Hydrologist

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management’s website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience OR substitution of education for experience OR combination (if applicable) in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements: Degree: Physical or natural science, or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in any combination of courses in hydrology, the physical sciences, geophysics, chemistry, engineering science, soils, math, 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 at all grade levels. OR Combination of education and experience — course work as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations e.g., professional; philanthropic, religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies; knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. To qualify for the GS-07 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Providing hydrologic support activities. OR Education Substitution GS-07: One year of graduate-level education in hydrology or a closely related field. OR SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: as demonstrated by a bachelor’s degree in a related field from an accredited college or university with one of the following. NOTE It is your responsibility to ensure your application clearly states how you meet one of the provisions below: A grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher based on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last 2 full year of undergraduate study; A GPA of 3.5 or higher based on a 4.0 scale for required courses completed in a major field of study, or those courses completed in a major field of study during the last two years of undergraduate study; Class standing of upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision of the college; Membership in a national Scholastic Honor Society certified by the Association of College Honor Societies, excluding freshman honor societies. OR COMBINATION: A combination of related graduate-level education and specialized experience. To qualify for the GS-09 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Providing hydrologic support services; and Collecting basic water resource data. Education substitution GS-09: Master’s or equivalent graduate degree in hydrology or a closely related field or 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master’s degree or master’s or equivalent graduate degree. OR Combination of education and experience: I have a combination of education and experience as described above. Only graduate education in excess of one year may be used to qualify at this grade level. To qualify at the GS-11 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Providing hydrologic support services; Collecting and analyzing networks of basic water resource data; and Assisting in the development of hydrologic modeling and analysis procedures. OR Education substitution GS-11: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in hydrology or a closely related field or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. OR Combination of education and experience: I have a combination of experience and education as described above. Only graduate education beyond what is required for a master’s degree, i.e., more than two years leading to a Ph.D. may be used to qualify at this grade level. To qualify at the GS-12 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Providing hydrologic support services; Collecting, analyzing, and disseminating networks of water resource data; and Developing hydrologic modeling and analysis procedures.
This position is located in the National Weather Service (NWS), Office of Water Prediction (OWP), with two vacancies located in Tuscaloosa, AL. This position is also announced under vacancy number NWS OWP-25-12606854-ST, which is open to Status Candidates. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both.