen public service as a profession, it is clear that the work we do matters. We directly impact people’s lives in very tangible ways. As a public utility provider, we provide necessities – clean drinking water, safe and efficient natural gas, wastewater collection and disposal – and these are critical to the health and well-being of a community. 

Without us, without the services we provide, our community could not survive.

Sometimes, it is thankless work. Some citizens don’t know (or care) who we are – until we aren’t there. And sometimes, we get to be the hero. We light a customer’s water heater, unclog their sewer lines and turn their water on. We even go out of our way to help a citizen chang her car tire on the side of the road.

For most of us, our job is more than a paycheck. From customer service representatives to water distribution workers, meter readers to treatment plant operator, I know I speak for most when I say we take great pride in the quality of our work. We take great pride in our community. And we take great pride in serving others.

This is not a profession to choose without thoughtful consideration. There is certainly more money to be made, more free time, and less headaches to be found in other careers. But I can think of no other occupation more personally rewarding.

“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

– Theodore Roosevelt.






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