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LEVELS
. GS-1
. GS-2
. GS-3
. GS-4
. GS-5
. GS-6
. GS-7
. GS-8
. GS-9
. GS-10
. GS-11
. GS-12
. GS-13
. GS-14
. GS-15
TABLES
. Federal Schedule
. Locality Adjustment
. Military Equivalencies
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Welcome to GS-Levels.com. You will find on this guide all the information you need to help you understand the complex government schedule and get started smoothly with your Federal application process.
An introduction to the General Schedule
Also known as Federal government schedule, the General Schedule (GS) -- is the pay scale used by the US government for the majority of its white-collar personnel, which includes administrative, clerical, professional and technical positions.
Based on the "Equal Pay for Equal Work" motto, the government schedule was enacted into law in 1949 and aims at offering fair salaries among Federal agencies, whatever your occupation and gender might be. The GS is managed by the Office of Personnel Management and is applied to government agencies -- most competitive service agencies and some excepted service agencies -- across the board.
Government Salaries
Government salaries are composed of two parts, the base salary, which you can find in the General Schedule and the locality adjustment, which is a % ranging from 14.16% to 35.15% and based on your area (except for employees located in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Alaska and any foreign service area).
GS Levels Basics
The General Schedule is divided into 15 grades called GS levels, from GS-1 to GS-15 (executive positions used to fall under GS levels 16, 17 and 18, which have now been replaced by the Senior Executive Service). Each level is then broken into 10 steps, from 1 to 10. Federal employees usually enter the government workforce at step 1 (unless a hiring manager decides otherwise) and then rise from one step to the other when they served a required period of service in a satisfactory manner.
Just like with the steps, the more experience you gain, the higher GS levels you will be able to reach. For example, for most clerical and technician staff, it will take one year to pass from one GS level to another. However in other fields such as science, there is a 2-level increase every year until GS-12 is reached (after that it goes back to 1-level increments per year). Of course, climbing the government career ladder every year implies performing your job well otherwise you might not get any advancement. Once you reached GS level 15 and want to get into a higher executive position, you will then be subject to the SES (Senior Executive Service) regulations and structure, which is a completely different and more complex process.
While you will find on this site a precise description of each GS level, to give you an idea, entry-level positions can be found between GS-1 and GS-7 levels. GS levels 8 to 12 include mid-level positions while GS-13, 14 and 15 consist of higher positions (supervisors, specialists, engineers, technicians, doctors but not executives who are part of the SES).
Applying to a Federal job
Because Uncle Sam hires employees from various backgrounds, education and career levels, it is essential for every Federal job seeker to know at what level they would transfer in the government. This will not only allow them to know if they are qualified for the vacancies they would like to apply to but also what type of salary they should expect.
For those of you who are new to this, you will easily find out what position and level you qualify for by looking at the vacancy announcement which always lists in details what qualifications are needed, whether it's education, experience, special skills or trainings and what GS level it is part of. Also, please note that if you are coming from the military, there are some equivalencies between military grades and GS levels.
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