How Do I Qualify?

Do I qualify for an Economist position?

All economist applicants must meet the following basic requirements:

Bachelor’s degree in economics that included 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting or calculus.

In addition, applicants must possess the following to qualify for the various grade levels:

To qualify as an Economist at the GS-5 level, you must have:

A.) Above education

OR

B.) Combination of directly-related education and experience--courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

To qualify as an Economist at the GS-7 level, you must have:

A.) One year of directly-related graduate-level education or superior academic achievement (S.A.A.). S.A.A. is based on: 1.) Class standing, 2.) grade-point average (G.P.A.), or 3.) election to membership in a national honor society.

1. To qualify based on class standing, applicants must be in the upper third (based on completed courses) of the graduating class in their college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration.



2. To qualify based on G.P.A., applicants must have:

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

OR

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

Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.

3. To qualify based on election to membership in a national scholastic honor society, applicants are considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) website (www.opm.gov);

OR

B.) One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 level.

OR

C.) Combination of directly-related education and experience--courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

To qualify as an Economist at the GS-9 level, you must have:

A. 2 years of directly-related graduate-level education leading to a master's degree or directly related master's degree (or equivalent graduate degree);

OR

B. One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 level.

OR

C.) Combination of directly-related education and experience--courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

To qualify as an Economist at the GS-11 level, you must have:

A. 3 years of directly-related graduate-level education leading to a Ph.D. degree or directly-related Ph.D. or equivalent directly related doctoral degree;

OR

B. One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level.

OR

C.) Combination of directly-related education and experience--courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

To qualify as an Economist at the GS-12 level and higher, you must have:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower level in the Federal service.

Do I qualify for an IT Specialist position?

All Information Technology specialist applicants must have either have education, experience, or a combination of both as listed below.

NOTE: Applicants may meet the minimum qualification requirements for GS-7 positions in this series in two ways. These are described below as Alternatives A and B. These alternatives are designed to allow eligibility either through demonstrating prior computer-related education or experience (A) or demonstrating general analytical ability through other kinds of education or experience and passing a written test (B). GS-7 applicants must also meet the G.P.A. requirements listed below.

• Alternative A (applicable to GS-7 through GS-11 applicants): Major study--computer science, information science, information systems management, mathematics, statistics, operations research, engineering, or other course work that required the development or adaptation of computer programs and systems and provided knowledge equivalent to a major in the computer field;



• Alternative B (applicable to GS-7 applicants only): Major study--any field. Applicants who qualify on the basis of Alternative B must take a written test for competitive appointment at the applicable grade levels. The written test is not required by OPM for inservice placement. There is no written test for applicants who qualify on the basis of Alternative A.

To qualify as an IT Specialist at the GS-7 level, you must have:

A.) One full year of graduate-level education or superior academic achievement (S.A.A.). S.A.A. is based on: 1.) Class standing 2.) grade-point average (G.P.A.), or 3.) election to membership in a national honor society.

1. To qualify based on class standing, applicants must be in the upper third (based on completed courses) of the graduating class in their college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration.



2. To qualify based on G.P.A., applicants must have:

a.) 3.0 or higher ("B" or better) out of a possible 4.0, as recorded on their official transcript, keep "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

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

Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.

3. To qualify based on election to membership in a national scholastic honor society, applicants are considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed on the OPM website.

OR

B.) Specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 level.

OR

C.) Combination of education and experience.

To qualify as an IT Specialist at the GS-9 level, you must have:

A.) 2 full years of directly-related graduate-level education leading to a master’s degree or directly-related master’s degree (or equivalent graduate degree), or LL.B. or J.D., if related.

OR

B.) One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 level.

OR

C.) Combination of directly-related education and experience.

To qualify as an IT Specialist at the GS-11 level, you must have:

A.) 3 full years of directly-related graduate-level education leading to a Ph.D. degree or directly-related Ph.D. or equivalent directly-related doctoral degree or LL.M., if related.

OR

B.) One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level.

OR

C.) Combination of directly-related education and experience.

To qualify as an IT Specialist at the GS-12 level and higher, you must have:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower level in the Federal service.

Do I qualify for a Mathematical Statistician position?

All mathematical statistician applicants must have: 24 semester hours of mathematics and statistics, of which at least 12 semester hours are in mathematics (at or above the calculus level) and 6 semester hours are in statistics.

In addition, applicants must possess the following to qualify for the various grade levels:

To qualify as a Mathematical Statistician at the GS-7 level, you must have:

A.) One year of directly-related graduate-level education or superior academic achievement (S.A.A.). S.A.A. is based on: 1.) Class standing, 2.) grade-point average (G.P.A.), or 3.) election to membership in a national honor society.

1. To qualify based on class standing, applicants must be in the upper third (based on completed courses) of their graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration.
2. To qualify based on G.P.A., applicants must have a grade-point average of:

a.) 3.0 or higher ("B" or better) out of a possible 4.0, 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

b.) 3.5 or higher ("B+" or better) out of a possible 4.0 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.

Grade-point averages are to be rounded to one decimal place. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0 and 2.94 will round to 2.9.

3. To qualify based on election to membership in a national scholastic honor society, applicants are considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies listed on OPM’s website (www.opm.gov).

OR

B.) One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 level.

OR

C.) Combination of directly-related education and experience.

To qualify as a Mathematical Statistician at the GS-9 level, you must have:

A.) 2 years of directly-related graduate-level education leading to a master’s degree or directly-related master’s degree (or equivalent graduate degree);

OR

B.) One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 level.

OR

C.) Combination of directly-related education and experience.

To qualify as a Mathematical Statistician at the GS-11 level, you must have:

A.) 3 years of progressively higher level directly-related graduate-level education leading to a Ph.D. degree or directly-related Ph.D. or equivalent directly-related doctoral degree;

OR

B.) One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level.

OR

C.) Combination of directly-related education and experience.

To qualify as a Mathematical Statistician at the GS-12 level and higher, you must have:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the Federal service.

Do I qualify for Research Mathematical Statistician, Research Economist, or Research Psychologist, or Administrative positions?

The qualifications and application procedures for these occasional openings can be found on the job openings page of the BLS web site at www.bls.gov/eop/home.htm#openings.

Last Modified Date: January 31, 2008