NYC Traffic Enforcement Agent salary: what the notice actually says

The notice states a current minimum salary of $48,719 per year, and it states it for Assignment Level II specifically — the level candidates from this list are appointed to. Level I exists in the title structure and covers patrolling an assigned area and issuing summonses; Level II adds directing and controlling traffic at assigned locations, which is why appointment goes straight there.

The notice also says two additional assignment levels carry higher salary steps, and that all of these salaries are subject to collective bargaining increase. That phrasing matters: the $48,719 is what the notice commits to today, and the higher levels are described as existing without the notice putting a number on them.

Assignment Level III requires a W endorsement on your driver licence, which is the tow-truck endorsement, and the notice adds that the licence must carry no restrictions. That is a concrete, obtainable qualification rather than a matter of seniority, which makes Level III the step most within a new agent's control.

Assignment Level IV requires Special Patrolman status granted by the New York City Police Commissioner under Administrative Code section 14-106 and chapter 13 of title 38 of the Rules of the City of New York. The notice tells candidates to ask the appointing agency's personnel office for those qualifications at the time of assignment, which is an honest way of saying the requirements are set outside this notice and can change.

Level III also carries an additional medical screening and additional drug screening. So the higher steps are not purely paperwork — each one adds a check you have to pass and keep passing.

The work week is 40 hours, and the notice states plainly that agents will be required to work rotating shifts including Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and overtime, depending on the needs of the service. Some of the physical conditions it names are working outdoors in all kinds of weather and patrolling on foot for long periods.

None of that changes the annual figure, but it changes what the figure buys. A salary that assumes rotating weekend work is not comparable to the same number on a fixed weekday schedule, and the notice is explicit enough about the schedule that a candidate can weigh it before applying.

Against the two other DCAS uniformed titles filing at the same time, Traffic Enforcement Agent sits in the middle on pay and at the bottom on entry cost. School Safety Agent starts lower at $40,480, rising to $58,345 after five years. Police Officer starts higher at $55,942 and reaches $109,352 at five and a half years — but requires 24 college credits or two years of military service, where Traffic Enforcement Agent requires a high school diploma.

The other asymmetry is the application fee. Traffic Enforcement Agent Exam No. 7331 carries a fee of $0.00, and the notice instructs applicants to select "No Fee" as the payment method. School Safety Agent charges $61. For a candidate deciding where to spend a filing window, that is a real difference and not a rounding error.