Eligibility specialists work for nonprofits or government agencies to help citizens receive important benefits.
It's a two-part job. First, they help people determine whether they qualify for benefits. If they do, eligibility specialists are in charge of processing their benefits applications.
Budget cuts at some organizations mean that the caseload for many eligibility specialists has increased dramatically in recent years.
Two years ago, Ebony George, an eligibility specialist with the human resource administration in New York City, processed seven or eight cases per day.
Now, she says, she is expected to process two to three times the number of cases each day, although her pay has not increased.
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Nearly all of her work is done on the computer, so George says she is glued to her desk trying to meet her quota every day.
"I sit a lot of hours," she says. "I have to force myself to get up and walk around. After a while your knees hurt, your back starts to hurt."
Still, there are fulfilling aspects to the job as well.
"I love that I'm helping people," George says. "I've had clients call me back months later or email to say, 'thank you.'"
