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- BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES POSITIONS, GS-5/7
-
-
- QUALIFICATIONS INFORMATION STATEMENT
-
- FOR - GENERAL BIOLOGISTS, GS-401 - MICROBIOLOGISTS, GS-403
- - WILDLIFE BIOLOGISTS, GS-486 - FISHERY BIOLOGISTS, GS-482
-
-
- QUALIFICATIONS REQUIREMENTS
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- No written test is required. You will be rated on a scale of 70 to 100 based on the extent
- and quality of your education and experience.
-
- REQUIREMENTS BY GRADE LEVEL
-
- GS-5 - Either A or B, below, satisfies the basic requirements, and is fully qualifying for
- the GS-5 grade level.
-
- A. Successful completion of all requirements for a Bachelor's or higher degree from an
- accredited college or university with a major in the biological sciences or a related
- discipline such as oceanography or biochemistry. Except for the General Biologist
- option, there are specific coursework requirements for each option which are described
- in the next section. Degrees in other disciplines are qualifying if the specific
- coursework requirements are met.
- B. A combination of college education and work experience which totalled 4 years and
- which provided a knowledge of the biological sciences equivalent to a Bachelor's
- degree in the field. This combination must have included or have been supplemented by
- the specific coursework required for each option. One academic year of college study
- (30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours) is equivalent to one calendar year of work
- experience for purposes of combining the two. The work experience may have been in
- any biological sciences discipline, but it must have been progressively responsible
- and include at least one year (if you need that much experience to qualify) equivalent
- to GS-4 level work in the Federal service.
-
- GS-7 - One of the following is required in addition to the basic requirement:
-
- A. One year of professional biologist experience. This experience must have been in or
- closely related to the discipline you are being rated for, and must have been
- equivalent to GS-5 level work in the Federal Service. Experience as a student-trainee
- may be used to meet this requirement, provided that it was in an appropriate biology
- discipline and was integrated with and complementary to your biology curriculum.
- B. One academic year (24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours of graduate study in an
- biological science discipline related to the specialty you are being rated for
- C. Any time-equivalent combination of A and B, e.g., 12 semester hours of graduate study
- and 6 months of experience.
- D. If you qualify for GS-5 on the basis of a Bachelor's degree, you can qualify for GS-7
- by meeting one or more of the following Superior Academic Achievement requirements:
- 1. A gradepoint average of 'B' (2.90 or better on a 4.00 scale - 2.89 is not
- qualifying) for all courses completed at the time of application or for all
- courses in the last 2 years of the undergraduate curriculum
- 2. A gradepoint average of "B+" (3.50 or better on a 4.00 scale) for all courses in
- a qualifying biology major or for all such courses in the last two years of the
- undergraduate curriculum.
- 3. Standing in the upper third of the graduating class in your college or
- university or one of its major subdivisions, e.g., the School of Arts
- and Sciences.
- 4. Election to membership in one of the national societies which meets the
- requirements of the Association of College Honor Societies, other than
- freshman honor societies.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- If 10 percent or more of your undergraduate courses were graded on a pass/fail or
- similar basis, you may not use gradepoint average to meet the Superior Academic
- Achievement requirements. You may qualify only on the basis of class standing or
- honor society membership. If you qualify on the basis of class standing, you
- should obtain an official notice from your school which verifies your class
- standing. An agency considering hiring you will require this proof at time of
- appointment.
-
- REQUIREMENTS BY SPECIALTY
-
- General Biologist - There is no specific coursework requirement, but college study must
- have met the school's requirements for a major in biology or a related discipline, or have
- included or been supplemented by biology courses at an equivalent rate (6 semester hours
- per academic year, 24 semester hours for a full 4 year curriculum).
-
- Microbiologist - study must have included at least 30 semester hours in biology, with at
- least 20 semester hours in microbiology, plus 20 semester hours in mathematics and the
- physical sciences which included at least one course each in mathematics and physics and
- one course in either organic chemistry or biochemistry.
-
- Wildlife Biologist - Biology courses must total at least 30 semester hours, which must
- include at least 21 semester hours in a combination of wildlife biology, zoology, genetics
- and ecology courses, with at least 9 of the 21 semester hours in wildlife biology; and at
- least 9 semester hours in botany courses.
-
- Fishery Biologist - biology courses must total at least 30 semester hours, which must
- include at least 18 semester hours in any combination of fishery biology, zoology, and
- genetics courses with a minimum of 6 semester hours in fishery biology courses.
-
- APPLICATIONS FROM STUDENTS
-
- Applications will be accepted from currently enrolled students who are within 9 months of
- completing educational requirements, and credit will be given for projected coursework and
- for Superior Academic Achievement; but you cannot begin work until you satisfy the hiring
- agency that you completed any claimed education, including all required courses, and
- maintained any claimed gradepoint average.
-
- FOREIGN EDUCATION
-
- Applicants who qualify on the basis of education in foreign colleges or universities are
- responsible for documenting that their education is equivalent to that provided by an
- accredited American college or university. The documentation may consist either of
- evidence that an accredited American college or university has accepted foreign coursework
- or degree for advanced standing or a statement from a professional academic credential
- evaluation service or an accredited American college that it has evaluated the foreign
- education and found it to be acceptable.
-
- HOW YOU WILL BE RATED
-
- Your basic eligibility and numerical rating for the four Biological Science occupations at
- grades GS-5 and GS-7 will be determined based on your education and experience as you
- describe them on the Occupational Supplement, Form B. If you apply for more than one
- specialty, you will probably receive different ratings for each based on how closely
- related your background of education and experience is to each specialty. Numerical
- ratings will be the same for both grades in the same specialty.
-
- Your responses on the Occupational Supplement, Form B, an optical mark recognition form,
- are electronically scanned and fed into a computer which performs the calculations
- necessary to arrive at eligibility determinations and ratings for each of the four
- specialties and two grades for which you apply. It is important that you complete the
- Form B accurately and carefully to assure that you receive proper credit for your education
- and experience and to avoid delays and lost opportunities for employment which will result
- if the data you enter on the form is inconsistent or is not clearly reflected in your
- narrative application forms - the SF-171 and your college transcript or course list.
-
-
- LENGTH OF ELIGIBILITY
-
- Once you are rated eligible and assigned ratings, you will be placed on the list of
- eligibles for one year from the date you indicate you are first available. You may extend
- your eligibility by written request to the examining office between the 10th and 12th month
- of your eligibility. If you have acquired additional education or experience which would
- qualify you for a higher grade or earn you a higher rating, you may elect to submit a
- complete new application. Be certain to enter on the Form B both the information
- originally submitted and any new information.
-
- SALARY
-
- Federal salaries are adjusted periodically. Current information may be obtained from
- Federal Job Information Centers.
-
- EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY
-
- All qualified applicants will receive consideration for appointment without regard to race,
- religion, color, national origin, sex, age, handicapping condition, political affiliation
- or any other non-merit factor.
-
- WHERE TO OBTAIN FORMS
-
- All forms mentioned in this announcement are available from Federal Job Information
- Centers, which are located in many large cities across the country. They also have
- information on such subjects as kinds of appointments, veteran preference, and citizenship,
- age, and physical requirements. You can also obtain forms by writing the examining office
- at the address shown below under "Where to File."
-
- HOW TO APPLY
-
- Consult the Competition Notice (CN-0400) furnished with the application forms package to
- learn when applications will be accepted and if there are any restrictions on the
- specialties and locations for which you may apply. Then complete and submit the
- application forms following the instructions below. You will received a Notice of Results,
- usually within three to four weeks.
-
- Your name will be placed on the list of eligibles for biological sciences positions based
- on you numerical rating for the various specialties. As vacancies occur in Federal
- agencies, the highest standing eligibles available for the location and type of appointment
- will be referred for consideration. As only the highest ranking candidates are referred to
- the agency, it generally does little good to contact an agency until your application has
- been referred to it.
-
- WHAT TO FILE
-
- 1. Standard Form 171, Application for Federal Employment (older editions are called
- Personal Qualifications Statement).
- 2. College transcript or OPM Form 1170/17, List of College Courses. If you elect to
- send a transcript, sent it with your application; DO NOT have the school send the
- transcript to the examining office. If you fill out the course list, show course
- numbers and titles and credit hours received. If you attended more than one
- college, be sure it is clear where each course was taken. Note and follow the
- instructions on the Occupational Supplement, Form B, about cross-referencing
- coursework claimed on that form to your course list or transcript. If we cannot
- verify that you meet educational requirements, processing of your application may
- be delayed. If you are still in school, you may include courses you expect to
- complete in the next 9 months.
-
- If you are applying for GS-7 based on Superior Academic Achievement, you must complete
- the Scholastic Achievement Section of OPM Form 1170/17.
-
-
-
-
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- 3. Occupational Supplement for Biological Sciences Positions, Form B (OPM Form 1203-
- I). Read through the form before you start filing it out, and follow the
- instructions carefully. Be sure that entries on this form are consistent with
- information on other forms and that you cross-reference where requested to.
- 4. SF-15, Claim for 10-Point Veteran Preference (if applicable).
-
- WHERE TO FILE
-
- Send your completed application to:
-
- Office Of Personnel Management
- Staffing Service Center Examining Office
- P. O. Box 9025
- Macon, Georgia 31297-4599