Going up the ladder as a permit tech

[EmilyPage]

I've been at a few Community Development Departments over the past few years and it always seems like there is a stagnation in the permit tech position. The only growth I've seen has been to become a plans reviewer, but not everyone is interested in Code analysis/compliance. Do other jurisdictions have things like permit tech II, III, or Sr? How does their role/responsibilities change from level I to level II and beyond? What other middle-level positions beyond permit tech do you have in your jurisdictions?

 

[Jeff]

We have Tech I's & II's. The Tech II's create permits for more complicated projects and do some plan review. We also have a Permit Supervisor that oversees the techs. We don't have a Sr Tech position yet but would like to in the future. From my experience, the larger cities have more opportunity for growth in the Tech position as opposed to smaller jurisdictions.
In a previous city I worked in, the permit tech moved her way up the ranks and became the BO.

 

[W3 Planning and Research]

I've been at a few Community Development Departments over the past few years and it always seems like there is a stagnation in the permit tech position. The only growth I've seen has been to become a plans reviewer, but not everyone is interested in Code analysis/compliance. Do other jurisdictions have things like permit tech II, III, or Sr? How does their role/responsibilities change from level I to level II and beyond? What other middle-level positions beyond permit tech do you have in your jurisdictions?

I would recommend speaking to your director and expressing an interest in other areas. I will say, one thing that I did was create career progression. I encouraged everyone, especially my tech's to explore other areas including planning and code enforcement. I would encourage "ride alongs" as well as job shadowing so that they could explore those areas before committing to something. I would also include them in meetings with me on those topics to help them learn about the other areas and get exposure.

For me, I have had several permit techs become amazing planners and environmental / code inspectors. It gives a great solid background basis for growing into those areas.

I would be happy to chat more one on one if you would like. Send me a message here if you are interested!

Dave