HYDROLOGIST

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 a recent graduate who has completed, within the previous two years, 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; or a qualifying career or technical education program (e.g., Registered Apprenticeship Programs, Job Corps, Climate Corps, AmeriCorps, and Peace Corps). Note: Qualifying volunteer service must be from a federally administered program indicating completion of either: at least 52 weeks of volunteer service (through one or multiple periods of service), or at least 1,700 work hours when the volunteer service period is less than one year. 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. 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, certificate or qualifying career or technical education program 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 BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: At all grade levels, applicants must meet A or B below to satisfy the basic education requirement for a Hydrologist. A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree in physical or natural science, or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours or the equivalent in any combination of courses in hydrology, the physical sciences, geophysics, chemistry, engineering science, soils, mathematics, 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 or the equivalent in calculus (including both differential and integral calculus), and at least 6 semester hours or the equivalent in physics. **OR B. A combination of education and experience-course work as shown in “A” above (30 semester hours or the equivalent in any combination of courses as specified in “A” above which must include at least 6 semester hours or the equivalent in calculus (including both differential and integral calculus), and at least 6 semester hours or the equivalent in physics), plus appropriate experience and/or additional education for a total of 4 years. The education or combined education and experience must be comparable in type, scope and thoroughness to that acquired through successful completion of a 4-year course of study as described in “A” above. GS-09: In addition to the basic education requirement as stated above, applicants must have one of the following to qualify for the GS-09 level: Specialized experience: One year of appropriate specialized experience in hydrology that is equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal service. Examples of such experience include performing a variety of observations, computations, compilations and analyses in assisting higher level Hydrologists in carrying out hydrologic assignments. This work experience would have involved following established methods and procedures, or detailed instructions; using some judgment in applying basic principles and procedures and would have required a good general working knowledge of the principles and the theories of hydrology. **OR Master’s degree: A master’s or equivalent graduate degree in hydrology or other directly related field of study. **OR Graduate Education: Two full years of progressively higher-level graduate education (36 semester hours, 54 quarter hours or the equivalent) leading to a master’s degree in hydrology or other directly related field of study if it provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. **OR Combination: A combination of successfully completed progressive graduate level education, as described above, that is beyond the first year of graduate study and professional experience, as described above. (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE GRADUATE EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE). GS-11: In order to qualify for GS-11 level, all applicants must meet the basic education requirement stated above. In addition, applicants must meet one of the following: Specialized Experience: One year of appropriate professional experience in hydrology that is equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service. Examples of such experience include independent responsibility for a well-defined study or for a phase of a larger study that required the planning and carrying out of routine hydrologic work. This work would have required the individual to select and make minor adaptations to procedures and accepted practices and handle unexpected conditions arising in the normal course of the work. At this level, Hydrologists have a sound working knowledge of the principles of hydrology and the ability to independently perform moderately difficult and responsible scientific work. **OR Graduate Degree: a Ph.D. degree in hydrology or other directly related field of study. **OR Graduate Education: Three years of progressively higher-level graduate education (54 semester hours, 81 quarter hours or the equivalent) leading to a Ph.D. degree in hydrology or other directly related field of study. **OR Combination: a combination of successfully completed graduate level education, as described, above that is beyond the second year of progressive graduate study and professional experience, as described above. (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE GRADUATE EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE). You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.
Salary dependent on duty location of the position. Locality pay tables can be found here. First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01.