Updated September 10, 2022
Have you ever wondered what the most common and popular jobs are with the State of California? This article takes looks at the 10 most common jobs you'll find available with the State.
For jobs with the State of California, certain classifications are much more abundant than others. This list highlights the classifications that have the greatest number of advertised vacancies at the time of this writing. Although the advertising and filling of vacancies is constantly changing, the classifications you'll find listed here are consistently the most numerous in California State-service.
For jobseekers looking to find employment, taking exams and applying for vacancies in the most common classifications is a good way to improve the odds of getting a job. This is especially true for people looking to enter State employment for the first time.
At the time of this posting there was 4,858 job openings with the state of California. Those job openings are spread across 736 classifications and the classifications with the most open jobs are highlighted below.
The 10 Most Common Jobs with The State of California
- Associate Governmental Program Analyst - 270 vacancies
- Office Technician - 200 vacancies
- Physician & Surgeon - 132 vacancies
- Information Technology Specialist I - 130 vacancies
- Staff Services Analyst - 120 vacancies
- Staff Services Manager I - 120 vacancies
- Psychologist - 108 vacancies
- Licensed Vocational Nurse - 100 vacancies
- Registered Nurse - 97 vacancies
- Clinical Social Worker - 87 vacancies
About the Most Common State of California Classifications
Psychologist, Registered Nurse, and Physician & Surgeon are very specific classifications that require a license. But for all 3 a valid license is the only major requirement. This makes them a good entry-level opportunity for people new to the profession. Newly licensed Registered Nurses, for example, might find it hard to get a private sector job without work experience, but will find plenty of door-opening opportunities with the state.
For general State of California office opportunities, Associate Governmental Program Analyst (AGPA), Staff Services Analyst (SSA), Information Technology Specialist I (ITS I), and Office Technician (OT) are all on the list. The AGPA classification is possible to jump into without having worked for the State before, but you'd need to have quite a bit of outside work experience and probably a college degree.
Experience as an SSA is the most common path into AGPA positions. The SSA classification requires a college degree and is a good place for a recent grad to start their career with the State of California. For those without a college degree, Office Technician is a good entry point. For ITS II, a year as an ITS I or outside work experience is required.
How to Get a State Job
When looking for a job with the State of California, understanding the hiring process is very important. Knowledge of the most common classifications is also very important because concentrating your efforts on the most common classifications will increase your odds of landing a great job.
Having eligibility (taking and passing an exam) is required for all classifications. But the time needed to take an exam can be considerable. While a good piece of advice is to take any and every exam you're qualified or interested in, focusing your efforts on becoming eligible for the classifications with the highest number of vacancies is a great strategy and an efficient use of time.
This is especially true for people looking to enter state service for the first time and don't have other forms of eligibility available to them (like reinstatement, lateral transfers, or Training & Development assignments).
At the time of this writing, there were 736 different classifications with at least one posted vacancy. Some of these are Non-Testing Classes, which means no exam is needed to apply, but for the vast majority, having eligibility is needed. Of those 736 classifications, 431 (almost 59%) had only 1 or 2 vacancies.
Finding and taking exams for these less-common classifications can be a good strategy. Typically, the number of applications departments receive is far fewer than for more popular classifications. But, taking exams for some of these common classifications will make candidates eligible for the greatest number of vacancies. We recommend beginning your job search by taking some of the more common classifications then looking for some lesser-known classifications.
If you're ready to start your job search, why not start with the most common classification in California state service. At the time of this writing there were 3,931 open jobs with the State, with 154 (almost 4%) of those coming from the AGPA classification. The California Job Blog has an entire post on The Associate Governmental Program Analyst Hiring Process.
For more information about the most common California State jobs organized by classification type, check out our post California State Jobs by Occupational Class.
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