Lessons from a Census Enumerator

By: Alaa Essafi

Amatullah Shaw, a 24-year-old Newark resident shares her experience as a Census Enumerator and a few things to know about the Census. If you haven’t completed the census yet, please visit https://2020census.gov/en.html.The deadline is September 30th and it only takes 10 minutes to complete! 

Tell us about your position.

My official title was Census Enumerator and I went to different houses in my area whose record showed that they didn’t complete the census. So, I went door to door letting them know who I was and helped them through the process, if they needed it. Of course, I came across people who said, “I filled it out online but you’re here”, so I also had to double-check their completion and the quality of the census. 

Why did you decide to become a Census enumerator?

The very simple and easy answer to why I became a census enumerator is because it pays. So I thought, why not? 

But also it’s a really good way to assess how much your community needs. We’re human. We love to complain. We love to say, there are potholes in the street or we don’t have enough representation in government. The census can improve that for you but we have to know that you exist. Being a part of that in my city is huge because I’m always trying to find ways to give back to the city that raised me.

How would you rate your experience overall? Do you have any stories to share? 

I can’t say that I hated working for the census because, at the end of the day, the information that I was collecting was helping my city get all these cool resources. One of the places that I had the most cases in was a senior living facility down the street from my house. There was always someone there who just wanted to sit and talk. I don’t have my grandparents anymore, so sitting with these people and hearing them talk about their lives was very cool. I’ve been a life long resident of Newark, so talking to people in my neighborhood that I didn’t know was super rewarding. 

There were many negatives though, especially as a young, single woman. Although I was on federal business and I had a mask on, I would have men disrupting the interview process to ask if I was single or if they could take me out to eat. It didn’t impact the quality of my work but it was very annoying and made going door to door uncomfortable  because I worried I might encounter more people like that. In addition, working for the census was not always straightforward, clear, or organized. There were glitches in the system, apps wouldn’t go through, certain information wouldn’t be submitted, etc. 

Would you recommend this job? 

Yes, I would. Even though I did not have the best experience I think it's a good way to get involved because you’re in your community adding to the number of people completing the census. For example, my area is predominantly African American so if I’m a white person from South Orange coming down in a suit and tie asking people to fill out the census, they aren’t going to do it. And so, it’s important for people in our communities to apply to be census workers because people will be more comfortable if you look like them. You can always say, I live around the corner so this will affect me too. 

You’re also a part of making history, we do the census every ten years. If you have a chance to help your city get more funding, do it. 

Are there any myths or misconceptions you’d like to debunk? 

No one is going to ask you about citizenship, the census doesn’t care. 

It should only take about ten minutes, so if it’s taking longer than that I would recommend you do it over the phone or with an enumerator. 

The Census Bureau is the only federal agency that can access the information you provide in the census survey, no one else can. Not even law enforcement or other government agencies. Enumerators are legally sworn to keep all information confidential so we can’t share that information either. 

What is something, even if it’s just one thing that you want people to learn from your experience? 

The most important thing is for them to know that the census is for them. A lot of the time, people might think of the census as the government asking for more information that will not benefit them in any way. They see that it’s a government agency and they look the other way. But the census is for them. It’s a little frustrating when I explain it and break it down for people and they still don’t want to fill it out because why wouldn’t you want these benefits? If more people know that the information they give in the census is going to come back to them in some form of funding or some type of resource, then they’ll be more inclined to complete it.