Your work experience and education determine what pay you qualify for, often called a grade in federal jobs. Check the Duties and Qualifications sections of each job to understand if a job is a fit for you and at what grade. Jobs with higher grades or pay mean you need more work experience and sometimes education to qualify.
Federal jobs' pay is set by government pay systems and policies. Most jobs are under the General Schedule (GS) pay system. Some agencies or jobs use different pay scales like the Federal Wage System (FWS), special pay rates or agency-specific systems.
Pay for government jobs is generally made up of a base salary rate and an adjustment based on where you are working, called locality pay.
How does the GS pay system work?
Each federal job is assigned a grade from 1 to 15 based on the job duties.
The GS pay schedule has 15 pay grades, from GS-1 (lowest grade) to GS-15 (highest grade). Each grade has 10 salary raises (steps) in each grade from step 1 (the starting salary) to step 10 (the maximum salary).
GS 1–4
If you have a high school diploma or three months of general work experience, you can qualify for jobs between GS-1 and GS-4. These jobs are usually entry-level jobs. Jobs could include internships, student jobs or general administrative work.
GS 5–7
If you have a college degree or at least one year of specialized experience, you can qualify for jobs in the GS 5–7 range.
GS 7–11
To qualify for jobs in the GS 7–11 range, you need at least one year of specialized work experience or advanced education in your field, such as a master's or doctoral degree.
GS 11–15
Generally, you must have at least one year of expert or advanced specialized work experience for higher-level GS jobs. Sometimes, a job requires supervisory or managerial experience. Often, you can or must have an advanced education degree.
How do pay raises work in the federal government?
In the General Schedule pay scale, each grade has 10 pay raises called steps. Step 1 is generally considered the starting salary, and step 10 is the maximum salary. Step increases (called within-grade increases) happen on a set schedule if the employee meets performance goals. Yearly cost-of-living increases are set by Congress.
Federal employees may apply for promotions to move to a higher grade (pay level). Some job announcements might include higher grades under Promotion potential. That means your agency can promote you to the next grade in the future if you meet certain requirements. The job announcement might call this a career ladder position.
How is my pay set if I'm new to the government?
If you're new to the federal government, your pay is usually set at step 1 of the General Schedule grade in the job announcement. If multiple grades are listed, your qualifications determine what grade is assigned. Your pay will likely be set at step 1 (starting salary) of the job’s pay grade.
An agency can decide to use the superior qualifications and special needs pay-setting authority. Under this rule, an agency may set starting pay up to step 10.
You must have superior qualifications, or there is a special need for your skills or services. An agency must approve any pay increase above step 1 before you start the job.
How is my pay set if I left a federal job and now am returning?
A re-employed GS employee's pay is set at step 1 of the grade. An agency may use the maximum payable rate rule or the superior qualifications and special needs pay-setting authority to set pay up to step 10.
What is the Federal Wage System (FWS)?
Wage grade jobs are trade, craft and laboring (sometimes called blue-collar) jobs in the Federal Wage System (FWS). Wage supervisors (WS) are supervisory FWS employees.
Wage-grade jobs are paid by the hour. The FWS makes sure pay is the same as similar federal and private sector jobs in the field.
What are time-in-grade requirements?
Time-in-grade requirements apply to current federal employees and refer to how long you must work in a GS grade before getting promoted (See 5 CFR 300.604). Typically, you need at least one year in grade before you can apply for promotions.
How is pay set for an employee who isn't under the General Schedule or FWS?
Contact the employing federal agency for how pay is set for jobs under other pay systems.
Where can I find the pay ranges for grades or other pay scales?
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) maintains pay tables for General Schedule (GS) employees, and the Department of Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Service maintains the Federal Wage System (FWS) pay tables.