Hydrologic Technician

Eligibility Requirements In order to be eligible for an appointment under the Pathways Recent Graduate Program you must meet the following requirements: You must be currently enrolled in a qualifying degree program as described above AND expect to complete the degree requirements no later than March 31st, 2025 OR has completed degree requirements within the previous two years. Degree requirements include an associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution such as an accredited technical or vocational school; a 2- or 4-year college or university; a graduate or professional school (e.g., law school, medical school); or a post-secondary home school curriculum. Note: Certificate program is defined as post-secondary education in a qualifying educational institution equal to at least one academic year of full-time study that’s part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational, or business school curriculum. Note: If you do not complete your degree requirements by March 31st, 2025, you will be ineligible for consideration under this program. Veterans who were precluded from applying due to their military service obligation begin their 2-year eligibility period upon release or discharge from active duty; however, eligibility for these veterans cannot exceed 6 years from the date on which the degree or certificate was obtained. The date of release or discharge from active duty should be later than the date the degree or certificate was obtained. Qualification Requirements Applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-4 level: Six months of general experience and 6 months of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-3 level in the Federal service that is in or related to the duties of this position. NOTE: Excess specialized experience beyond the required 6 months may be substituted for general experience; i.e., one year of creditable specialized experience will meet the requirements for 6 months of general experience and 6 months of specialized experience. General experience is any type of work that demonstrates the applicant’s ability to perform the work of the position to be filled, OR experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation for which the applicant is applying. Specialized experience may include work as a technician or aid in engineering, earth, physical, or natural science, forestry, soil conservation, or surveying; trades or crafts work in maintenance or construction of facilities or equipment related to hydrology; drafting; or construction estimating if it equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. Examples of GS-3 level work assignments include: 1) Performing minor repairs at gaging stations, to water level recorders and other equipment used in hydrologic investigations; 2) Assisting in making measurements of stream flow or making simple current meter measurements on small streams; 3) Recording routine measurements of water levels at specified observations wells; 4) Collecting water quality samples and assisting in making laboratory determinations of water quality parameters by predetermined methods; 5) Maintaining and assisting in readying current meters and sampling equipment for field work. For examples 1-5, a designated authority made assignments by giving complete, explicit oral and/or written instructions at the beginning of each assignment, covering work methods, available equipment, procedures, reference guidelines, etc. Recurring assignments were carried out within well-established procedures, with minimal instruction and were only infrequently spot checked or observed by a designated authority. Less routine assignments were occasionally checked in progress or upon completion. **OR applicants may substitute successful completion of two full years of study that included at least 12 semester hours, or the equivalent, in any combination of courses such as engineering, industrial technology, construction drafting, surveying, physical science, biology, or mathematics. **OR a combination of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized and/or general experience may be used to meet the qualification requirements for the GS-04 level. NOTE: When crediting education to meet any part of the experience requirement, such education must include the appropriate number of directly related credit hours required in any combination of courses such as engineering, industrial technology, construction drafting, surveying, physical science, biology, or mathematics. When crediting this education, you must prorate the number of hours of directly related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used. (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE) Applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-5 level: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-04 level in the Federal service that is in or related to the duties of this position. Specialized experience may include work as a technician or aid in engineering, earth, physical, or natural science, forestry, soil conservation, or surveying; trades or crafts work in maintenance or construction of facilities or equipment related to hydrology; drafting; or construction estimating if it equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. Examples of GS-4 level work assignments include: 1) Making adjustments and minor repairs to water level recorders, or other equipment used in water investigations; 2) Following well-defined methods and designated formulas; computing, extracting, compiling, and presenting geological or hydrologic data in prescribed tabular or graphic form; 3) Computing mean daily gage heights from water stage record charts, editing record tapes, and making corrections based on field notes. For examples 1-3, the work assignments involved familiar conditions, concepts, and methods that were made in terms of the objectives to be achieved without explicit instruction as to work methods. Assignments involving new, more difficult, or unfamiliar areas of work were given with more specific guidance. Explicit instructions were provided for solving technical problems involving unfamiliar conditions, methods, or concepts. **OR Applicants may substitute successful completion of a full four year course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree (a) with major study in an appropriate field of science (i.e., geology, chemistry, physics, geophysics, biology, ecology, mathematics, soils, forestry, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, physical science, atmospheric science) engineering, construction, or industrial technology, or (b) that included at least 24 semester hours, or the equivalent, in any combination of courses such as engineering, industrial technology, construction drafting, surveying, physical science, biology, or mathematics. **OR A combination of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized experience may be used to meet the qualification requirements for GS-5. Only progressive education in excess of the first 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours (i.e., beyond the first two years) of a course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement, assuming the education includes the appropriate number of directly related semester hours, or the equivalent, in any combination of courses such as engineering, industrial technology, construction drafting, surveying, physical science, biology, or mathematics. (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION & SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE)
General Information GS-4 Salary: $38,925 (Step 01) to $52,452 (Step 10); GS-5 Salary: $43,550 (Step 01) to $58, 686 (Step 10); NOTE: First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies in the advertised office or other U.S. Geological Survey offices in the local commuting area.