General Engineer (Recent Graduate)

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. - OR - B. Combination of education and experience: College-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following: 1. Professional registration or licensure: Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions. 2. Written Test: Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. 3. Specified academic courses: Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A. 4. Related curriculum: Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.) GS-07: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-05) in the Federal service. GS-07 Specialized Experience is defined as: Routine engineering work that required and was characterized by (1) knowledge of engineering; (2) ability to apply such knowledge to engineering problems; and (3) continuing development of engineering knowledge and ability. You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: One year of graduate-level education, or superior academic achievement (S.A.A.) gained in a bachelor's degree curriculum from an accredited college or university, that is qualifying for the position to be filled. S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade point average, or (3) honor society membership. Class standing is being in the upper third of your graduating class, based on completed courses. Grade point average (GPA) is defined as: A GPA of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 as recorded on your official transcripts or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. Honor society membership is defined as a member of one of the national scholastic honor societies, as listed by the Association of College Honor Societies. -OR- Combination of education and experience as described above: If you have some specialized experience as described above, but less than one year; and you have less than one full year of graduate level education, you may combine your education and experience to meet the requirements. To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. GS-09: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-07) in the Federal service. GS-09 Specialized Experience is defined as: Non-routine engineering work that required and was characterized by (1) professional knowledge of engineering; (2) professional ability to apply such knowledge to engineering problems; and (3) positive and continuing development of professional knowledge and ability. You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows: Master's or equivalent graduate degree; or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; or a LL.B. or J.D. if related; your education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. -OR- Combination of education and experience as described above. Less than one year of specialized experience may be combined with graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level (i.e., credit hours beyond the first year of full-time study may be credited). One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours the graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. If the graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study is not available, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) is used. When crediting education that requires specific course work the number of hours of related courses required, as a proportion of the total education, is prorated. "Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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. You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.