Research Biologist (General), GS-401, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a
bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university with
a major in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management,
chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position; or
B. Combination or education or experience - courses equivalent to a major, as
shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality
of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate
possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally
acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with
a major in the appropriate field.
Research Botanist (General), GS-430, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Degree: botany; or basic plant science that
included at least 24 semester hours in botany.
or
B. Combination of education and experience--courses equivalent to a
major in botany or basic plant science that included at least 24 semester
hours in botany, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or
additional education.
For positions dealing with the study of fungi,
or with basic mycological relationships, the course work in botany
must have included at least 6 semester hours in mycology.
Research Chemical Engineer, GS-893, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's
or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in professional
engineering. To be creditable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering
with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering
and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; or (2) include
differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year
physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science
or physics: (a) static, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationship);
(c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and
circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate
structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable are of fundamental engineering
science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics;
or
B. Combination of education and experience--college-level education, training,
and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical
and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and (2) a good
understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering services and
techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering.
- Professional registration--Current registration as a professional engineer
by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other
means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved
such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather
or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within
or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example,
an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence
provisions as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible
only for manufacturing engineering positions.
- Written test--Evidence of having successfully passed the Engineer-in-Training
(EIT) examination, or the written test required for professional registration,
which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various
States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
- Specified academic courses--Successful completion of at least 60 semester
hours of course in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences
and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements.
The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of
a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.
- Related curriculum--Successful completion of a curriculum leading to
a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional
field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics,
hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering,
provided the applicant has had at least one year of professional engineering
experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance.
Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training
to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior
professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions.
(The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.
Research Chemist, GS-1320, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's
or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in physical
sciences, life sciences, or engineering that included 30 semester hours in chemistry,
supplemented by course work in mathematics through differential and integral
calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics; or
B. Combination of education and experience - course work equivalent to a major
as shown in A above, including at least 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented
by mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester
hours of physics, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality
of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate
possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally
acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with
a major in the appropriate field.
Research Civil Engineer/Civil Engineer, GS-810, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of
study leading to a bachelor’s
or higher degree from an accredited college or university with a major in professional
engineering. To be creditable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering
with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering
and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; or (2) include
differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year
physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering
science or physics: (a) static, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain
relationship); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e)
electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials
(relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any
other comparable are of fundamental engineering science or physics, such
as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics; or
B. Combination of education and experience--college-level education, training,
and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical
and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and (2) a good
understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering services and
techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering.
- Professional registration--Current registration as a professional engineer
by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other
means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved
such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather
or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within
or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example,
an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence
provisions as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible
only for manufacturing engineering positions.
- Written test--Evidence of having successfully passed the Engineer-in-Training
(EIT) examination, or the written test required for professional registration,
which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various
States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
- Specified academic courses--Successful completion of at least 60 semester
hours of course in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences
and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements.
The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of
a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.
- Related curriculum--Successful completion of a curriculum leading to
a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional
field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics,
hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering,
provided the applicant has had at least one year of professional engineering
experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance.
Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training
to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior
professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions.
(The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)
Computer Engineer, GS-854, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Degree: professional engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum
must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum
accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
(ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; or (2) include differential
and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics
and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science
or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain
relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics;
(e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials
(relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any
other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics,
such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience—college-level education,
training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge
of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering,
and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering
sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering.
The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:
- Professional registration.—Current registration as a professional
engineer by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico.
Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants
who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g.,
State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions
that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration.
For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's
eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated
eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
- Written
Test.—Evidence
of having succesfully passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination,
or the written test required for professional registration, which is
administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various
States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Applicants
who have passed the EIT examination and have completed all the requirements
for either (a) a bachelor's degree in engineering technology (BET) from
an accredited college of university that included 60 semester hours of
courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences, or (b)
a BET from a program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering
and Technology (ABET) may be rated eligible for certain engineering positions
at GS-5. Eligibility is limited to positions that are within or closely
related to the specialty field of the engineering technology program.
Applicants for positions that involve highly technical research, development,
or similar functions requiring an advanced level of competence in basic
science must meet the basic requirements in paragraph A. Because of the
diversity in kind and quality of BET programs, graduates of other BET
programs are required to complete at least 1 year of additional education
or highly technical work experience of such nature as to provide reasonable
assurance of the possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required
for professional engineering competence. The adequacy of this background
must be demonstrated by passing the EIT examination.
- Specified academic
courses.—Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours
of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences
and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic
requirements. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the
requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described
in paragraph A.
- Related
curriculum.—Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's
degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional
field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics,
hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering,
provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering
experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and
guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive
training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years
of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary
positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)
Computer Scientist, GS-1550, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Degree: with 30 semester hours in a combination of mathematics, statistics,
and computer science. At least 15 of the 30 semester hours must have been in
any combination of statistics and mathematics that included differential and
integral calculus.
B. Evaluation of Education: Applicants should have sufficient knowledge of statistics
and mathematics, as well as other subjects, to understand the fundamental concepts
and techniques of computer science. Courses designed to provide an introduction
to computer science techniques and methodologies, to problems of system design,
and other specialized fields are acceptable. Courses or experience in teaching
elementary, business, or shop mathematics are not acceptable.
Research Ecologist, GS-408, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university
with a major in biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological
research that included at least 30 semester hours in basic and applied biological
sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester hours in ecology,
and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences.
Research Economist/Economist, GS-110, Basic Qualification
Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university
with a major in economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics
and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus; or
B. Combination of education and experience - courses equivalent to a major
in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional
education. The quality of the combination of education and experience must
be sufficient to demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities
comparable to those normally acquired through the successful completion of
a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field. =
Research Education Analyst, GS-1730, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Degree: that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours in a field related to the work of the position to be filled, of which at least one course was in research methods and at least two courses were in statistics.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience—at least 24 semester hours in a field related to the work of the position to be filled, including at least one course in research methods and two courses in statistics, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The experience must have demonstrated (1) a thorough knowledge of the principles underlying the work of this series, and (2) understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the methods and techniques applied in performing work in this series.
Research Engineer/Engineer (General), GS-801, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university
with a major in professional engineering. To be creditable, the curriculum
must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited
by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional
engineering curriculum; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and
courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the
following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) static, dynamics;
(b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationship); (c) fluid mechanics,
hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature
and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties);
and (g) any other comparable are of fundamental engineering science or physics,
such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics; or
B. Combination of education and experience--college-level education, training,
and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the
physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and
(2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering
services and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering.
- Professional registration--Current registration as a professional engineer
by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent
other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved
such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather
or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within
or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For
example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's
eminence provisions as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated
eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
- Written test--Evidence of having successfully passed the Engineer-in-Training
(EIT) examination, or the written test required for professional registration,
which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various
States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
- Specified academic courses--Successful completion of at least 60 semester
hours of course in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences
and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements.
The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements
of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.
- Related curriculum--Successful completion of a curriculum leading to
a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional
field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics,
hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering,
provided the applicant has had at least one year of professional engineering
experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance.
Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training
to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior
professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary
positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)
Environmental Engineer, GS-819, Basic Qualification
Requirements:
A. Degree: professional engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum
must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum
accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
(ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; or (2) include differential
and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics
and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science
or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain
relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics;
(e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials
(relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any
other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics,
such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience--college-level education,
training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge
of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering,
and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of
the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one
of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must
be demonstrated by one of the following:
- Professional registration—Current
registration as a professional engineer by any State, the District
of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying
under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration
by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence
provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely
related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an
applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision
as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for
manufacturing engineering positions.
- Written Test—Evidence of having
succesfully passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination, or the
written test required for professional registration, which is administered
by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District
of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Applicants who have passed the
EIT examination and have completed all the requirements for either (a)
a bachelor's degree in engineering technology (BET) from an accredited
college of university that included 60 semester hours of courses in
the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences, or (b) a BET from
a program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
(ABET) may be rated eligible for certain engineering positions at GS-5.
Eligibility is limited to positions that are within or closely related
to the specialty field of the engineering technology program. Applicants
for positions that involve highly technical research, development,
or similar functions requiring an advanced level of competence in basic
science must meet the basic requirements in paragraph A. Because of
the diversity in kind and quality of BET programs, graduates of other
BET programs are required to complete at least 1 year of additional education
or highly technical work experience of such nature as to provide reasonable
assurance of the possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities
required for professional engineering competence. The adequacy of this
background must be demonstrated by passing the EIT examination.
- Specified
academic courses—Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours
of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences
and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements.
The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements
of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph
A.
- Related curriculum—Successful completion of a curriculum leading
to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate
professional field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may
be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering, provided the applicant
has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired
under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there
should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop
professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional
engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The
above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)
Research Fishery Biologist, GS-482, Basic Qualification Requirements:
Applicants must meet A or B below to satisfy the basic requirement
for Fishery Biologist, all grade levels.
A. Degree: major in biological science that included: at least 6 semester
hours or the equivalent in aquatic subjects such as limnology, ichthyology,
fishery biology, aquatic botany, aquatic fauna, oceanography, fish culture,
or related courses in the field of fishery biology; and at least 12 semester
hours or the equivalent in the animal sciences in such subjects as general
zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, entomology,
parasitology, ecology, cellular biology, genetics, or research in these fields.
(Excess course work in aquatic subjects may be used to meet this requirement
when appropriate).
OR
B. Combination of education and experience-courses equivalent to
a major in biological science (i.e. at least 30 semester hours
or the equivalent), of which a minimum of 6 semester hours or the
equivalent were in aquatic subjects and 12 semester hours or the
equivalent were in the animal sciences, as shown in “A” above, plus appropriate experience and/or additional education for a
total of 4 years. The education or combined education and experience must be
comparable in type, scope, and thoroughness to that acquired through successful
completion of a 4-year course of study as described in “A” above.
In addition to the basic education requirement as stated above, applicants
must have one year of appropriate professional experience in fishery
biology that is equivalent to at least the GS-11 level in the Federal
service.
Examples of GS-11 level work may include: 1) Independently planning and
conducting comprehensive fishery biological studies and investigations;
2) modifying and adapting standard biological techniques, processes,
and procedures; 3) serving as a technical resource on fishery biological
issues. For examples 1-3, the assignments were planned and carried out
independently, resolving most of the conflicts that arose, coordinating
the work with others as necessary, relating new work situations to precedent
ones, extending or modifying existing techniques, and interpreting and
applying program policy in terms of established objectives.
Research Forester (General), GS-460, Basic Qualification
Requirements:
A. Degree: forestry; or a related subject-matter field that
included a total of at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological,
physical, or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester
hours of course work were in forestry. The curriculum must have been sufficiently
diversified to include courses in each of the following areas:
- Management of Renewable Resources--study of the science and art of
managing renewable resources to attain desired results. Examples of creditable
courses in this area include silviculture, forest management operations,
timber management, wildland fire science or fire management, utilization
of forest resources, forest regulation, recreational land management,
watershed management, and wildlife or range habitat management.
- Forest Biology--study of the classification, distribution, characteristics,
and identification of forest vegetation, and the interrelationships of
living organisms to the forest environment. Examples of creditable courses
in this area include dendrology, forest ecology, silvics, forest genetics,
wood structure and properties, forest soils, forest entomology, and forest
pathology.
- Forest Resource Measurements and Inventory--sampling, inventory, measurement,
and analysis techniques as applied to a variety of forest resources.
Examples of creditable courses include forest biometrics, forest mensuration,
forest valuation, statistical analysis of forest resource data, renewable
natural resources inventories and analysis, and photogrammetry or remote
sensing.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience--courses equivalent to a major in
forestry, or at least 30 semester hours in any combination of biological, physical,
or mathematical sciences or engineering, of which at least 24 semester hours
were in forestry. The requirements for diversification of the 24 semester hours
in forestry are the same as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or
additional education.
Applicants for Forester (Administration) or Research Forester (Administration)
must have completed either the requirements described in A or B above; or the
minimum educational requirements established for other forestry-related professional
disciplines, e.g., Range Conservationist, GS-454; Soil Scientist, GS-470; Wildlife
Biologist, GS-486; Geologist, GS-1350; Landscape Architect, GS-807; Hydrologist,
GS-1315; or the full 4-year college requirements described for All Professional
Engineering Positions, GS-800, provided that the basic professional training
was supplemented by a sufficient amount of professional experience gained in
a forestry work situation. The supplemental experience must have been gained
in a work situation where the program or project required the joint application
of full professional knowledge of forestry and the related professions in the
solving of highly technical and complex problems; where the work was largely
concerned with the planning, developmental, and administrative phases of multiple-use,
forest land management programs; or with the carrying out of related research
or special projects of a similar nature.
Research Geodesist, GS-1372, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university
with a major in geodesy; or 30 semester hours in any combination of geodesy,
mathematics, physics, astronomy, engineering sciences, surveying, geodetic
surveying, photogrammetry, or geophysics. The coursework must have included
differential and integral calculus.
B. Combination of education and experience - course work as shown in A above,
plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Research Geographer, GS-150, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university
with a major in geography; or related physical or social science such as geology,
meteorology, economics, statistics, sociology, anthropology, political science,
history, cartography, computer science, urban studies, or planning that included
at least 24 semester hours in geography or related field.
B. Combination of education and experience - courses equivalent to a major
in geography, or a related field that included at least 24 semester hours in
geography or related fields, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience
or additional education.
Research Geologist, GS-1350, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university
with a major in geology, plus 20 additional semester hours in any combination
of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological science, structural, chemical,
civil, mining or petroleum engineering, computer science, planetary geology,
comparative planetology, geophysics, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography,
physical geography, marine geology, and cartography.
B. Combination of education and experience - course work as shown in A above,
plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination
of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate possession of
the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally acquired
through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major
in the appropriate field.
Research Geophysicist, GS-1313, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university
that included at least 30 semester hours in mathematics (including calculus)
and the physical sciences (geophysics, physics, engineering, geology, astronomy,
meteorology, electronics, etc.); or
B. Combination of education and experience - courses as shown in A above, plus
appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination
of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate possession of
the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally acquired
through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major
in the appropriate field.
Research Hydrologist, GS-1315, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university
with a major in physical or natural sciences, or engineering that included
at least 30 semester hours in any combination of courses in hydrology, the
physical sciences, geophysics, chemistry, engineering science, soils, mathematics,
aquatic biology, atmospheric science, meteorology, geology, oceanography, or
the management or conservation of water resources. The course work must have
included at least 6 semester hours in calculus (including both differential
and integral calculus), and at least 6 semester hours in physics. Calculus
and physics, as described above, are requirements for all grade levels; or
B. Combination of education and experience - course work as shown in A above,
plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination
of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate possession of
the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally acquired
through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major
in the appropriate field.
Research Mathematician, GS-1520, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Degree: mathematics; or the equivalent of a major that
included at least 24 semester hours in mathematics; or
B. Combination of education and experience--courses equivalent to a major in
mathematics (including at least 24 semester hours in mathematics), as shown
in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
The total course work in either A or B above must have included differential
and integral calculus and, in addition, four advanced mathematics courses requiring
calculus or equivalent mathematics courses as a prerequisite.
Research Mechanical Engineer, GS-830, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Degree: professional engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience—college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:
-
Professional registration—Current registration as a professional engineer by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
- Written Test—Evidence of having succesfully passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination, or the written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
Applicants who have passed the EIT examination and have completed all the requirements for either (a) a bachelor's degree in engineering technology (BET) from an accredited college of university that included 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences, or (b) a BET from a program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) may be rated eligible for certain engineering positions at GS-5. Eligibility is limited to positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of the engineering technology program. Applicants for positions that involve highly technical research, development, or similar functions requiring an advanced level of competence in basic science must meet the basic requirements in paragraph A.
Because of the diversity in kind and quality of BET programs, graduates of other BET programs are required to complete at least 1 year of additional education or highly technical work experience of such nature as to provide reasonable assurance of the possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for professional engineering competence. The adequacy of this background must be demonstrated by passing the EIT examination.
- Specified academic courses—Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.
- Related curriculum—Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)
Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise, or unless he/she qualifies under the provisions of B.2 related to the EIT examination or BET degree.
Research Microbiologist, GS-403, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university
with a major in microbiology; or biology, chemistry, or basic medical science
that included at least 20 semester hours in microbiology and other subjects
related to the study of microorganisms, and 20 semester hours in the physical
and mathematical sciences combining course work in organic chemistry or biochemistry,
physics, and college algebra, or their equivalent; or
B. Combination or education and experience - course equivalent to a major in
microbiology, biology, chemistry, or basic medical science that included courses
as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. The
quality of the combination of education and experience must be sufficient to
demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to
those normally acquired through the successful completion of a full 4-year
course of study with a major in the appropriate field.
Graduate Education. Microbiology, or specific area of study such as
bacteriology, virology, mycology, algology, protozoology, parasitology, immunology,
serology, microbial genetics, or soil microbiology; or specific applied field
of microbiology such as clinical and public health microbiology, food technology,
production processes, industrial fermentation, pollution, etc. Graduate study
in related fields such as experimental pathology, infectious diseases, epidemiology,
biochemistry, animal or plant physiology, genetics, plant pathology, and insect
disease control, may also be pertinent, provided it has direct application
to microbiological work.
Research Oceanographer, GS-1360, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university
with a major in major study of at least 24 semester hours in oceanography or
a related discipline such as physics, meteorology, geophysics, mathematics,
chemistry, engineering, geology, or biology, plus 20 additional semester hours
in any combination of oceanography, physics, geophysics, chemistry, mathematics,
meteorology, computer science, and engineering sciences; or
B. Combination of education and experience - course work as shown in A above,
plus appropriate experience or additional education. The quality of the combination
of education and experience must be sufficient to demonstrate possession of
the knowledge, skills, and abilities comparable to those normally acquired
through the successful completion of a full 4-year course of study with a major
in the appropriate field.
Applicants who qualify on the basis of major study in biology or geology must
have had at least 6 semester hours in the major directly concerned with marine
science or 6 semester hours in oceanography; applicants who qualify on the
basis of other physical sciences or engineering must have had differential
and integral calculus and at least 6 semester hours in physics.
Operations Research Analyst, GS-1515, Basic Qualification
Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university
with a major in operations research; or at least 24 semester hours in a combination
of operations research, mathematics, probability, statistics, mathematical
logic, science, or subject-matter courses requiring substantial competence
in college-level mathematics or statistics. At least 3 of the 24 semester hours
must have been calculus.
Research Petroleum Engineer, GS-881, Basic Qualification
Requirements:
A. Degree: professional engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience—college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:
- Professional registration—Current registration as a professional engineer by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
- Written Test—Evidence of having succesfully passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination, or the written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
Applicants who have passed the EIT examination and have completed all the requirements for either (a) a bachelor's degree in engineering technology (BET) from an accredited college of university that included 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences, or (b) a BET from a program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) may be rated eligible for certain engineering positions at GS-5. Eligibility is limited to positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of the engineering technology program. Applicants for positions that involve highly technical research, development, or similar functions requiring an advanced level of competence in basic science must meet the basic requirements in paragraph A.
Because of the diversity in kind and quality of BET programs, graduates of other BET programs are required to complete at least 1 year of additional education or highly technical work experience of such nature as to provide reasonable assurance of the possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for professional engineering competence. The adequacy of this background must be demonstrated by passing the EIT examination.
- Specified academic courses—Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.
- Related curriculum—Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)
Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise, or unless he/she qualifies under the provisions of B.2 related to the EIT examination or BET degree.
Research Physical Scientist/Physical Scientist, GS-1301,
Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university
with a major in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included
24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such
as mechanics, dynamics, properties or materials, and electronics; or
B. Combination of education and experience - education equivalent to one of
the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical
science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or
additional education. The quality of the combination of education and experience
must be sufficient to demonstrate possession of the knowledge, skills, and
abilities comparable to those normally acquired through the successful completion
of a full 4-year course of study with a major in the appropriate field.
Research Physicist, GS-1310, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Degree: physics; or related degree that included at least
24 semester hours in physics; or
B. Combination of education and experience--courses equivalent to a major in
physics totaling at least 24 semester hours, plus appropriate experience or
additional education.
In either A or B above, the courses must have included a fundamental course
in general physics and, in addition, courses in any two of the following: electricity
and magnetism, heat, light, mechanics, modern physics, and sound
Research Physiologist, GS-413, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree from an accredited college
or university with a major in one of the basic animal sciences or physiology;
or a related discipline or field of science that included at least 24 semester
hours in the basic animal sciences, or which 10 semester hours were in animal
physiology.
Research Psychologist, GS-0180, Basic Qualification Requirements:
Degree: major or equivalent in psychology for all specializations except clinical psychology and counseling psychology.
Research Sociologist, GS-0184, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Degree: sociology; or social psychology or political science that included at least 24 semester hours in sociology.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience—courses equivalent to a major in sociology (i.e., at least 24 semester hours), plus appropriate experience or additional education
Research Soil Scientist, GS-470, Basic Qualification Requirements:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study
leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree from an accredited college or
university with a major in soil science or a closely related discipline that
included 30 semester hours or equivalent in biological, physical, or earth
sciences, with a minimum of 15 semester hours in such subjects as soil genesis,
pedology, soil chemistry, soil physics, and soil fertility.
B. Combination of education or experience—education equivalent
to a major in soil science or a related discipline that included at least
30 semester hours in the biological, physical, or earth sciences. At least
15 of these semester hours must have been in areas specific in A above,
plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Research Toxicologist, GS-415, Basic Qualification Requirements:
Research Degree: toxicology; or an appropriate discipline of the biological, medical, or veterinary sciences that included at least 30 semester hours in chemistry, biochemistry, or physiology, and 12 semester hours in toxicology.
Research Wildlife Biologist, GS-486, Basic Qualification Requirements:
Degree with major in wildlife biology, zoology, or botany that included at least 30 semester hours of course work in biological science and 15 semester hours in the physical, mathematical, and earth sciences. This course work must have included:
- At least 9 semester hours of training applicable to wildlife biology in such subjects as mammalogy, ornithology, animal ecology, wildlife management, principles of population dynamics, or related course work in the field of wildlife biology; and
- At least 12 semester hours in zoological subjects such as invertebrate zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy of the vertebrates, embryology, animal physiology, entomology, herpetology, parasitology, and genetics; and
- At least 9 semester hours in the field of botany and related plant science; and
- At least 15 semester hours of training in any combination of two or more of the following: chemistry, physics, mathematics, statistics, soils, and/or geology.
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