HUNDREDS LINE UP FOR SHOT AT AIRPORT-SCREENING POSITIONS.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Sechita McNair needs to find work - and fast.

The 22-year-old aspiring dancer hopes to someday make it to New York, but needs to finish her education first. So she joined an estimated 500 other job-seekers Tuesday at the Hilton Hotel in Glendale, where where the new Transportation Security Administration is taking applications for federal security screening positions at Los Angeles International, Burbank and Ontario airports.

``I need to get this job so I can buy a car to go to school, pay for and finish school, then go back to New York,'' McNair said. ``I'm pretty confident.''

About 70,000 screening positions at airports nationwide need to be filled by Nov. 19, officials said. Tuesday's job fair was the first in the area to fill positions quickly for screening managers, supervisors and screeners. The fair will continue at the hotel today, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The fair attracted job seekers from as far as Valencia and Torrance. They filled out applications, sat through orientations, then waited in line for an appointment to be interviewed.

Many said they came after an early morning television news report showed an empty hotel lobby and personnel just waiting for the applicants to show up.

By 10 a.m., that same lobby looked like an open Hollywood casting call for ``American Idol,'' attracting everyone from mothers eager to re-enter the work force to laid-off managers from telecommunication companies to recent college graduates.

Though a job as a baggage screener might not have the glamour of show business, many were lured by the promise of federal government perks, such as health and life insurance, paid vacation and a starting annual salary of $23,600.

Despite long lines and a four-hour application process, many had high hopes that they could snag a job.

Don Baisa of Highland Park hoped his career in the Navy would boost his chances because the TSA is giving hiring preference to qualified candidates with military backgrounds.

``I was a tutor for a couple of years, teaching English as a Second Language,'' Baisa said. Though he needed to find work, he said, a job as a screener wouldn't hold his interest for long.

``I'm looking for an entry-level job,'' Baisa said. ``I don't know if I'll last. I'll probably be looking for another job in three months.''

Ron Read of Ontario, who already works in the postal section of Ontario Airport, said he wanted to make a career change.

``I think the security job would be interesting,'' he said. ``It's much needed, and we would be working to increase the confidence of people who are flying.''

Others, like 28-year-old Julian Flores, said a job as a baggage screener was a good stepping stone to a career of choice.

``I'm looking for a job in law enforcement,'' the University of California, Los Angeles, graduate said. ``I've tried Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, but since there's a job freeze, I've had to try other options.''

Flores said should he get the screening position, he's prepared to deal with impatient travelers who might not appreciate having to wait in long lines to have their bags thoroughly inspected by a stranger.

``Hopefully, people will understand that since Sept. 11, things have changed,'' he said. ``Hopefully they'll understand that they have to sacrifice some time for safety.''

According to the TSA, applicants must be U.S. citizens and have a high school diploma or its equivalent. Selected applicants must pass criminal and financial background checks, undergo 100 hours of paid classroom and on-the-job training and pass a written test.

``I don't have anything to hide,'' said Maria del Carmen Honda of Moorpark, a mother of two grown children who said the job would help pay for their college tuitions. ``This job seems lucrative and I'm flexible.''

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Jason Prado of Los Angeles joins other applicants entering their information on computers at the Transportation Security Administrations job fair Tuesday at the Glendale Hilton.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer