New Program Checks SubFinder Automatically

Last year, my wife completed earning a liberal studies degree and a multiple-subject credential, but with the employment rate in the Central Valley of California being among the highest in the nation, finding a teaching position proved impossible. However, she was able to interview and be placed on several school district’s sub lists. We found being called for a job from the automated system was a poor way to get jobs since the system would call based on a priority list. Several factors played into this list, but one of them was how often you worked at a particular site. Since my wife just started subbing, we knew she wouldn’t be called for any school site unless all the regulars were already employed for the day or skipped out on the job. Then, my wife revealed there was an online component to the system. Being of the geek type, when she told me these districts used a system called SubFinder and listed every available job for which she is eligible, I knew this would be the key.

At first, I set up a shortcut on her smartphone which jumped right to the web sites for SubFinder which allowed her to job shop throughout the day. But with my mind still turning, I knew I couldn’t let this continue manually. This is the INTERNETS! That means connected systems and automation, my friends!

SubFinder has no built-in notification system, aside from the archaic one-at-a-time phone calling system(I know, right?). However, I was able to find a new online service called SubAssistant which checks your SubFinder account for you, then sends you a text message or email alert when one is available. All you need to do is sign up, enter your SubFinder info, set your notification preferences, and wait for the jobs to come to you. Once I set this up for my wife, she couldn’t believe how many notifications she was receiving. While SubAssistant doesn’t auto accept the jobs for you, it was easy for my wife to get the email on her phone, then immediately pop open the browser and pick up the job manually.

While looking for automated programs to check SubFinder, I ran across a couple of others for different sub systems like Sub Sidekick, Jobulator, and SubAlerts, but all these programs require you to download software to your own computer and leave your computer on 24/7 so the software can check the site. I liked SubAssistant’s approach; its all online so you don’t have to worry about leaving your computer on or missing jobs because you forgot to start the software after a reboot. (Not to mention the electric bill!) Another option is using something like the Check4Change plugin for Firefox or ReloadEvery for Internet Explorer and (I think) Chrome. But again, these two just refresh the page and essentially tie you to your computer.

Does anyone know of any other program that can do the same thing for SubFinder? SubAssistant works great, but it doesn’t hurt to try others, right?