Clarification from the agency

This is an internship for students who have recently been accepted in or are currently enrolled at least half-time in a certificate or degree seeking program in an accredited college or university, graduate, or professional school. Half-time is typically 6 semester hours for undergraduates, and 3 semester hours for Masters and above (but may be determined by the school).

• Assists in planning, organizing, and conducting research projects involving the compilation, evaluation, and interpretation of geographical and statistical information on regions, metropolitan areas, and locales within the scope of work assigned.
• Assists in reviewing official demographic and geographic data for trends, internal consistency, and relationship to project activities.
• Identifies changes in population distribution patterns and assists in developing ways of portraying the changes in reports, maps, and charts on paper and electronically.
• Reviews and assists in design of public release tables for population data pertaining to the U.S., regions and divisions, states, metropolitan areas, and localities, as well as the outlying areas.
• Completes assigned projects within specified time schedules, and in full accordance with established standards.

Conditions of employment

• Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
• You must be a U.S. Citizen
• You must successfully complete a background investigation.
• This position is an excepted service appointment.
• You must sign a Pathways Agreement.
• This announcement will close at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the date the first (150) applicants are received or on December 29, 2023, whichever comes first.
• If a degree has been obtained, please include a letter of acceptance into another degree or certificate program to show proof of eligibility.
• Maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher.
• This position may be eligible for telework; additional criteria will be required (e.g., supervisory approval).

Qualifications

If hired for this position with the Census Bureau, at its headquarters office located in Suitland, Maryland, you will be expected to temporarily telework to maximum extent while the headquarters building is being renovated. Once permitted to return to the office building, you will be expected to do so within 30 calendar days of receiving notification. At that time, you may be eligible to continue to telework or work remotely two or more days a pay period consistent with the Census Bureau's flexible telework and remote work policies and approval from your supervisor.

This position will be filled under the Pathways Internship Program. This Program allows students to gain paid work experience while pursuing a degree, diploma or certificate at a qualifying institution. Under the Pathways Program, students who successfully complete all work, study, qualifications, and other eligibility requirements may be offered a permanent position work our agency upon graduation or completion of a qualifying certificate.

At the Agency's discretion, students hired under the Pathways Program may be non-competitively converted to a term, career, or career-conditional appointment with a possible Full Performance Level (FPL) of GS-05, GS-07, GS-09, GS-11, GS-12, or GS-13 (FPL varies based on hiring department).

You MUST be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an accredited high school, technical or vocational school, two-year or four-year college or university, graduate or professional school (go to www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ to verify accreditation status). Individuals who are enrolled must be taking at least a half-time academic, vocational, or technical course load leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate. You must provide evidence of your current (fall semester or equivalent) enrollment, either on your transcript or by uploading a separate class schedule. If you are completing your current program this semester you must provide a letter of acceptance or proof of enrollment into another qualifying program to be rated eligible.

AND

BASIC POSITIVE EDUCATION REQUIREMENT FOR JOB SERIES: Degree:behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

OR

Combination of education and experience: behavioral or social science; or related disciplines appropriate to the position as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

For GS-7: Completion of 1 full academic year of graduate level education; OR Eligibility under the Superior Academic Achievement Provision and completion of a bachelor's degree.

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). 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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation will be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the job opportunity announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire (True/False, Yes/No, Multiple Choice questions). Your resume and/or optional cover letter must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. The best qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

How you will be evaluated for preference eligibility: Within each category, those entitled to veterans' preference will be listed at the top of the pre-defined category for which they are placed.

Preference eligibles with a service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest quality category (gold).

For more information on category rating, please go to: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/competitive-hiring/#url=Category-Rating .

Do NOT include the following types of information in your application:

• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Date of Birth (DOB)
• Photos of yourself (if included on your resume you will not be considered for this position)
• Personal information: such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.