Natural Resources Conservation Service
Student Trainee (Biology)
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Summary
In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts. Program Eligibility Requirements Applicant must meet the definition of a student that is: Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an accredited technical or vocational school, two-year or four-year college or university, graduate or professional school. You must be taking at least a half-time academic course load leading to a degree or certificate. A certificate program is defined as a post-secondary education, in a qualifying educational institution, equivalent to at least one academic year of full-time study that is part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational, or business school curriculum. Be planning for or pursuing a certificate or degree in, or related to, the internship opportunity being advertised. Examples of relevant educational fields for this position include but are not limited to: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines that will allow applicants to qualify for the conversion requirements listed within the vacancy announcement upon graduation. Position Qualifications: Applicants must meet position qualifications requirements as shown below at the time of appointment. The agency must be able to verify that the education was completed successfully before the applicant can be appointed. Below is the education requirement to be qualified for this position: GS-02: Completion of high school or possession of a GED diploma. GS-03: Completion of 1 full academic year of post-high school study. GS-04: Completion of 2 full academic years of post-high school study. One full academic year of undergraduate education is defined as 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours or the equivalent as defined by the accredited college or university. One full academic year of graduate education is defined as 18 semester hours or the equivalent as defined by the accredited college or university. Conversion Information: Candidates selected from this announcement may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a permanent position in the competitive service, provided that all terms of the Internship Program are met and there is an available position. Conversion is not mandatory or guaranteed and is at agency discretion. Pathways Interns may convert to a permanent position for which they qualify for (e.g., GS-0401) as outlined in the intern's Pathways agreement. Upon conversion to the competitive service, this position will have a career ladder up to the full performance level GS-09. To be eligible for conversion, you must satisfactorily complete all Pathways Program requirements: Complete at least 480 hours of work experience prior to graduation; Complete all mandatory training requirements; Meet performance expectations and be recommended for conversion; Meet suitability requirements; and Meet the position's Qualification Requirements of the associated occupational series as outlined in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, General Schedule Qualifications Standards. See the link below: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0400/general-natural-resources-management-and-biological-sciences-series-0401/ GS-0401 Basic Requirement: Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional, philanthropic, religious, spiritual, community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Major Duties
Receives intensive and specialized training in all phases of natural resources and biological sciences and related natural resource conservation programs.
Assists in gathering and assembling preliminary data for use in developing and applying conservation and natural resource plans.
Provide a career-oriented introduction to the background, philosophy, concepts, and scope of the Natural Resources Conservation Service Soil Conservation Management Programs and a practical understanding of the policies of the employing organization.
Assists in program and conservation planning for a variety of soil and water practices such as terraces, diversions, waterways, farm drainage systems, and others.
Learns to perform surveys and set construction stakes for a variety of practices. May operate rod or chain or other specialized instruments to lay out simple practices.
Assignments are developmental in nature and, in conjunction with formal education, the Intern will gain the necessary competencies leading to conversion to a permanent professional position in Natural Resources Management.
Work assignments are selected to ensure that the Intern receives on-the-job training and exposure to one or more program functions.
Receives training in the principles, concepts, work processes, and regulations of one or more functional areas of Natural Resources Management, Soil Conservation, and Biological Sciences.
As training advances and proficiency is demonstrated, work assignment are increasingly more demanding, and are designed to provide experience in a variety of activities.
On a scheduled basis, following the Pathways Participant Agreement, receives assignments in various Soil Conservation and Biological Sciences functions.
Receives formal and on-the-job training in OPM, Department of Agriculture and Natural Resource Conservation Service policies, rules, regulations, and procedures
Is instructed on the use of personal computers, and file and data management.
Requirements
You must be a US Citizen or US National. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt. Must be in good academic standing as defined by the agency as: maintaining a minimum GPA of 2.5 or higher. Complete at least 480 hrs of work experience prior to completion of degree. Enrolled at least half-time at a qualifying educational institution. A signed participant agreement is required for employment under Pathways. Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. If selected, you may be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are unable to reimburse for any fees incurred. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year trial period depending on your appointment type, unless previous federal service is creditable. During this time your employment will be evaluated, and we may consider: your performance and conduct, the needs and interests of the agency, whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government, and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov. The incumbents of Internship positions may be reassigned/relocated to any geographical location where the employee's services are needed as determined by management. Mobility agreement may be required. Must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license for the type of vehicle(s) operated to perform the duties of this position.
Required Documents
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications. Resume cannot exceed 2 pages. You must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, official transcripts will be required prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation. Spring 2027 graduates will be required to provide proof of continued enrollment for Fall 2027. If no proof of continued enrollment is provided, you will be deemed ineligible for an internship. If claiming 10-point veteran's preference you must provide the DD214 or certification requirements (see above), plus the proof of entitlement of this preference as listed on the SF-15 Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. The SF-15 should be included but is not required. Failure to submit these documents could result in the determination that there is insufficient documentation to support your claim for 10-point preference. If claiming 10-point veteran's preference you must provide the DD214 or certification requirements (see above bullet), plus the proof of entitlement of this preference as listed on the SF-15 Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. The SF-15 should be included but is not required. Failure to submit these documents could result in the determination that there is insufficient documentation to support your claim for 10-point preference. For more information on veterans' preference visit FedsHireVets.
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. Resumes cannot exceed two pages. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.