Federal Job Requirements-What does it take to Qualify

EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

The GS pay scale is used for most white-collar federal employees. It contains 15 grades, GS-1 being the lowest and GS-15 being the highest. On every federal job announcement is the Series & Grade, i.e. GS-0810/7-9. The series is the first set of numbers (0810) which represents the job classification code. 0810 is Civil Engineer. The second number(s) (7-9) is the pay grade that this position is being hired at. A 7-9 means that the person(s) hired for this job will be at the 7 or 9 pay scale and therefore must meet the qualifications for a 7 or 9.

The following table shows the amounts of education and/or experience required to qualify for positions covered by this standard. While experience can be used in combination with education, the following table lists experience or education as am either or requirement.  

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A college graduate with a Bachelor’s degree and without previous experience can expect to start in the GS 5 grade, unless they meet the criteria for Superior Academic Achievement or finished a year of graduate school, but did not receive a degree, in which case they will start at the GS-7 level. A college graduate with a Master’s typically starts in the GS-9 grade.

NOTE: Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. One full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7. Two full years of graduate education or a master's degree meets the requirements for GS-9.

Superior Academic Achievement is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership.

1. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.

2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of:

3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or

3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.

3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies.

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