Capitol Technology University: European-Style Doctorates

Of COURSE there are exceptions. But they are rare. The vast majority of General Schedule positions have no education requirements at all. Some do, in highly specialized areas. And yes, some "ladder" positions allow you to be hired at a higher grade with a graduate degree. (My son was hired into a GS-7-9-11 position as a GS-9 because of his master's degree.) But a PhD? Yes, it can be substituted for some experience in some entry-level jobs, and it is required for a few other positions, but they're not common.

 

I wasn't referring to positions that require a doctorate; I was referring to people who would want to use their education to gain a GS-11 (maybe GS-12 scientific) position because they lack the experience. The vast majority of GS-11 positions allow applicants to substitute doctoral-level education for experience. I've put in over 400 applications over the past few years. LOL. Trust me, there have been thousands of openings like this in Texas, alone. I currently work for the federal government, but I'm trying to switch fields with education so I don't have to take a huge pay cut. Not every agency offers pay retention. I turned down a GS-11 offer two days ago because it's excepted service, and I have 8 months left to become a career employee under the competitive service. I qualified based on education.

It's on the OPM website. Generally, GS-11 positions require a year of GS-9 equivalent experience or at least three years of doctoral-level education. I've received many referrals and interviews solely based on education.

 

Yes, I take the brute force attack approach. I pretty much only apply in major Texas metros, so there's a lot of competition.

 

People will often see the achievement but have no idea the number of rejections you experienced previously. I applied to 63 full-time college faculty positions between May 2018 and July 2018 but was unsuccessful. I ended up accepting a high school teaching position, which I did for three academic years. Overall, I applied for over 70 positions before getting my current job. Keep going, application #418 might be the one

 

We're talking about two different things. But your information is correct.

However, your original premise was that the lack of courses would interfere with the acceptance/usage of the degree. For entry-level grade assignment (your point above), I don't see how that would be. For meeting educational requirements set out in terms of credit hours, yes if one didn't already meet those requirements (typically stated in undergraduate hours) with a lesser degree. I would hope most applicants would not try to use a PhD to meet educational requirements that could be obtained at a community college.

So, can education be substituted for experience? Yes, at the entry level in some jobs up to a certain grade level (typically GS-11).
Can a PhD from this school do that? Yes.
Can the lack of a prescribed curriculum interfere with that? No.
Can the lack thereof interfere with meeting minimum credit hour educational requirements that some--very few--jobs have? Sure, by definition.
Do the vast majority of positions listed (at USAJOBS) lack a minimum education requirement? Yes, outside of health care and other licensed professions--which are driven by professional licensure requirements.

A personal anecdote: When I interviewed for my first government job, it was as a GS-15. The position had ZERO "positive educational requirements." What that means is that there was no minimum education level, nor were there credit hour requirements in specific areas. Did having a PhD matter in competing for the job? I can guarantee you it did. I got that job and every other position I filled (as the hiring manager) in my career had no minimum educational requirement. It's hard to get one approved. You have to show that the only way a person could be prepared to do that job is with that education. You can imagine how hard that would be. (Except in licensed professions where it is simple.) Instead, you list the position, then selected candidates for interview with their education being a qualitative factor. In some ways, this is less fair since a standard is being applied by the hiring manager that is not set forth in the job announcement.

 

You cannot use community college courses to qualify for GS-11 based on education. If they specify that the degree must provide the necessary knowledge and skills to do the job, then they can go through your transcript to see if your education is related to the job duties.

Community college courses can help meet a basic education requirement, such as accounting courses for revenue agents, but they can't get you a GS-11 position as a revenue agent. A DBA or PhD in business can qualify you for a GS-11 revenue agent position if you lack GS-9-level experience in accounting and auditing.

 

Thanks. I landed my current federal position after 200 applications. For federal law enforcement ,especially those coveted enhanced retirement positions, people apply for years. My former coworker finally landed a special agent position right before the age limit.

 

I wanted to clarify that you can qualify for a higher grade revenue officer position based on education using any major. Revenue agent positions require related education, such as business administration, law, or economics. This is in addition to the 24 accounting credits that are required for every grade level.

I applied to an agency that's picky when it comes to determining whether your education is related. They don't just look at the major; they look at the coursework. There was no positive education requirement for the position I applied to. I marked on the application that I was using education to substitute for experience. They ruled that I was ineligible because my education was not related to the position. So, I emailed the HR specialist, and we sat on the phone going through my master's and PhD transcripts to determine if I had three-year's worth of graduate courses related to terrorism, national security, and investigations.

To reiterate, this position had no education requirement, but it did allow applicants to substitute three years of progressively higher graduate education or a doctorate for experience.

CJ-related social services positions can be just as picky. They can disqualify you if the coursework in your degree is more law enforcement-oriented than corrections and human services-oriented. This is why police science and administration of justice degrees may not get you the same opportunities in a correctional agency as a criminal justice degree would.

 

That's not what I said.

This is what I said, too.

 

This is, sadly, extremely common. It is why I urge people to have someone on the inside looking out for their application. This can be done without violating merit principles.

It's normal for a hiring manager to receive more than 100 applications for a position--and that's AFTER HR has screened them and (supposedly) eliminated the unqualified applicants. As an applicant, you can get beaten by the large numbers for a very long time. But if someone on the other end is looking for your application, they can ensure HR makes the right call regarding your qualifications, they can make sure you get interviewed, etc. Applying to positions cold feels almost random.

I got the first federal job I ever applied for.

 

Fortunately for him, it was easy to get a referral and interview based on the application questionnaire score and his test scores. That's why I love law enforcement and non-LE positions that rank people based on test score. I was practically guaranteed an interview for my current position because I landed in Category A. Federal Bureau of Prisons, however, being ranked as Best Qualified rarely leads to an interview for non-correctional officer positions because of veterans' preference. They almost always have enough qualifying veteran applicants to fill referral spots.

As for the interview, I'm sure his experience within the agency helped a lot. He was going from non-LE to LE within the same agency.

 

Got you.

 

In the federal government, the benefits are mostly the same across agencies. Firefighters, positions designated as law enforcement for retirement purposes, and air traffic controllers receive enhanced retirement benefits. Most of these positions force retirement at the age of 57, which means that you have to be hired in a covered position by the age of 37 or have been in the military to make up for the lost years.

There are some exceptions. CBP officers and Border Patrol agents can be hired up to the age of 40.

Other than retirement, one of the major differences you might see is in education benefits. Most agencies do not help repay student loans, and most agencies do not offer tuition reimbursement. CBP offers over $5,000 per year. The IRS only offers assistance with continuing education to maintain a CPA license.

In my experience, municipal, county, and state agencies cover more of your health insurance premium, but I've only worked in Texas. The federal government pays higher salaries, though. If I were doing a similar job with the state, which I was, I would be making about $25k to $30k less than I am now.

I forgot. The federal government has locality pay. For example, the same job in the same grade pays more in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth metros than it does in Austin, San Antonio, and any other metro in Texas.

 

And sometimes they do but don't know it. Unless they're prohibited by regulation within the agency, it can be done. It can be negotiated at hire as a special job qualification, like getting hired at a higher step, or getting a better leave accumulation category. I did both of these when I was first hired. 10K per year in student loan payoff (taxable as normal income) and the full 8-hour leave accumulation per pay period. (Normally granted after 15 years of service.) I only used the student loan payback once (though I had negotiated 5 years) since it had a service requirement and I thought I might be heading back to the private sector. Then the Great Recession hit and I was glad to be where I was. I also negotiated Step 10 in stead of Step 1.

IIRC, these kinds of positions can qualify for retirement after 20 years instead of 25, and they have a lower minimum age. This matters because the government pays you a "bridge," a supplement to your retired pay until you reach age 62, beginning when you reach your Minimum Retirement Age. This is because the civil service retirement system takes into account Social Security, for which you are technically eligible at 62. Hence, the "bridge."

And this can make a huge difference. Also, if you work remotely, your duty location is where you live and, thus, you are paid on that scale. If you telework, that means you're in the office periodically, you are paid the locality pay for that office.