Social Security Administration reviews

Quite possibly the worst job I've ever had. Lots of disgruntled employees. Our District Manager was a raging alcoholic. She took an "early retirement" after passing out in the ladies room. Social Security Administration is the rented, red-headed step child of government jobs. They don't pay you enough for your pain.

The training as a Benefit Authorizer is very very very long. You will be in class for roughly 8 months. After you are done with class you will be put on review. On review you will learn the job from your mentor. Review can also be a very long process. There was a lot of downtime in class, and I honestly think class could probably be cut down to 4-5 months. I have not been here for very long, but it does appear that it can take some time to be promoted starting as a Benefit Authorizer. Another negative with regards to promotions is when they hire people from the outside (outside the agency) to higher graded positions. An example of this would be when they hire Claims Authorizers which goes to a GS-11. The Benefit Authorizer position goes to a GS-9. If you start as a Benefit Authorizer you have to be promoted to a Claims Authorizer. It can be demoralizing to see people be hired from the outside to a higher graded position and not having any sort of qualifications greater than you that justify it.