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GOVERNMENT JOBS
overview
Government Jobs / Federal Jobs / Post
Office Jobs (Continued)
OCCUPATIONS
The Federal Government employed workers in almost every occupation in
2002, including
those found only in Government, such as legislators or judges. About 7 out of 10 Federal
workers were employed in professional specialty, administrative support, or executive,
administrative, and managerial occupations.
Complete lists of all 900 federal government occupations are listed in
The Book of U.S. Government Jobs
with sample job descriptions. Review the
listing of GS and WG Occupational Groups and Families
that is available on this site.
Professional specialty and executive, administrative, and
managerial occupations
Together, professional specialty and executive,
administrative, and managerial occupations comprise about 47 percent of Federal
employment. Almost all professional specialty jobs require a 4-year college degree. Some,
such as engineers, physicians and life and physical scientists require a bachelor's or
higher degree in a specific field of study.
Engineers, such as chemical, civil, aeronautical,
industrial, electrical, mechanical, and nuclear engineers, work in every department of the
executive branch. In general, they apply physical laws toward design problems, such as
building bridges or computer systems. Although most are employed in the Department of
Defense, a significant number work in the National Aeronautic and Space Administration and
the Department of Transportation.
Computer scientists, computer engineers, and systems
analysts are employed throughout the Government. They write computer programs, analyze
problems related to data processing, and keep computer systems running smoothly.
Health professionals include registered nurses and
physicians, with more than 3 out of 4 of these workers employed by the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) at one of many VA hospitals. Other professionals included life
scientists, such as biologists and foresters and conservation scientists, who research
problems dealing with life processes, and physical scientists, such as geologists,
meteorologists, and physicists, who examine the state of the earth and research physical
phenomena. The Department of Agriculture employs the vast majority of life scientists, but
physical scientists are distributed evenly throughout government.
Executive, administrative, and managerial workers are
primarily responsible for overseeing operations. Legislators are included in this group,
and are responsible for passing and amending the Nation's laws. Because managers are
generally promoted from professional occupations, most have at least a bachelor's degree.
These workers include many types of managers who, at the highest levels, may head Federal
agencies or programs, such as general managers, top executives, and middle managers, who
oversee one activity or aspect of a program.
Other executive, administrative, and managerial workers
provide management support. Accountants and auditors prepare and analyze financial
reports, review and record revenues and expenditures, and check operations for fraud and
inefficiency. Inspectors and compliance officers enforce Federal regulations governing
everything from aircraft to food. Tax examiners determine and collect taxes. Management
support workers include purchasing agents, who handle Federal purchases of supplies, and
management analysts, who study Government operations and systems and suggest improvements.
Administrative support occupations
Almost one Federal worker in four falls into this category, not counting
the U.S. Postal Service. Administrative support workers usually only need a high school
diploma, though any further training or experience, such as a junior college degree, or at
least two years of relevant work experience, is an asset. Administrative support workers
aid management staff with administrative duties. They include secretaries; book keepers;
accounting, auditing, stock, traffic, shipping, and receiving clerks; receptionists; and
switch-board operators.
Technicians and related support occupations
Technicians make up about eight percent of the Federal workforce. They may
aid professionals in research, analysis, or law enforcement. Often their tasks and skills
are quite specialized, as with air traffic controllers. As a result, many technicians are
required to have some vocational training or extensive work experience; many have two-year
associate degrees.
Engineering technicians, who may work either directly with engineers or by
themselves, are common. Other technician occupations include health technicians, such as
dental hygienists and radiologists, who have specialized health service jobs, or legal
assistants, who aid judges and attorneys.
Other occupations
Most Federal jobs in other occupations require no more than a high school
diploma, although some departments and agencies may prefer workers with some vocational
training or previous experience. For instance, some precision production workers like
mechanics or machinists, or service workers such as chefs or barbers need some specific
training or experience. The Federal Government also offers apprenticeship programs, which
train unskilled workers on the job for some skilled occupations.
Compared to the economy as a whole, service workers are relatively scarce
in the Federal Government. Nearly half of all Federal workers in these occupations are
firefighters, police officers, and correctional officers. These workers protect the public
from crime, oversee Federal prisons, and stand ready to intervene in emergencies.
Over half of the Federally employed precision production, craft, and
repair occupations were mechanics, such as vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, who fix
and maintain all types of motor vehicles, aircraft, and heavy equipment, and electrical
and electronic equipment operators. Other precision production workers are skilled in
construction trades, such as painters, plumbers, and electricians.
The Federal Government employs relatively few workers in fabricator,
operator, and laborer occupations; agriculture, forestry, fishing, and related
occupations; and marketing and sales occupations.
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OUTLOOK
Employment in the Federal Government is projected to decline by six
percent through the year 2006 due to efforts to balance the Federal budget, however,
considerable opportunities remain in the federal sector. Uncle Sam hires an average of 327,000
new employees each year to replace workers that transfer to other federal or private jobs,
retire, or stop working for other reasons. Competition will be keen for many Federal
positions, especially during times of economic uncertainty when workers seek the stability
of Federal Government employment. The distribution of employment will change, however,
toward a higher proportion of professional, technical, and managerial workers.
Factors that influence Federal Government staffing levels are unique.
Unlike any other employer in the Nation, the Congress and President determine the
Government's payroll budget prior to each fiscal year, which runs from October 1 through
September 30 of the following year. Whether operating at a surplus or a deficit, the
Federal Government generally adheres to its payroll budget. As a result, Federal
employment is not affected by cyclical fluctuations in the economy, as are employment
levels in many construction, manufacturing, and other private sector industries;
employment levels tend to be relatively stable in the short run.
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GETTING
STARTED
The Book Of U.S. Government Jobs walks you
through the federal hiring process. This book also steers you to highly informative
government and private sector Internet web sites, electronic bulletin boards, self-service
job information centers, telephone job hotlines, and it explores all facets of the federal
job search.
Readers will find up-to-date information on how the federal employment
system works from an insiders perspective and how to locate job announcements through
various methods and resources. You’ll learn about special hiring programs for the
physically challenged, veterans, students, and scholars, thousands of job opportunities,
Civil Service Exam requirements, overseas jobs, Postal Service jobs, how to complete your
employment application, and much more. Appendix A provides a comprehensive checklist that
will take you through the entire federal employment process. Use Appendix A throughout
your job search.
The appendices include an easy to use Job Hunter's Checklist, complete
lists of Federal occupations, a skills to agency cross index, comprehensive agency
summaries and contact lists including employment office addresses and phone numbers.
This book will guide you step-by-step through the federal employment
process, from filling out your first employment application to locating job announcements,
networking resources and hiring agencies. Follow the guidelines set forth in
The Book of U.S. Government Jobs to dramatically improve your
chances of landing a federal job.
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PAY &
BENEFITS
Job security and excellent pay are among the top reasons most seek federal
employment. There are eight predominant pay systems. Approximately half of the workforce
is under the General Schedule (GS) pay scale, twenty percent are paid under
the Postal Service rates, and about ten percent are paid under the Prevailing
Rate Schedule (WG) Wage Grade classification. The remaining pay systems are for the Executive
Schedule, Foreign Service, Nonappropriated Fund Instrumentalities pay scales, and Veterans
Health Administration.
General Schedule (GS) pay for locality area
"Rest of U.S." pay varies from the GS-1 level at $14,757 per annum to $107,357
per annum at the top GS-15 grade (not including locality pay adjustments). The Senior
Executive Service salary tops out at $130,000 per annum. The president adjusts federal
salaries to levels that are competitive with the private sector. The average annual salary
for full time non-postal employees increased to $51,000 in 2001. Starting pay depends on
the level of experience, education and complexity of the position applied for. A complete
General Schedule (GS ) pay schedule is printed in Chapter Two of
The
Book of U.S. Government Jobs.
Each GS grade has ten pay steps. Currently, a
GS-9 starts at $34,451 for step one and reaches $44,783 per year at step ten
(not including locality pay adjustments). At the GS-9 grade, each pay step
adds $1148.00 to the annual salary. Pay steps are earned based on time in
service and the employee’s work performance. General Schedule employees are
referred to as white collar workers under the federal classification system.
Approximately 13.3 percent of total federal non-postal employment is classified under the
Wage Grade (WG) blue collar pay schedules. See Appendix D for a complete list of
occupations.
There are a number of special compensation systems that augment the general schedule.
Physicians receive signing bonuses for a one year continued-service agreement and
additional bonuses for two years. The Federal Aviation Administration pays employees in
safety related careers under a "Core Compensation" multi payband system.
Organizations such as the General Accounting Office (GAO), NASA, and the Commerce
Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology are either exempt from or
have exceptions to the GS pay system.
The GS pay schedule
is available on this site.
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LOCATING A JOB
Fifteen cabinet departments and over 100 independent agencies comprise
the federal government system. These departments and agencies have offices in all corners
of the world. The size of each agency varies considerably. The larger the agency the more
diverse the opportunities. These large agencies hire a broad spectrum of occupations,
professional and blue collar.
If you desire to travel, government jobs offer abundant opportunities to
relocate within the 50 states and throughout the world. Chapter 7 provides information on
thousands of overseas employment opportunities. Twelve federal agencies and departments
offer employment abroad for over 70,000 U.S. citizens. The Department of Defense Dependent
Schools system employees hundreds of teachers for military dependent schools overseas.
Washington DC has the largest
number of federal workers, 245,368, and Vermont the least with 2,485
workers. All of the 315 Metropolitan Statistical Areas
(MSAs) in the U.S. and Puerto Rico had federal civilian employees in December of
2004 as listed
in the Central Personnel Data File. Small towns and rural areas outside of MSAs had
approximately 18 percent of total non-Postal federal workers. The actual number of federal
civilian employees is greater than the above figures. The Defense Intelligence Agency,
Central Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency do not release this data.
Chapter Three provides job resources including Internet web sites, magazines and
newspapers that list thousands of national job openings and job placement services.
Special hiring programs are explained for Outstanding Scholars, and
student
employment opportunities. Appendix C provides a comprehensive agency contact list that
includes national and regional personnel office contacts.
Government job listings are included on this site
and we provide over 150 links to federal agency
recruiting sites. Use these resources in conjunction with
The Book of U.S. Government Jobs to land a high paying
government job.
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EDUCATION
REQUIREMENTS
In the federal government 60 percent of all workers do not have a college
degree. The level of required education is dependent upon the job that’s applied for.
Each job announcement lists needed skills and abilities including education and work
experience. However, the more education and work experience that you have the more
competitive you will be when ranked against other applicants. A sample qualification
statement is presented in chapter 2 for Administration and Management Positions. The
majority of positions within the government have a published qualifications standard
similar to the provided example.
You can review and down-load specific
qualification standards on-line at this site or
through http://opm.gov . Your local Federal Depository
Library may also have qualification standards available for your review. Many large college and private libraries are designated depository
status and they can help you locate specific government publications including the
Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions.
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