Covid-19 Pandemic Creates New Job Career
The need for Contact Tracers is real now. They are needed in many large cities and other towns where the virus has rampaged unchecked. The Contact Tracer contacts confirmed Covid-19 patients to encourage them to quarantine for two weeks in an effort to keep track of the virus and maintain it. If you do it well, you can become a Case Investigator, which reach out to those who test positive and gather names and contact information. This information is given to the Contact Tracer.
With 30 million Americans out of work, the virus has given something back until the vaccine arrives. There is a need of up to 200,000 Contact Tracers. There is training and you do need any medical degree or college. You do need critical thinking skills and persistence. You need have some knowledge of medical terminology and be able to make cold calls to strangers and read from a prepared script.
Congress has allocated some $26 billion to help state health departments pay for this new career and Covid-19 testing. Most of these new jobs are in California, Florida, Texas, and New York. However, if a town has a population of 100,000, then it should have 30 tracers. Massachusetts is hiring 1000 tracers (starting wage is $27 hr.).
States are handling the hiring of these new workers in a variety of ways, many use a nonprofit group called, United States of Care or other outside, private firms. Salaries for this new career range from $17-$38 depending on location. Most of the jobs are within a call center with several hundreds of people. Although, some tracers are able to work from home using special computer apps. Many times, the tracer will have to inform a contact that they have been in contact with a person testing positive with the virus and they should quarantine.
If you are out of work and in a good size population area, contact local county health departments, private employment agencies, and ask if they are hiring for a Contact Tracer or Case Investigator for Covid-19.
