U.S. Office of Personnel Management www.opm.gov - Recruiting, Retaining and Honoring a World-Class Workforce to Serve the American People

Recruitment & Selection

Basic Facts About Scientific Or Professional (ST) Positions

Scientific or Professional (ST) Positions:

This unique category of Federal jobs covers non-executive positions classified above the GS-15 level, and involves performance of high-level research and development in the physical, biological, medical, or engineering sciences, or a closely-related field. Many of the Federal Government's most renowned scientists and engineers serve in ST positions.

Allocations:

An Executive agency must be granted a position allocation from OPM before filling an ST position. There are currently more than 470 ST positions allocated to several Executive agencies.

Job Opportunities:

Vacant ST positions are advertised on OPM's website at http://www.usajobs.gov. Agencies with the largest number of ST positions include Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, EPA, HHS, Interior, and NASA. Each vacancy announcement describes the application requirements for the particular position to be filled.

Qualifications:

Each ST position has its own particular set of qualification requirements. The special qualifications, stature, and contributions of the individual placed in a given position will also have a direct and major impact on the level of difficulty and responsibility of the work. Typically, applicants for ST positions are expected to have a graduate degree, significant research experience, and a national or international reputation in his/her field. Time in grade requirements do not apply to ST positions, so applicants do not need to have spent a certain period of time at the GS-15 or equivalent level.

Supervisory Duties:

ST positions may include some supervisory and related managerial duties, but these duties must occupy less than 25 percent of the incumbent's time. Positions in which supervisory and managerial work constitutes 25 percent or more of the incumbent's time almost always meet the criteria for the Senior Executive Service (SES).

Appointments:

All ST positions are in the competitive civil service; however, by statute appointments may be made to ST positions without going through the competitive examination process required for most entrants into the competitive civil service. This means qualified applicants for ST positions can often be hired more quickly than applicants for other Federal positions.

Pay:

The Senior Professional Performance Act of 2008 established a new pay system for ST employees effective April 12, 2009. This pay system is similar to the one in place for SES members. Under the new law, ST employees are under a pay-for-performance system. They no longer receive locality pay but receive a rate of basic pay only, based primarily on an annual performance rating.

The top end of the salary range an agency may pay its ST employees depends on whether OPM has certified the effectiveness of the agency's performance appraisal system. The maximum rate of basic pay for ST employees who are under a performance appraisal system that is not certified is Executive Level III and the aggregate compensation limit is Executive Level I. (Aggregate compensation refers to the total compensation an employee may receive in a given year, including salary, awards and other incentives.) An agency with a certified performance appraisal system may pay ST employees basic pay rates up to Executive Level II and may apply a higher aggregate compensation limit (equal to the Vice President's salary). Current salary rates for the various Executive Levels and the Vice President can be found at http://www.opm.gov/oca/10tables/indexSES.asp. On December 22, 2010, the President signed an Executive order containing the 2011 pay schedules for ST employees. The Executive order provides that the 2011 pay rates for ST employees are not adjusted and remain at 2010 levels.  Click here for pay freeze Qs and As.

Awards:

An ST employee who receives a performance rating at the fully successful level or better may be granted a cash award of up to $25,000, but not in excess of $10,000 without the approval of OPM. (The Department of Defense and Internal Revenue Service are authorized to give awards up to $25,000 without OPM approval.) In rare circumstances, cash awards above $25,000 may be given but only with White House approval.

Superior accomplishment incentive awards for a suggestion, invention, or special act or service not linked to a performance rating may also be given. Dollar limits for these awards are the same as those based on performance rating.

A limited number of career ST employees may also be nominated for Presidential Rank Awards to recognize sustained and sustained extraordinary accomplishments. Recipients of the Distinguished Rank are entitled to 35% of annual basic pay, while Meritorious Rank recipients are entitled to 20% of annual basic pay.

Benefits:

ST employees qualify for retirement, health and life insurance benefits generally available to Federal employees, and under the same basic eligibility requirements. Additional information can be found at http://www.opm.gov/insure/federal_employ/index.asp and at http://www.opm.gov/retire/index.aspx.

Leave:

Employees in ST positions are entitled to accrue annual leave at the rate of 8 hours per biweekly pay period regardless of the length of their Federal service and can accumulate a total of up to 90 days (720 hours) of annual leave. All Federal employees including ST employees earn 13 days of sick leave each year. There is no ceiling on the amount of sick leave that may be carried over from year to year.

Retention, Recruitment, and Relocation Incentives:

ST applicants or employees are eligible for these incentives, if they meet the specific criteria for receiving them.

A recruitment incentive may be used by an agency to pay a newly appointed employee in positions likely to be difficult to fill.

A relocation incentive may be used by an agency to pay a current employee who must relocate to a position in a different geographic area that is likely to be difficult to fill in the absence of such an incentive. The employee must establish a residence in the new geographic area prior to payment.

A retention incentive may be used by an agency to a current employee if the agency determines that the unusually high or unique qualifications of the employee or the agency has a special need for the employee's services that makes it essential to retain the employee in his or her current position during a period of time.

Additional information can be found at: www.opm.gov/3Rs.