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Student Trainee (Engineering)

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Internship Program is designed to provide students enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions, from high school to graduate level, with opportunities to work in agencies and explore Federal careers while still in school and while getting paid for the work performed. This Student Trainee position will be filled as an Intern appointment. The appointment is indefinite and is expected to last for the duration of the student's academic attendance.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
01/12/2024 to 02/07/2024
Salary
$35,499 to - $39,576 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 3 - 5
Locations
Many vacancies in the following locations:
Craig, AK
Sitka, AK
Thorne Bay, AK
Flagstaff, AZ
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Internships
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
9
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
24-NPT-SUM-ENG-345-INT
Control number
770245300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Students who have been accepted for enrollment, or who are enrolled at least half-time, in an accredited high school, college, professional, technical, vocational, or trade school pursuing a qualifying degree or certificate.

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Duties

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  • The following duties listed are at the GS-05 grade level:
  • Receives training in the principles, concepts, work processes, and regulations of one or more functional areas of Engineering and Architecture.
  • As training advances and proficiency is demonstrated, work assignment are increasingly more demanding, and are designed to provide experience in a variety of activities.
  • On a scheduled basis, following the Pathways Participant Agreement, receives assignments in various Engineering and Architecture functions to gain an understanding of the various program concepts and operations.
  • Develop an understanding of the total mission as well as organizational/functional interrelationships.
  • Develop a foundation for more specialized application of knowledge gained from on-the-job training assignments.
  • Receives formal and on-the-job training in OPM, Department of Agriculture and Forest Service policies, rules, regulations, and procedures.
  • Is instructed on the use of personal computers, and file and data management.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be at least 16 years of age and meet education requirements.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check
  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National at the time of non-competitive conversion to a term or permanent position in the competitive service.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify/.
  • The incumbents of Internship positions may be reassigned/relocated to any geographical location where the employee's services are needed as determined by management. Mobility agreement may be required.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
  • A signed participant agreement is required for employment under Pathways.
  • Complete at least 640 hours of work experience prior to graduation
  • Maintain Pathways program eligibility for the duration of the appointment.
  • Must be in good academic standing as defined by the educational institution.
  • Must be enrolled at least half-time in a qualifying educational institution seeking a qualifying degree or certificate.
  • The candidate's academic and career goals must be related to the position that they are appointed to.
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period.
  • Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE.

Qualifications

You are required to meet the eligibility requirements of the Internship program, as described below in order to be considered for this position. You must meet all the eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, go to: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Group-Standards

INTERNSHIP PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY

Applicants must meet Pathways Intern Program Eligibility Requirements as shown below by the closing date of the announcement. *Spring 2024 graduates will be required to provide proof of continued enrollment in the form of transcripts, acceptance letter or other appropriate documentation for Summer 2024 or Fall 2024 at the time of tentative selection. If no proof of continued enrollment is provided at that time, you will no longer be eligible for this internship.

  • You must meet the definition of a student that is, be currently enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an accredited technical or vocational school, two-year or four-year college or university, graduate, or professional school. You must be taking at least a half-time academic course load leading to a degree or certificate. A certificate program is defined as a post-secondary education, in a qualifying educational institution, equivalent to at least one academic year of full-time study that is part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational, or business school curriculum.
  • Applicants must be seeking a degree (diploma, certificate, etc.) and be in good academic standing (GPA of 2.5 or equivalent) to qualify for the intern program and to stay throughout the duration of their intern program. *If your school uses an alternate grading system, you must submit proof and explanation of the grading system with your application or you will not be considered for this position.
  • Position Qualifications: Applicants must meet position qualifications requirements as shown below at the time of appointment. Entrance on duty dates for appointment may be made as early as Spring of 2024. The agency must be able to verify that the education was completed successfully before the applicant can be appointed.
Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided. Provide course descriptions as necessary.Basic Requirement: The minimum qualification requirements for each grade level of this vacancy announcement are described below:Note: One full academic year of undergraduate; graduate; vocational; trades; technical or high school is the number of credit hours by the college, university, or school to represent one year of full-time study.
  • GS-03: Completion of 1 full academic year of post-high school study.
  • GS-04: Completion of 2 full academic years of post-high school study or an associate's degree.
  • GS-05: Completion of 4 academic years of post-high school leading to a bachelor's degree or equivalent degree.
These positions may be converted to any position with a Full Performance Level not to exceed GS-09. Conversion to a position with a full performance level of GS-09 is not guaranteed, you may or may not be offered conversion.

Education

Education completed in foreign colleges and universities may be used if it has been accredited or evaluated by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

These position have a positive education requirement. The student must be currently enrolled in a natural resources degree program that will satisfy on graduation the specific requirements for a professional or scientific position identified by on your pathways agreement. https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/civil-engineering-series-0810/

POSITION INFORMATION
This announcement is associated with the 2024 Forest Service Summer Internships (SUM) Hiring Event. The target start date for these positions is Spring/Summer 2024.

If you have questions regarding duty locations in this announcement please email sm.fs.pathways@usda.gov. Please include the announcement number and the exact location(s) for which you have questions in your email.

The duty locations listed in this announcement include primary and alternate locations for available positions. You must select all duty locations for which you wish to be considered; final duty location for each position will be determined at the time of selection.

Selecting the "Location Negotiable after Selection" option in addition to selecting your preferred specific duty locations, implies your willingness to accept positions to alternative duty locations that may or may not have been indicated in this announcement. Final determination of duty station will be made by the selecting official at the time of job offer

Additional information

Salary wage as shown for GS-3 and GS-4 is based on this Special Salary Table Salary wage for GS-5 is for Rest of US. For more information on locality rates refer to the Office of Personnel Management, Salary and Wages web page.

The applicant should expect that these are all primarily field going positions, with a significant amount of physically challenging field work in natural resource settings. This could involve use of Forest Service vehicles, tools, and Personal Protective Equipment; hiking, exposure to weather extremes and wildlife, and in some cases, working extended hours or shifts, evening work and/or spending some nights at remote locations. These are developmental positions. Some require the appointee to sign a mobility agreement, requiring relocation after the initial developmental period.

Government Housing: May be available.

Daycare Availability: Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.

Promotion Potential: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.

Training/IDP: This position requires 40 hours of formal, interactive training. An Individual Development Plan (IDP) must be completed and approved by the supervisor within 45 days of appointment.

Program Requirements: Interns may be non-competitively converted to a term or permanent position in the competitive service after the successful completion of the internship program. To be eligible for conversion, the Intern must meet the following:

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen at the time of non-competitive conversion to a term or permanent position.
  • Complete at least 640 hours of work experience acquired through the Internship program prior to graduation.
  • Complete a degree or certificate program from a qualifying educational institution.
  • Receive a favorable recommendation by supervisor.
  • Meet the OPM Qualification Standards for the position to which the Intern may be converted. Conversion is not guaranteed and is based on the needs of the agency.
  • Meet any agency specific requirements as outlined in the Participant Agreement.
  • Perform the job successfully
TELEWORK: This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

RECRUITMENT/RELOCATION INCENTIVE: The Forest Service may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract highly qualified candidates. Additional information is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-and-leave-flexibilities-for-recruitment-and-retention/

How you will be evaluated

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

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

For GS-03 or 04: Please note, these positions are targeted toward students in the beginning of their undergraduate/certificate education.

For GS-05: Please note, these positions are targeted toward students in the beginning of their graduate education.

If you are graduating in the same semester or term in which you are appointed, you must be able to complete 640 work hours prior to graduation. Spring 2024 graduates will be required to provide proof of continued enrollment for Fall 2024 at time of tentative selection and at each semester/term during employment as an intern. If no proof of continued enrollment is provided, you will be deemed ineligible for an internship.

These positions have a targeted effective date of Spring/Summer 2024. The tour of duty is full-time and may be filled at the GS-03, GS-04, or GS-05 grade level. Conversion series and full performance of the position will be determined at time of job offer.

Before you submit an application for any of our vacancies, you should completely review the announcement and requirements. You should only apply for positions you meet the required minimum qualifications AND program requirements described in the announcement. Do not apply to a duty location if you are not willing to accept or travel to that location. If you have reviewed the announcement and believe that you meet both the minimum qualifications and the program requirements, you should document your experience and education in your resume. Since traditional resumes do not provide all the information needed to determine your status, you should create a more detailed resume to use when applying to Federal positions.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12182638

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