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Federal Information Technology Careers
Jonathan Zuk / GovCentral Contributor
Information technology workers are in high demand at nearly every federal agency. Often times these professionals are required to specialize in IT sectors such as security, data management, or system assurance. Many federal IT professionals are also required to possess a security clearance.
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Qualifications and Salaries
Entry-level federal IT professionals usually start at the GS-5 level and possess either three years of private/private sector experience or a bachelor’s degree in a related field. These professionals often earn $33,000 per year.
Mid-level IT workers usually start at GS-7 grade, earning around $40,000 annually. These positions usually require applicants to have at least one-year of experience in a designated specialty.
Upper-level professionals start at the GS-9 level and must possess the specialization experience required for GS-7 positions as well as extensive experience with Java, Visual Basic, C ASP, SQL, XML, Apache, IIS, Windows, Unix, and Linux and familiarity with W3C and Federal standards. These professionals usually earn $50,000 per year.
Top Hiring Agencies
More than any other sector, most IT growth is spread evenly throughout the federal government. Consequently, the departments and agencies where demand for IT professionals is the greatest are also those that are seeing some of the highest rates of overall growth, such as the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense. The agencies currently recruiting the most IT professionals are the Veterans Health Administration,National Institutes of Health, and the Air Force Personnel Service.
Latest Federal Vacancies
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Information Technology Specialist, Information Technology Manager, MIS Manager, Information Systems Manager.
moosejazz
7 months ago
2 comments
The typical Information Technology position in the federal government is either a GS-11 under the Government Services at roughly $58,462 - $75,996 annual salary or YA-02 (which encompasses GS-07 to GS-12) at $57,146 - $85,578 annual with NSPS National Security Personnel System. The GS sllows you get a raise based on your performance in the pervious year and you receive a step increase; this includes the annual government increase. Where as the NSPS it base like the GS system but you get a raise of 1 to 5% raise on salary not including the federal annual government increase. So if your performance evaluator rates you a 4% raise in salary and the federal government’s annual increase is 2.9%, your total raise for the year would be 6.9%.
srwebdeveloper
9 months ago
2 comments
To add to what Joatmon said, based on what I'm seeing on the federal jobs boards, I'd have to agree. Just trying to find an actual senior-programming job for a wage approaching the private sector is almost impossible. Let alone trying to find such a federal job that utilizes modern programming tools and languages like Microsoft's Visual Studio and C#.
From my searching, what I find is that there are a huge number of jobs out there for people that don't actually design and write software, but who "support" applications development activities, and manage processes.
Having said all of that, I have to disagree with Joatman on his statement that "true programming is best done by business that specialize in just that.". I would ask "Well just how do such businesses become good at 'true programming'"? Specialization isn't enough to make a business good at what it does. A software consultancy can s u c k just as bad as say "Walmart Programming & Systems". Good businesses are good by virtue of the talent they hire.
If the federal government committed to acquiring expertise in systems development, and hired it's own top-notch developers, instead of paying huge sums of money to consultants, they could actually do their OWN "true programming", and do it as well, if not better than "businesses that specialize in just that".
mevans92
9 months ago
2 comments
My resume illustrates my ability to a history of responsible positions. My experience has given me an intimate understanding of teamwork and achieving collective goals. It has also given me the opportunity to develop excellent interpersonal skills, which are vital to establishing and maintaining profitable professional relationships. I firmly believe that I will be an immediate as well as a long-term asset.
lioncourt1
9 months ago
2 comments
Well I'm not sure in what possition I could fit, but i have a MSc in Geo-informatics and I think there sould be a place in some Defense area for me. If some one knows something about it please let me know.
Regards,
MSc. Irvin T. Feliciano
nedi565
11 months ago
6 comments
hmm i like the entry level i mean GS-5 because i have done my masters recently in MSC(E-commerce)
Account Removed
about 1 year ago
It's actually a cross between the IT people and the Security/AT people.
dchiarella
about 1 year ago
4 comments
The hottest thig in government IT is Cyber Security since 9/11. Every agency can use good computer people who can do it all. Life is proving everday what you do know and can produce and deliver whether you are contractor or govt. Make sure you have good PM skills for the higher paying jobs.
aogilmor
about 1 year ago
4 comments
Those are pretty sucky salaries even out in the boondocks and with benefits.
gbass1054
about 1 year ago
2 comments
I retired from Computing Technologies, Inc which is a contracting company with the US Department of Transportation, which I was employed for 9 years. I am looking for data entry work to do from home for 4 to5 hours a day 5 days a week.
joatmon
about 1 year ago
94 comments
Don't let the Federal IT world fool you. Most IT programming jobs are contracted out, so all the jazz about knowing Java, VB, ASP, SQL, XML, yada yada, is not as in depth as the private sector. The Government knows that true programming is best done by business that specialize in just that, so they stick to merely implementing the software, ensuring security, and maintenance. M2C