The NYC Stock Worker
exam: a complete guide

What the job is

A stock worker receives, stores and issues City supplies, and keeps the records that say what is on the shelf and what left it.

Four documents that disagree with each other, and the question is which one is right. That is a stock worker's morning.

What is on the exam

Nine sections and 162 questions — the longest exam in the line by some way, and one of only two that test Time Sharing.

Section	Questions	Time	Per question
Written Comprehension	18	24 min	80 sec
Deductive Reasoning	18	24 min	80 sec
Inductive Reasoning	18	24 min	80 sec
Information Ordering	18	24 min	80 sec
Number Facility	18	22 min	73 sec
Problem Sensitivity	18	23 min	77 sec
Spatial Orientation	18	26 min	87 sec
Time Sharing	18	26 min	87 sec
Written Expression	18	22 min	73 sec
Total	162	215 min

The documents are the job: pick lists, item records, delivery notes and supplier notes that have to be read against each other.

The pacing

At 162 questions over 215 minutes this is the longest sitting in the line by nearly an hour. Stamina is part of what is being measured.

Passing does not get you the job

This is the part almost nobody explains, and for a Stock Worker candidate it matters more than anything else on this page. Answering enough of these 162 questions correctly does not hire you. It places you on an eligible list with a number on it, and that number is your position in the queue for every Stock Worker vacancy the City fills.

Hiring runs down that list under the Rule of Three: for any Stock Worker vacancy, the agency must select one of the three highest-ranking candidates who are willing to take it. The difference between a list number of 300 and one of 3,000 is not a difference of degree. It is usually the difference between being called and never being called.

Stock Worker is one of the broadest entry points into City employment, used across many agencies, so the list is worked from several directions at once. It is also a title people underestimate, which occasionally leaves good numbers unclaimed.

The list expires

A Stock Worker eligible list typically runs four years from the date it is established, and it can be extended. If your number has not been reached when it expires, the list is gone and your place on it goes with it. You start again with the next Stock Worker exam, which may be years away.

Stock Worker is used across many agencies, so lists get worked from several directions. It is still four years, and this is a title people file for and then forget about until it is too late.

The points you have to ask for

The Stock Worker exam is an open competitive exam, so veterans are entitled to 5 additional points on it, or 10 if disabled, and New York City residents are entitled to 5 additional points on some exams. Claim at filing. This title attracts a wide field and the scores bunch, so five points is a real move.

Here is the part that costs people the job. Those credits are not applied automatically. You claim them when you file for the Stock Worker exam and produce documentation later. Nobody looks up your service record and adds the points for you. A candidate entitled to ten points who does not claim them sits ten points lower on the Stock Worker list, permanently, and will never be told that is why the call did not come.

Filing is a deadline, not a date

You file for a specific exam number during a specific filing period, and missing it means waiting for the next administration. Filing periods are published in advance and they are not long. Check the number on the Notice of Examination against the annual schedule before you pay the fee: candidates file for the wrong exam every year, and a Notice of Examination never says it is the wrong one.

What happens after you pass

Screening is comparatively light and physical requirements are real, since the work involves receiving and moving supplies. Read the requirements in the notice.

How to prepare

Four documents that disagree with each other, and the question is which one is right. That is the exam and it is also a stock worker's morning. Practice reading pick lists, item records and delivery notes against one another. At 162 questions over 215 minutes, stamina is part of what is being measured, so sit one full paper end to end before test day.

One thing worth being clear about: you do not need to know the stock catalogue, the storeroom layout or any supplier's part numbers. These exams test abilities, not job knowledge, and candidates who spend their preparation memorizing procedures are preparing for a different test.

What we found when we tested our own exam

At 162 questions this is the longest sitting in the line, so a candidate sitting an unmeasured practice test is spending three and a half hours to learn nothing.

So we measure it. Across the 38 sections of our NYC civil service exams long enough to measure (760 questions, in sections of 20 or more), the best score any length-based strategy reaches is 40%, against the 25% that guessing alone should give. Four strategies are scored: pick the longest option, pick the shortest, cross off the longest and guess, cross off the shortest and guess. 162 questions across nine sections is the largest sample of any title here, which makes this the most statistically solid figure in the line.

Four documents that disagree with each other, and the question is which one is right.

Produced from the live bank by the script that fails our build over 40%. With 162 questions this is the largest single contribution to the civil service figure, so it does more than any other title to hold that number honest.

Where to practice

We publish two full Stock Worker practice exams with no questions shared between them, and you can sit a single section on its own when that is all the evening allows. Every wrong answer carries its own explanation saying what a student who picked it was probably thinking, which is the part that turns a score into something you can act on. There is a free sample on the samples page if you want to see the format before paying for anything.

Common questions

How many questions are on the NYC Stock Worker exam?

162 questions across 9 sections. Nine sections and 162 questions — the longest exam in the line by some way, and one of only two that test Time Sharing.

Does passing the civil service exam mean you get the job?

No. Passing puts you on an eligible list with a list number, and hiring runs down that list. For a Stock Worker vacancy the agency must select one of the three highest-ranking candidates on the list who will accept it, which is the Rule of Three.

How long does the Stock Worker eligible list last?

Typically four years from establishment, and it can be extended. If your number is never reached before it expires, you sit the Stock Worker exam again whenever DCAS next offers it.

How do I get veterans' or residency credits on the Stock Worker exam?

You claim them yourself. Veterans get 5 additional points on an open competitive exam, or 10 if disabled, and New York City residents get 5 on some exams. Nothing is applied automatically: claim at the point you file for Stock Worker and document it later.

What does the Stock Worker job involve?

A stock worker receives, stores and issues City supplies, and keeps the records that say what is on the shelf and what left it.