The sweet smell of success is wafting from the city's trash, with more than 100,000 New Yorkers applying for jobs as sanitation workers. It's a record turnout of applicants for any city job, officials said Wednesday, and at least one of them thinks he knows why. ``For somebody who likes the outdoors, it's a good, clean living,'' said Sanitation Department spokesman Vito Turso. ``You can build up your muscles, and then get them tanned.'' Sure. But what makes people look at garbage and see gold? Try $23,104 per year to start, with the salary climbing to $35,000 after five years. Add in overtime, and a likely raise with the next city contract, and it's obvious all that smells doesn't necessarily stink. The job requirements are minimal: a driver's license and a strong back. The work week is 35 hours, with the shift running from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; summer hours let workers out at 2 p.m. As with most city jobs, there are comprehensive benefits. Negatives? The average city sanitation worker lifts five tons of garbage per day, the rough equivalent of two Toyotas. And the odds of bagging a position are 50-to-1. As of Wednesday, 102,000 people had registered to take the written test this Saturday. Of those who pass, 15,000 will be selected randomly by computer and given the physical test. Eventually, 2,000 will be hired over the next four years, city budgets permitting. Virtually all are expected to pass the written test, which is basically trash-specific. ``It's mostly reading comprehension. They receive manuals on operating the trucks and safety, and the questions deal with that,'' Turso explained. ``For example, which button do you push to start the truck? Button A. Like that.'' When the test was last given in 1983, nearly 95 percent of the 88,000 applicants passed the written part. The physical test is a bit heavier. Potential trash-carriers last time had 27 minutes to load 147 sacks of simulated garbage - 2,975 pounds worth - into a hopper set at the height of a garbage truck. Each applicant has paid a $15 fee to take the written test despite the long odds. Other than that, they might have little in common: the applicants cross all lines of sex and age, with potential employees coming from all walks of life, Turso said. ``We've had individuals come out in their 50s, gray haired, grandchildren in tow,'' said Turso. ``And some of them have actually been called up.''
