Eligibility Worker I is a way into a Contra Costa County career that does not need a degree. You need a high school diploma and a year of public contact work, and the county trains you. To get it, you have to pass a multiple-choice test, and searching for a study guide turns up a lot of junk.
This guide covers what the job is, what it pays, who qualifies and how to prepare for the test, using the county’s own class specification and job announcements.
What the job is
Eligibility Workers decide who qualifies for public assistance, medical and employment programs, such as CalFresh, Medi-Cal and CalWORKs, and for how much. A typical day, according to the county:
- Interviewing applicants to gather their household, income and asset information.
- Checking that information against documents and outside sources.
- Entering it into the eligibility system and making sure the result and the benefit amount are right.
- Explaining program rules, deadlines and people’s rights.
- Answering a high volume of questions in person, by phone and by email.
- Referring people to other county and community services.
Eligibility Worker I is the trainee level. The county says new hires learn through formal classroom training and then on-the-job training, with close supervision that lessens as they learn.
What it pays
As of the county’s September 1, 2025 class specification:
- Eligibility Worker I: $33.28 to $34.94 an hour, or $69,215 to $72,676 a year.
- Eligibility Worker II: $38.52 to $46.82 an hour, or $80,125 to $97,392 a year.
Eligibility Worker II positions are normally filled by moving up from Eligibility Worker I, once you handle the full range of duties and your manager approves it. The current announcement always has the final numbers.
Speak Spanish or another language your clients speak? Past announcements encouraged bilingual applicants and paid a monthly bilingual differential to those who pass a language proficiency exam after hire.
Who qualifies
The minimum qualifications in the class specification:
- Education: a high school diploma, a GED or a high school proficiency certificate.
- Experience: one year of public contact work: giving information, answering questions and explaining policies or rules in person or by phone, and using a computer to look up and enter data.
- License: some positions need a valid California driver’s license.
Front desk, call center, retail customer service, bank teller and medical office work can all fit that experience description. Describe it on your application in those terms. The county decides qualification from the application, not from your resume, as we explain in How to Get a Job With Contra Costa County.
The test
The last Eligibility Worker I recruitment we could read used a single multiple-choice assessment, weighted 100%, taken by computer from home. The announcement said it measures competencies related to the Eligibility Worker class. Three more details from it:
- If you took the test in the past six months, you could not retest.
- Scores could be carried over to later recruitments.
- The list of people who passed could stay in effect for six months.
Check the announcement you apply to, since the process can change between recruitments.
How to prepare
Since the test measures the job’s competencies, the class specification is your best study guide. It lists what the county expects you to know and do. Practise each of these:
- Arithmetic. Adding up income, working out monthly amounts from weekly or hourly pay, and checking a calculation for errors.
- Reading rules and applying them. Take a short policy, then decide what it means for a given household. This is the heart of the job.
- Spelling, grammar and clear writing. The class spec names the structure and content of the English language.
- Customer service and conflict. How you would calm an upset client, keep information confidential, and explain a decision someone does not like.
- Organising work. Prioritising several deadlines at once.
Be careful with “Eligibility Worker exam study guide” downloads found through search. Many sit on unrelated websites and none that we found came from the county.
Get ready to apply
- Subscribe to Eligibility Worker I on the county job site (Job Descriptions tab, then Subscribe) to get an email when it opens.
- Write down your public contact experience now, with dates, hours and duties, so the application is quick when the posting opens.
- Practise interview answers about difficult customers and accuracy. Our Are You Interview Ready? quiz is a good place to start.
Want other options while you wait? Browse jobs in Contra Costa County, or set up a job alert for customer service and office work.