Job opening: Biological Science Technician (Plants)
Salary: $44 117 - 57 354 per year
Published at: Dec 20 2024
Employment Type: Full-time
What General Information Do I Need To Know About This Position?
This is a temporary appointment not to exceed 12 months that may be extended for 12 additional months without further competition.
Salary: $44,117 (Step 01) to $57,354 (Step 10); NOTE: First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01.
Duties
Seasonal Work Schedule - This position has a full-time seasonal work schedule. The selectee's services will be required full-time primarily during the research field season, starting approximately in April and ending in October of each year. At the end of the season, the individual will be placed in a non-work/non-pay status. It is expected/anticipated that individuals will work at least 6 months per year, but no more than 50 weeks or 25 pay periods on a full-time basis. The selectee will be required to sign a statement of understanding upon appointment to this position.
As a Biological Science Technician (Plants) within the Western Ecological Research Center, some of your specific duties will include:
Qualifications
Applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-06 level:
One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level in the Federal service that is in or related to the duties of this position. Specialized experience may include work as a technician or aid in a research activity or control program work, nursery work that required the growing and maintenance of plants in a controlled environment, or work comparable to that with a large dairy farm where production records, animal environment, and sanitary conditions were kept in accordance with modern dairy practice if it equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position. Farming experience that was not performed in a controlled environment, or experience as a laborer who was not responsible for planning and scheduling his/her own work, but only performed assigned tasks, would not qualify as specialized experience.
Examples of GS-05 level assignments include: 1) collecting insect and disease samples and assisting in the identification & damage assessment of any problems they have caused; compiling and summarizing data from surveys, biological evaluations, and pilot tests; and running routine computer programs and checking resulting data for inconsistencies; 2) assembling basic information on fish and/or wildlife populations such as habitat use, sex and age structure, seasonal movement and harvest characteristics; 3) assuming responsibility for limited projects such as maintaining a network of seasonal traps; 4) collecting anatomical materials and making preliminary assessments of such things as habitat preference and population dynamics. For examples 1-4, a designated authority made continuing assignments by initially indicating the amount of work expected, general explanation of what is to be done, advice on the location of reference material or samples, and the nature of the limits applicable to the assignments. Recurring assignments were carried out independently, within established procedures and without specific instructions. New, difficult or unusual work assignments were given with specific instructions.
**OR applicants may substitute successful completion of 1 year of appropriate graduate level education (18 semester hours, 27 quarter hours or the equivalent) in biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics or other field of study directly related to the work of this position for the required 1 year of specialized experience if it provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of this position.
**OR applicants may substitute a combination of appropriate specialized experience (as described above) and appropriate graduate level education (as described above) that is beyond the first 1/2 year of progressive graduate study to meet the qualification requirements.
You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.
Education
- 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 experience.
- Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit:https://www.usgs.gov/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs
Contacts
- Address REDWOOD FIELD STA
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Mail Stop 600
Reston, VA 20192
US
- Name: Mary Wagner
- Phone: 303-236-0675
- Email: [email protected]
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