If you've ever tried to build a house or renovate a building, you're probably familiar with the complicated zoning laws and other ordinances that many cities and counties have. But who makes sure that people follow those laws? That's the job of the code enforcement officer.
The code enforcement officer investigates citizen complaints about violations of code, such as a neighbor's new shed hanging over the property line. They also enforce codes by issuing fines and sometimes leave the office to conduct property inspections.
The code enforcement officer needs to be very familiar with local building codes and organized in order to handle the paperwork that piles up. The code enforcement officer also needs to be good at communication so that they can explain confusing local ordinances and be patient when it comes to dealing with people angry at receiving fines.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Code Enforcement Officer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.08 an hour? That's $45,928 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 5% and produce 37,500 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many Code Enforcement Officers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Empathy, Good judgment and Leadership skills.
If you're interested in becoming a Code Enforcement Officer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 44.6% of Code Enforcement Officers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.9% of Code Enforcement Officers have master's degrees. Even though most Code Enforcement Officers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Code Enforcement Officer. When we researched the most common majors for a Code Enforcement Officer, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Associate Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Code Enforcement Officer resumes include High School Diploma degrees or Master's Degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Code Enforcement Officer. In fact, many Code Enforcement Officer jobs require experience in a role such as Police Officer. Meanwhile, many Code Enforcement Officers also have previous career experience in roles such as Security Officer or Customer Service Representative.