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U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers Offers Careers In Public Service In Sacramento

The United States Army Corps of Engineers - Sacramento District is part of the United States Army Corps of Engineers employing over 37,000 civilian men and women in a variety of positions.

Chris Gray-Garcia, Senior Public Affairs Specialist and spokesman for the Sacramento district emphasizes, "It is important for people to understand that you don't have to be an engineer to work for the Army Corps of Engineers. We have a varied workforce that actually does a lot of different things." Some examples are those who work with environmental regulation, park rangers, biologists and archeologists. Every discipline of engineering is employed especially with the major construction work that is performed during major civil works projects. One of the responsibilities of the corps at the federal level is flood control, so many of the dams in California and throughout the west are managed by the corps.

"In almost all of the dams is a natural reservoir behind it, so over the last 50 years we have also developed a recreation program," Gray-Garcia explained. "We have park rangers just like the National Park Service."

In addition, for almost any project there is some kind of real estate action that is required and real estate specialists are needed to work in the corps to manage that aspect. Contract specialists are responsible for awarding contracts for various projects.

"The corps does not have a staff of construction workers," Gray-Garcia stated, "Generally we are the construction management and would hire an outside contractor to perform the work. We design and manage the projects."

With the variety of jobs needed to be filled, according to Gray-Garcia, there will be many opportunities for employment in the next six to 12 months.

The workforce management administrator for the district, Erika Tungland said that there are about 200 vacancies. Positions are located in Sacramento and Utah. There are also employment opportunities in Colorado, Nevada, and throughout northern and central California.

Applicants can check out available positions and need to apply online at usajobs.gov. The corps also reaches out to veterans and those with disabilities.

Debbie Hall is practically a Las Vegas native (34 years and counting) and loves experiencing everything in Southern Nevada from the Las Vegas Strip to the surrounding mountains and Lake Mead. She also teaches at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and loves sharing her knowledge. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.

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