Yes, you can still find jobs with the nation’s largest employer—the Federal Government. In fact, federal government departments have seen significant growth year after year, even during the darkest days of the recession. So, how do you do you get a Federal Government job? You can start by earning a bachelor’s degree!

Nearly half of all federal government employees have a bachelor’s degree and the majority of mid to high-level positions require a bachelor’s or master’s degree, especially in fields that involve research, scientific, and professional work, or medical work such as engineering, biology, psychology, medical technology, and accounting. To qualify for positions in these fields, the degree musty also be from a college or university that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

High-level federal government positions are generally assigned a letter/number of GS-7 or higher. In these cases, the applicant must have some form of specialized experience. At least one year of the specialized experience must have been equivalent to level of the next lower grade in the Federal Service. So, to qualify for GS-11 you must have had a minimum of one year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-10.

If you do not have a college degree, you can still qualify for certain lower level positions in the Federal Government and you can work your way up. But even for positions that are considered lower level, you should have:

  • 1.) Been in the job market for several years
  • 2.) Accumulated an extensive work history

Starting at the GS-5 grade or equivalent level, positions generally require 1 year of specialized experience equal to the next lower grade. For clerical and assistant positions at the GS-2 level, a high school diploma and some work experience is all that is needed.

How to Apply for Federal Jobs

Potential applicants may find out about job vacancies in the federal government by visiting the Federal Government’s Employment Information System at www.usajobs.com. Here, applicants may utilize the Online Resume Builder feature, which allows job seekers to create on-line resumes specifically designed for applying for Federal jobs. Applicants can use the resume builder to create, print, save, edit for future use, or send by fax or mail to employers. Many of the hiring agencies will accept electronic submissions of resumes created through USAJOBS for vacancies listed on the web site.

The automated phone system is also available 24/7. Here, potential job seekers can access current job vacancies, employment information fact sheets, applications, forms, and apply for some jobs.

Best Places to Work in the Federal Government

The first list of rankings below has been determined based on employee satisfaction. The second list covers rankings based on pay and benefits. Both lists rank federal government departments in order (starting with the best) from 1-30. The last list covers government agencies with the highest employment beginning with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs—home to the nation’s highest number of government employees.

Employee Satisfaction Rankings

  1. 1. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
  2. 2. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  
  3. 3. Department of Veteran Affairs 
  4. 4. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  5. 5. Department of Justice
  6. 6. Department of the Army
  7. 7. Social Security Administration 
  8. 8. Securities and Exchange Commission 
  9. 9. Department of State
  10. 10. All Department of Defense
  11. 11. Department of the Air Force
  12. 12. Department of Agriculture 
  13. 13. Department of Health and Human Services
  14. 14. Department of Labor
  15. 15. General Services Administration
  16. 16. Department of the Navy
  17. 17. Environmental Protection Agency
  18. 18. Department of the Interior
  19. 19. National Archives and Records Administration
  20. 20. Department of Commerce
  21. 21. Department of the Treasury
  22. 22. Office of Personnel Management 
  23. 23. Department of Transportation
  24. 24. Department of Energy
  25. 25. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  26. 26. Small Business Administration
  27. 27. epartment of Education
  28. 28. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 
  29. 29. Department of Homeland Security
  30. 30. Government Accountability Office

Pay and Benefits Rankings

  1. 1. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
  2. 2. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  3. 3. Securities and Exchange Commission
  4. 4. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  5. 5. General Services Administration
  6. 6. Office of Personnel Management
  7. 7. Environmental Protection Agency
  8. 8. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  9. 9. Department of Education
  10. 10. Department of State
  11. 11. Social Security Administration
  12. 12. mall Business Administration
  13. 13. Department of Agriculture
  14. 14. epartment of Commerce
  15. 15. Department of Energy
  16. 16. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  17. 17. Department of Health and Human Services
  18. 18. epartment of the Treasury
  19. 19. Department of Labor
  20. 20. Department of the Interior
  21. 21. Department of Justice
  22. 22. Department of the Army 
  23. 23. Department of the Navy
  24. 24. All Department of Defense
  25. 25. National Archives and Records Administration 
  26. 26. Department of Transportation
  27. 27. Department of the Air Force
  28. 28. Department of Veteran Affairs
  29. 29. Department of Homeland Security
  30. 30. Government Accountability Office 

Federal Agencies with the Most Employment

  1. 1. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  2. 2. .S. Army
  3. 3. U.S. Navy
  4. 4. U.S. Department of Homeland Security
  5. 5. U.S. Air Force
  6. 6. U.S. Department of Treasury
  7. 7. U.S. Department of Agriculture
  8. 8. U.S. Department of Justice
  9. 9. U.S. Department of Defense
  10. 10. U.S. Department of the Interior
  11. 11. U.S. Social Security Administration
  12. 12. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  13. 13. U.S. Department of Transportation
  14. 14. U.S. Department of Commerce
  15. 15. U.S. Department of State
  16. 16. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  17. 17. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  18. 18. .S. Department of Labor
  19. 19. U.S. Department of Energy
  20. 20. U.S. General Services Administration
  21. 21. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
  22. 22. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
  23. 23. Smithsonian Institution
  24. 24. U.S. Department of Education
  25. 25. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

For more information about government jobs including salaries, projections and more, visit the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics at www.bls.gov.