Government Employment Opportunities: On the Rise

November 18, 2007

You don’t have to be Rudy, Hillary or Obama to seek a job in the U.S. government. CNN.Money.com reported that government employment opportunities are greatly increasing. A new study by Partnership for Public Service (a nonprofit group) says that the feds are about to start looking for employees to fill 193,000 United States government jobs. The openings – including federal government part time jobs – will occur between now and 2009.

The main causes of these government employment opportunities are the expected retirement of 33% of the federal workforce and the ever-growing war on terror. Additions will include 47,897 jobs at the Department of Homeland Security, 35,505 positions at the Department of Defense as well as 27,243 border patrol agents, customs agents, food inspectors, criminal investigators and TSA airport screeners. However, government employment opportunities are not limited to US Government security jobs.

How does your salary compare to United States government jobs? Find out with our salary survey.

Legal Nurses + Federal Government Jobs

If you’re not interested in homeland security, the government has plenty of other jobs. The Partnership for Public Service report says, "There are jobs for every interest and skill, with more than 2,000 separate job categories at 15 cabinet-level departments, 20 large agencies, and 80 small agencies." For example, Uncle Sam is looking to fill 35,350 medical and public health jobs: nurses, nursing assistants, physicians, pharmacists and physical therapists.

Do You Know What You're Worth?

United States Government and Employment

The IRS, Treasury Department, and other agencies will have 21,248 openings for accountants, tax examiners, auditors and financial analysts. The federal government will also be hiring at least 11,562 information technology experts, 9,691 legal professionals (attorneys, paralegals) for the Treasury Department and other agencies, and 15,004 air traffic controllers – one of the top paying jobs for people with no college degrees.

Federal Government Agencies Employment

Getting back to the war on terror, biological scientists will be in high demand. The Department of Agriculture estimates 2,462 hires and the Department of Homeland Security will hire almost 1,000 of these brainy folks. And that’s not all. The Departments of Homeland Security, Defense and other agencies will be hiring more than 8,300 contracting experts.

Government Jobs and Telecommuting

It may surprise you to learn that about 85% of these federal government jobs are actually located outside Washington D.C. Most of these government employment opportunities are in Baltimore, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta, New York City, San Diego, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City and Norfolk-Virginia Beach. Some are even jobs where you can telecommute. If you fancy living in another country, more than 50,000 are across the seas.

Federal Government Pay Grades

What about compensation? According to the report, the federal government is offering "recruitment bonuses, retention incentives, and relocation incentives." Some jobs will actually pay a new hire’s tuition for graduate-school, while others will offer student-loan repayments, up to $10,000 per year for a total of $60,000, if you agree to work for three years in the government.

If you’ve not familiar with government lingo, like "government GS pay grades", try going to MakingTheDifference.org. Created by Partnership for Public Service, this site will show you how to narrow your job search by using federal government pay grades. For example, if you have a bachelor’s degree, you would search government GS pay grades GS-5 through GS-7. If you have a master’s degree, start searching at GS-9. If you have a PhD, well, you may be overqualified 🙂

How does your salary compare to federal government pay scale levels? The PayScale Salary Calculator is a quick and easy way to compare positions. When you want powerful salary data and comparisons customized for your exact position, be sure to build a complete profile by taking PayScale’s full salary survey.

Cheers,

Dr. Al Lee