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Career Opportunities

Occupations in the Federal Government are designated professional (General Schedule) or trade, crafts, or labor (wage grade), and are further categorized and defined by series and/or grade. Check out the diverse occupational “families” that are available along with a description of what types of positions are included in each.

Positions

How Positions are Classified

Federal positions are classified by series and grade. Series and grade refers to the Federal government’s system for categorizing and defining jobs. If you have never worked in the Federal government, you do not have to enter a series or grade on your resumé for previous, non-government jobs. Upon application, however, you may be prompted to pick the highest grade you desire or are eligible for.

To view the GS pay schedule by base schedule and state, please visit the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Salaries and Wages page. There, you may view the base schedule and schedules by state. To view wage schedules for trade, craft, and labor positions, please visit OPM's Federal Wage System page.

A step is a raise in salary. Most grades in the Federal government have 10 steps. If you are just starting out, you can qualify for jobs at the GS-2 level with a high school diploma or as little as 3 months of general work experience. At GS-3 and GS-4 levels, you can qualify with more months of general experience. Starting at GS-5, jobs generally require 1 year of specialized experience without a degree to qualify.

When you have a degree but no specialized experience in a career field, you are eligible for appointment at the GS-5 level. If you maintained a B-average, or met other academic credentials in college, you can start out at the GS-7 pay scale.

To qualify for jobs at the GS-7 and higher grades, your background must have included experience closely related to the work to be performed in the job for which you are applying. You can qualify for GS-9 positions on the basis of a master’s degree, and for GS-11 positions on the basis of a doctorate.

For more information on grades, steps, and Federal salaries, please visit OPM's General Schedule (GS) page. The “Occupational Groups” contains a list that will help you identify the General Schedule series positions that are of the greatest interest to you. You may obtain additional information in the “GS Position Classification Standards” and the “Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions” which can be found on the OPM Web site.

Positions by Series

The following is a list of the occupational “families” and a description of what types of positions are included in each.

  • Administrative
    Positions whose primary duty requires knowledge or experience of an administrative, clerical, scientific, artistic, or technical nature and is not related to trade, craft, or manual labor work.
  • Trade, Craft, or Labor
    Positions whose primary duty involves the performance of physical work and requires knowledge or experience of a trade, craft, or manual labor nature.
  • 0000 – Miscellaneous Occupations
    Positions whose duties are to administer, supervise, or perform work that cannot be included in other occupational groups either because the duties are unique, or because they are complex and come in part under various groups.
  • 0200 – Human Resources Management
    Positions whose duties are to advise on, administer, supervise, or perform work involved in the various phases of human resources management.
  • 0300 – General Administrative, Clerical, and Office Services
    Positions whose duties are to administer, supervise, or perform work involved in management analysis; stenography, typing, correspondence, and secretarial work; mail and file work; the operation of office appliances; the operation of communications equipment, use of codes and ciphers, and procurement of the most effective and efficient communications services; the operation of microform equipment, peripheral equipment, mail processing equipment, duplicating equipment, and copier/ duplicating equipment; and other work of a general clerical and administrative nature.
  • 0500 – Accounting and Budget
    Positions whose duties are to advise on, administer, supervise, or perform professional, technical, or related clerical work of an accounting, budget administration, related financial management, or similar nature.
  • 0800 – Engineering and Architecture
    Positions whose duties are to advise on, administer, supervise, or perform professional, scientific, or technical work concerned with engineering or architectural projects, facilities, structures, systems, processes, equipment, devices, material or methods. Positions in this group require knowledge of the science or art, or both, by which materials, natural resources, and powers are made useful.
  • 0900 – Legal and Kindred
    Positions whose duties are to advise on, administer, supervise, or perform work of a legal or kindred nature.
  • 1000 – Information and Arts
    Positions that involve professional, artistic, technical, or clerical work in: (1) the communication of information and ideas through verbal, visual, or pictorial means; (2) the collection, custody, presentation, display, and interpretation of art works, cultural objects, and other artifacts; or (3) a branch of fine or applied arts such as industrial design, interior design, or musical composition. Positions in this group require writing, editing, and language ability; artistic skill and ability; knowledge of foreign languages; the ability to evaluate and interpret informational and cultural materials; or the practical application of technical or esthetic principles combined with manual skill and dexterity; or related clerical skills.
  • 1100 – Business and Industry
    Positions whose duties are to advise on, administer, supervise, or perform work pertaining to and requiring a knowledge of business and trade practices, characteristics and use of equipment, products, or property, or industrial production methods and processes, including the conduct of investigations and studies; the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information; the establishment and maintenance of contacts with industry and commerce; the provision of advisory services; the examination and appraisement of merchandise or property; and the administration of regulatory provisions and controls.
  • 1500 – Mathematical Sciences
    Positions whose duties are to advise on, administer, supervise, or perform research or other professional and scientific work or related clerical work in basic mathematical principles, methods, procedures, or relationships, including the development and application of mathematical methods for the investigation and solution of problems; the development and application of statistical theory in the selection, collection, classification, adjustment, analysis, and interpretation of data; the development and application of mathematical, statistical, and financial principles to programs or problems involving life and property risks; and any other professional and scientific or related clerical work requiring primarily and mainly the understanding and use of mathematical theories, methods, and operations.
  • 1700 – Education
    Positions whose duties are to involve administering, managing, supervising, performing, or supporting education or training work when the paramount requirement of the position is knowledge of, or skill in, education, training, or instruction processes.
  • 2000 – Supply
    Positions that involve work concerned with furnishing all types of supplies, equipment, material, property (except real estate), and certain services to components of the Federal Government, industrial, or other concerns under contract to the Government, or receiving supplies from the Federal Government. Included are positions concerned with one or more aspects of supply activities from initial planning, including requirements analysis and determination, through acquisition, cataloging, storage, distribution, utilization to ultimate issue for consumption or disposal.
  • 2200 – Information Technology
    Administrative positions that involve managing, supervising, leading, administering, developing, delivering, and supporting information technology (IT) systems and services. This series covers only those positions for which the principal requirement is knowledge of IT principles, concepts, and methods, e.g., data storage, software applications, networking. Information technology refers to systems and services used in the automated acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, assurance, or reception of information. Information technology includes computers, network components, peripheral equipment, software, firmware, services, and related resources.
  • 4700 – General Maintenance and Operations Work
    Occupations that: (1) consist of various combinations of work that are involved in constructing, maintaining, and repairing buildings, roads, grounds, and related facilities; manufacturing, modifying, and repairing items or apparatus made from a variety of materials or types of components; or repairing and operating equipment or utilities; and (2) require the application of a variety of trade practices associated with occupations in more than one job family (unless otherwise indicated), and the performance of the highest level of work in at least two of the trades involved.
  • 5700 – Transportation/Mobile Equipment Operation
    Occupations involved in the operation and operational maintenance of self-propelled transportation and other mobile equipment (except aircraft) used to move materials or passengers, including motor vehicles, engineering and construction equipment, tractors, etc., some of which may be equipped with power takeoff and controls to operate special purpose equipment; ocean-going and inland waterway vessels, harbor craft, and floating plants; and trains, locomotives, and train cars.

Positions by College Major

To help narrow your Federal job search, below is a list of academic majors and some Federal occupations directly related to those majors. Occupations with an asterisk (*) require an academic degree or coursework in a particular area of study for entry into the occupation. For other occupations, experience or a combination of related coursework and experience may be substituted for a degree. The academic majors and occupations listed are not all-inclusive.

You may begin your Federal job search on USAJOBS by searching using the four-digit Series number of the Federal occupation listed under the major. When you find a Job Opportunity Announcement (a.k.a. job posting) that interests you, pay close attention to all sections of the announcement, especially: Who May Be Considered; Qualifications and Evaluations; and How to Apply so you will know the specific requirements you must meet.

  • ACCOUNTING - Accounting Series 0510* Auditing Series 0511* Contracting Series 1102
  • ARCHITECTURE - Visual Information Series 1084
  • ARCHIVAL SCIENCE - Archivist Series 1420*
  • ART HISTORY - Visual Information Series 1084
  • BUSINESS - Contracting Series 1102
  • BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION - Telecommunications Series 0391
  • COMMERCIAL ART - Visual Information Series 1084
  • COMPUTER SCIENCE - Telecommunications Series 0391 Information Technology Management Series 2210
  • ECONOMICS - Contracting Series 1102
  • DRAFTING - Visual Information Series 1084
  • ENGINEERING - General Engineering Series 0801*
  • EDUCATION - Training Instruction Series 1712
  • ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING - Telecommunications Series 0391
  • ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING - Telecommunications Series 0391
  • FINE ARTS - Visual Information Series 1084
  • INDUSTRIAL DESIGN - Visual Information Series 1084
  • INTERIOR DESIGN - Visual Information Series 1084
  • INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT - Telecommunications Series 0391 Contracting Series 1102
  • INFORMATION SCIENCE - Information Technology Management Series 2210
  • INFORMATION SYSTEMS MANAGEMENT - Telecommunications Series 0391 Information Technology Management Series 2210
  • MATHEMATICS - Information Technology Management Series 2210
  • OPERATIONS RESEARCH - Information Technology Management Series 2210
  • ANY MAJOR (Not All-Inclusive)
    Security Administration Series 0080 Human Resources Management Series 0201 Equal Employment Opportunity Series 0260 Program Management Series 0340 Administrative Officer Series 0341 Management and Program Analysis Series 0343 Financial Administration and Program Series 0501 Budget Analysis Series 0560 General Legal and Kindred Administration Series 0901 Paralegal Specialist Series 0950 Writing and Editing Series 1082 Supply Program Management Series 2003 Inventory Management Series 2010.