Engineers In Wide Demand by Many Agencies

Federal service offers engineers big projects and rapid advancement. Advanced salary schedules apply in many fields and geographic areas.

Recent grads in engineering given substantial responsibility quickly.

Qualified engineering applicants are in demand nationwide. Engineering continues to rank among the top occupations in terms of salary, hiring opportunities and promotion potential. Agencies give high priority to the recruitment and retention of engineers.

Hiring Opportunities

Some 350 vacancy announcements appear in the current Federal list for Engineers. Some of the announcements cover multiple job openings.

Monetary Incentives

Special advanced salary rates are available to new hires in all engineering disciplines at all levels worldwide. Salary rates are determined based on many factors, including local pay for similar positions in the private sector, and the difficulty Agencies are having finding qualified applicants in the area.

When necessary, Agencies utilize additional pay and incentive awards to enhance recruitment and to attract qualified applicants. Incentives include relocation reimbursements and recruitment bonuses for first time Federal employees. Agencies also utilize retention allowances, that is, additional pay above that regularly assigned at the grade in question. Sabbaticals are also granted with or without pay for current employees who want to further their education.

Major Agencies

The Navy, Army and Air Force continue to lead all Agencies in numbers of engineers hired. NASA and the Department of Transportation are a close fourth and fifth.

However, interested applicants need not limit their job search to these Agencies only. Almost every Agency hires Engineers at all grades and experience levels.

Engineers in Federal service are often posted to major projects early in their careers. Federal projects are generally of a scale larger than those in many private sector firms. Consequently, recent grads in the engineering field find that they can gain valuable experience rapidly in Federal service.

Scale is again a factor in the promotion rate in Federal engineering. The average promotion rate for engineers is over 20% per year. The large size of the workforce is behind this rapid promotion. Also a factor is the anticipated expansion of several Agencies as a result of increased appropriations in the upcoming fiscal year.

Qualifications

Recent college grads with a degree in engineering are qualified for entry-level GS-5/7 positions.

To qualify at GS-9/11 levels, applicants are required to have a minimum of a master’s degree in an engineering specialty or an additional one to three years of related work experience.

Above GS-11, additional graduate level education or specific work experience, and managerial or supervisory experience are minimum prerequisites.

Hiring Pathways

Hiring pathways differ somewhat depending on whether one is applying at entry-level or is more experienced.

Entry Level

To speed and simplify the recruitment of engineers at the GS-5/7 entry levels, a national Automated Applicant Referral Service (AARS) rates, registers and refers applicants’ to Agencies with engineering job vacancies.

All entry-level engineering applicants must use this register. Registers are administered by the regional OPMs located in Philadelphia, PA, Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL, Washington, DC, San Francisco, CA, and Dallas, TX.

Applicants who wish to be considered in more than one region must submit a separate application form for each region to OPM’s Macon, GA office. (Address provided below.) They can then indicate up to nine geographic locations within each region where they are willing to work. The regional OPMs refer names of those qualifying with a score of 80 or above to Agencies in their geographic area requesting a list of eligible applicants. Entry level candidates who receive a score of 80 and above can also contact Agencies directly. Agencies can hire directly any such entry level candidate who has scored 80 and above.

To Receive a Rating

Candidates who need a rating from OPM (for positions at GS-5/7) should contact their local Federal Job information Center (FJIC) and request the application package for engineers.

Application Packages Contain:

Competition Notice for Engineers

Qualifications and Information for Engineers

OPM Form B & SF-171

Geographic Code Listing

List of local Agencies hiring directly

Completed forms must be sent to:

OPM Staffing Services Center

PO Box 9105

Macon, GA 31297-5099

GS-9 and Above

Candidates at GS-9+ do not need to file with OPM at all. They can apply directly to Agencies. Agencies can hire any qualified candidate at GS-9+ directly. To qualify at GS-9+, candidates need a BS and up to 3 years experience or an MS or Ph.D. degree. Candidates can apply to Agencies directly by writing or calling Agency personnel offices and requesting a vacancy announcement and application package for jobs in their engineering specialty.

Applicants should scan the Federal Jobs Nationwide section of FJD for current listings. In addition, local Agency addresses can be found under U.S. Government Offices in the blue pages of telephone directories. Cold calls to Agencies should be directed to the Personnel Specialist who handles Engineers.

Interview Skills

Candidates for any job in Federal service or the private sector should practice good interview skills. These include familiarity with the prospective employer’s business. In this case it means familiarity with the Agency’s mission prior to contact. Candidates can then speak knowledgeably about the Agency and their own interest in the Agency’s work.

Merit Promotion

Engineering positions may be filled with current Federal employees by in-service lateral reassignment or by merit promotion from a lower grade in the job title or related area. While engineering-related college degrees are required, experience in jobs such as Engineering Technician may provide an advantage when applying for Engineering positions.

Interested candidates should contact their Agency’s personnel department and scan the Federal Job Vacancies Nationwide section of the FJD for job listings.

CP •

Engineers by Discipline in

Federal Service

The higher the population in a given field, the greater the job and promotion opportunities.

# Avg.

Occupation Employed Salary

GS-0801 General 18,141 $74,130

GS-0803 Safety 511 $66,563

GS-0804 Fire Protect. 149 $64,025

GS-0806 Materials 1,079 $67,525

GS-0810 Civil 11,793 $60,478

GS-0819 Envrnmnt. 5,324 $61,173

GS-0830 Mech 9,494 $61,438

GS-0840 Nuclear 2,153 $70,766

GS-0850 Electrical 3,689 $61,558

GS-0854 Computer 2,357 $66,122

GS-0855 Elect 2,312 $65,362

GS-0858 Biomedical 290 $60,317

GS-0868 Aerospace 7,675 $69,697

GS-0800 Mining 246 $60,911

GS-0881 Petroleum 321 $63,797

GS-0890 Agricultural 357 $56,847

GS-0892 Ceramic 49 $73,181

GS-0893 Chemical 1,053 $64,813

GS-0894 Welding 1,409 $59,547