Job Opportunities

Here is where the puzzle really starts coming together. You’ll begin to match your skills, education, work experiences, and interests to specific job series. Say your current job series is GS-342-9. You may look within the same group such as the GS-300 General Administrative, Clerical, and Office Services Group or your assessment may take you to an entirely different group or family such as the GS-500 Accounting and Budget Group. This will be done with tools that are readily available in Take Charge of Your Federal Career. You will evaluate Merit Promotion Plan (MPP) announcements that interest you, explore the associated X118 Classification Standards, and review current position descriptions to match your assessment results with that occupation.  None of this process is going to be left to your imagination. The process will use what’s available to you NOW including resources in Take Charge of Your Federal Career and The Book of U.S. Government Jobs such as a comprehensive Skills Index, Occupational Profiles, and an Agency Directory  that are in the mentioned work books.

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Exploring Job Opportunities

After completing your assessment you will be able to match your Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and personality traits to specific job series. It won’t be as difficult as you may think.  The federal government divides its white collar jobs, Occupational Series 0001 through 2199 and 3506, into five broad categories: 

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• (P) Professional - White collar occupations that require knowledge in a field of science or learning characteristically acquired through education or training equivalent to a bachelor's or higher degree with major study in or pertinent to the specialized field, as distinguished from general education.  The work of a professional occupation requires the exercise of discretion, judgment, and personal responsibility for the application of an organized body of knowledge that is constantly studied to make new discoveries and interpretations, and to improve the data, materials, and methods.
• (A) Administrative -  White color occupations that involve the exercise of analytical ability, judgment, discretion, and personal responsibility, and the application of a substantial body of knowledge of principles, concepts, and practices applicable to one or more fields of administration or management.  While these positions do not require specialized educational majors, they do involve the type of skills (analytical, research, writing, judgment) typically gained through a college level general education, or through progressively responsible experience.  Occupation series in this category typically follow a two-grade interval pattern.
• (T) Technical -  White collar occupations that involve work typically associated with and supportive of a professional or administrative field, that is non routine in nature; that involves extensive practical knowledge, gained through on-job experience and/or specific training less than that represented by college graduation.  Work in these occupations may involve substantial elements of the work of the professional or administrative field, but requires less than full competence in the field involved.  Occupational series in this category typically follow a one-grade interval pattern.
• (C) Clerical -  White collar occupations that involve structured work in support of office, business, or fiscal operations; performed in accordance with established policies, or techniques; and requiring training, experience, or working knowledge related to the tasks to be performed.
• (O) Other White Collar -  White collar occupations that cannot be related to the above professional administrative, technical or clerical categories.

Blue collar occupations, Occupational Series 2501 through 9999, except 3506 and 9101 through 9199 are comprised of the trades, crafts, and manual labor (unskilled, semiskilled, and skilled), including foreman and supervisory positions entailing trade, craft, or laboring experience and knowledge as the paramount requirement.

The Book of U.S. Government Jobs lists blue collar and white collar jobs and identifies the basic category for each job series.  In the Assessment Chapter of Take Charge of Your Federal Career you were asked to list five career possibilities after reviewing you assessments. List those original five selections on the table provide in the book on page 31 of . Identify which category your five choices fall into, either straight blue collar or anyone of the five white collar categories; (A) Administrative,  (P) Professional, (T) Technical, (C) Clerical, or (O) Other.  After reviewing the related Occupational Group or Family for that occupation. For example, if you selected “Computer Clerk and Assistant Series (GS-335) “ you would find this under the GS-300-General Administrative, Clerical, and Office Services Group. Note this group in column three of the chart next to your selection in your workbook.  In column four identify related series within that groups. In this example the obvious related occupations are (GS-334) Computer Specialist and (GS-332) Computer Operator.

Gather information about the agency’s needs such as reorganizations, program changes, projected vacancies, and the competencies required for these positions.  All agencies and Departments publish comprehensive planning documents that outline their long term organizational outlook. Look for publications such as Workforce 2010,  and other planning documents issued by the Department or Agency that you are now employed by.  This may reveal other fast tracked occupations that you might like to explore. 

Two good examples of this type of analysis reveals the tremendous overall growth in automation and environmental/safety impacts with many agencies.  The Computer Specialist Series, GS-334 and GS-2210 are in the forefront of the automation changes as each organizational element struggles to field (LANs) Local Area Networks, and (WANs) Wide Area Networks. Now when your e-mail fails, a computer breaks down, or the LAN server locks up the office needs someone their to reconfigure software and get the operation back on-line. The same hold true in the environmental arena.  Environmental Health Technicians (GS-698) and Environmental Engineers (GS-819) are in demand due to the changes in the laws that hold federal managers and agencies accountable for OSHA and EPA violations.  When you talk with your supervisor ask him/her for their perspective on upcoming organizational and workforce changes.

Now lets add several additional selections to this list. You have been exposed to many occupations/job series since entering government service, some of which you might like to explore. List several occupations that you have some exposure to and that you find interesting and worth exploring.

This exercise targets close to a dozen or so occupations that you can target.

The Workbook Provides Additional Information In Chapter Three:

• Sample Merit Promotion Plan Announcement (Job Announcement)
• Sample Qualification Statement
• Sample Position Description
• KSA Comparison Chart (How to identify KSAs)
• Career Goals

Search for Federal, State, and Private Sector Jobs at www.searchfedjobs.com