Parking Enforcement Workers

What the job really is

Patrol assigned area, such as public parking lot or city streets to issue tickets to overtime parking violators and illegally parked vehicles.

At a glance

• Sector: Protective Service
• O*NET-SOC code: 33-3041
• O*NET job zone: 2 — some preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Enter and retrieve information pertaining to vehicle registration, identification, and status, using hand-held computers.
• Patrol an assigned area by vehicle or on foot to ensure public compliance with existing parking ordinance.
• Write warnings and citations for illegally parked vehicles.
• Appear in court at hearings regarding contested traffic citations.
• Maintain assigned equipment and supplies, such as hand-held citation computers, citation books, rain gear, tire-marking chalk, and street cones.
• Respond to and make radio dispatch calls regarding parking violations and complaints.
• Maintain close communications with dispatching personnel, using two-way radios or cell phones.
• Perform simple vehicle maintenance procedures, such as checking oil and gas, and report mechanical problems to supervisors.
• Observe and report hazardous conditions, such as missing traffic signals or signs, and street markings that need to be repainted.
• Identify vehicles in violation of parking codes, checking with dispatchers when necessary to confirm identities or to determine whether vehicles need to be booted or towed.
• Train new or temporary staff.
• Make arrangements for illegally parked or abandoned vehicles to be towed, and direct tow-truck drivers to the correct vehicles.

Tools and technology

Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Word, Analog parking meters, Barcode scanners, Complus Data Innovations FastTrack, Desktop computers, Digital still cameras

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Parking Attendants
• Security Guards
• Transit and Railroad Police
• Railroad Conductors and Yardmasters
• Shuttle Drivers and Chauffeurs
• Highway Maintenance Workers
• Dispatchers, Except Police, Fire, and Ambulance
• Transportation Vehicle, Equipment and Systems Inspectors, Except Aviation

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 2 (some preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

Browse the verified job sources directory, or explore more occupations.

Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Parking Enforcement Workers — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.