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Step 4: Which Agency is Right for You?

There are thousands of different government jobs to choose from, and an infinite amount of paths to take as you embark upon your career in government work. Would you like to work for the Department of Defense? The Department of Veteran Affairs? The Environmental Protection Agency? Do you want to focus your talents on highly specialized work, or provide more general services?

This article provides information about the following GovCentral services:

● Find federal jobs for your major
● Top Ten Agencies to find federal jobs
● Largest federal departments
● Search all states for federal jobs

Find Federal Jobs for your Major

To help you choose the right career field, we have created cross-listed government jobs with an index of the most popular academic majors.

Keep in mind that many government jobs do not actually require a specific academic degree – the purpose of this guide is to inspire you to think about the skills you have, and to begin thinking about what government careers are right for you.

Check out your major or interest to see a list of corresponding federal government positions.

Top Ranked Federal Agencies to Work For

To find out which federal agencies ranks highest, the Partnership for Public Service & Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation analyze surveys filled out by thousands of federal employees every two years. The Best Places rankings show which agencies use their employees talents to their fullest and also how managers encourage employees to bring added value to the organziation.

The Ten Largest Federal Departments

When looking for employment, it makes sense to concentrate your efforts in areas that have the greatest opportunities. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) reports that the five largest departments employ close to half of the 2.7 million federal civilian workers, with opportunities for everyone from janitors to judges.

Check out profiles for the five largest federal departments below:

Department of Defense: 611,658
Department of Veterans Affairs: 205,542
Department of Homeland Security: 128,791
Department of the Justice: 103,479
Department of the Treasury: 101,146

Search All States for Federal Jobs

Searching for a job in your home state can be a heavy task. Often times your career field or agency interests don’t coincide with what’s available in your specific locale. The fifty state profiles featured on GovCentral provide short summaries of what federal departments and agencies dominate the federal employment scene in each state, and link to specific federal job searches for major cities.

To check out which agencies dominate federal employment in your neck of the woods, click here.

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