Understanding The Pay Grades in Federal Government Jobs
The federal government sets salaries for positions according to its grade level. A grade level is determined based on the requirements of the job and the level of responsibility. The system under which grade levels are categorized is called the General Schedule (GS) and range from GS-1, which is the lowest grade, to GS-15, which is the highest.
The GS system is used for most professional and administrative federal employees. A separate pay system is used for senior executives. For blue-collar workers in the trade or craft areas, the Federal Wage System is used to ensure that federal wages are in line with current regional wage rates for similar jobs. This gives the federal government flexibility to pay more competitively in geographic areas where rates are higher for these trades.
All federal jobs list a pay grade level. However, the same job description could have several pay grade levels. As an applicant, you will be placed in a pay grade level based on your educational background, experience, and skills. For example, a person applying for a position with a bachelor’s degree and experience might be placed in the GS-7 pay grade, while a person with a master’s degree and experience applying for the same position might start out in the GS-9 pay grade because of their higher education.
Within each GS pay grade are steps, which are based on length of service and job performance. There are 10 steps within each grade level, with each step representing an increase in salary.
The federal government also provides locality pay increases as a means of addressing local labor market conditions. Each year, the federal government reviews survey comparisons of private sector pay rates versus federal wage rates in each geographic area. If it is determined that federal employees in a particular state are being paid well below the private sector, a locality pay increase would be applied to their salary. Federal employees working in areas with higher costs of living are also eligible for a locality pay increase.
