Geographer

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Basic Education Requirement for Geographer:
A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in geography; or related physical or social science such as geology, meteorology, economics, statistics, sociology, anthropology, political science, history, cartography, computer science, urban studies, or planning that included at least 24 semester hours in geography or related fields.

OR

B. Combination of Education and Experience: Courses equivalent to a major in geography, or a related field that included at least 24 semester hours in geography or related fields, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

Specialized Experience for GS-09: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service which includes: 1) Utilizing geographic information systems (GIS) software to analyze data; AND 2) Maintaining databases to store cartographic data.

Or

Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: the Educational Requirement of the Series you are applying for.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.


Specialized Experience for GS-11: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service which includes meeting 2 of the following 3 duties: 1.) Utilizing geographic methods, practices and techniques to define mapping and/or survey project requirements. 2.) review mapping and/or survey projects. 3.) Using a Geographic Information System (GIS) database for proper storing, analysis, mapping, archiving, and/or reporting.

Or

A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position, such as GEOGRAPHY or related field. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

Or

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.

For the GS-12, In addition to meeting the education requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the specialized experience requirement listed below:

Specialized Experience for GS-12: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 which includes the following: 1) Managing geographic information systems (GIS) projects for an organization; AND 2) Utilizing software to perform modeling, spatial analysis, or data management.

Note: Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For the GS-12, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.