The National Geodetic Survey has SIX openings for entry-level positions in geodetic surveying. This job announcement is targeted for recent graduates and soon-to-be-graduates. Training will be provided and there is great potential for promotion. The selected candidates could contribute to a variety of projects including GNSS campaigns, the CORS network, OPUS, coastal mapping, instrument calibrations, surveys of space geodesy sites, airport surveys, and more.
Full details are available at https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/560739900 .
Graduates of geomatics or surveying-related programs would be well-qualified and are encouraged to apply. Please share this opportunity with anyone who may be interested. I would be glad to provide any assistance I can at benjamin.erickson@noaa.gov.
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Ben
Looks like a great opportunity. I would try for the Woodford, Va as it is the site of the Instrumentation and Methodologies Branch. A lovely site as well in the rolling hills and close to Fredericksburg, Va a very historic city. Norfolk is also a nice place. Silver Spring not so much.
I consider the failure to provide relocation expenses to be a mistake given the high cost of living especially in Silver Spring, MD.?ÿ
A great chance to get some field experience and work with some top-notch folks whose egos were well under control.
I hope you get lots of applications.?ÿ
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The salary slot is huge. 60k difference...
Can one expect 112k if licensed already? I'll take government work with that salary.
Big shoes to fill.?ÿ Some of you may have known Charlie Glover who worked on NGS field crews and then settled down at Corbin (Woodford).?ÿ He was a pioneer in the (equipment) development and testing of GNSS systems many of us use.?ÿ Did not stop there as he tested optics, lasers and infrared and their measurement accuracies and furnished the manufactures his results.?ÿ He would stop by the office talking for hours telling stories and always willing to help someone.?ÿ Corbin would be good duty.?ÿ Unfortunately Charlie died in a fire a few years ago but left a legacy and deep footprints at Corbin.
If you read the vacancy announcement you will not see any mention of survey licensure as a qualification. The NGS does not do land surveying. I know only a few present or past employees who are licensed professional surveyors.
The work of the NGS is to provide the NSRS and the tools, data and models to effectively use it. The field surveys it continues to perform (e.g. ties among sensor systems at IGS sites) are specialized in both equipment and techniques.
I have copied to this post some of the pages of the announcement. My take on it follows.
The salary range encompasses various levels of entry into employment. A hire at the top of the range would be expected to have an earned Ph.D or equivalent with significant relevant experience.
Note that the qualifications for the lowest salary level requires specific coursework including differential and integral calculus. A hire at a higher level would have to meet basic qualifications supplemented by experience.
As the job is specifically directed to recent graduates, I wonder if any would be hired at the higher level unless they were out of a graduate program or a post-doc.
I note in this thread mention of the late Charlie Glover. Talking or working with him provided great insight into the nitty gritty of precise survey work.
yup. ?ÿ
The way I read it the low number is the first pay step for Grade 2 and the high is the top pay step for Grade 3. ?ÿDoubt even a highly educated candidate would come in paid more than the middle of the range as they would have no potential for raises in that position.?ÿ
For Silver Spring the low end of the ?ÿsalary range is pretty much the same as entry level recent two-year survey program graduate with no experience money.?ÿ
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Your comments are on target for a big bureaucratic organization. Many, many years ago the company where I was an aspiring actuary implemented such a pay system. The particular group of aspiring actuaries that I belonged to was an especially obnoxious and rebellious bunch. About 10 seconds of actuarial analysis told us all that our best deal was to take the maximum now and forget about future raises except for times when the max was increased or when we were promoted to a higher range.
So that's what we asked for. Needless to say, even though the analysis was absolutely correct, we were told never to bring it up again.
NOAA uses a pay scale called ZP which can map to the GS system used by many other agencies. The range for this announcement goes from GS-9, Step 1 in Norfolk, VA to GS-12, Step 10 in Silver Spring, MD.?ÿ
OMG. I have no idea what that means. If I apply do I get the decoder ring?
Or Google it.
Like the military, employees work in a hierarchical system. Employees at higher ranks have more responsibilities and get more pay.
The General Schedule (GS), Wage Scale (WG), differ from ZP (and ZA) as they are narrower ranges of pay and include steps?ÿ for each grade. In my recollection, to go from certain grades you would compete for the promotion. Under the ZP pay ranges are wider and advancement is non competitive until you try for a higher ZP level.
If you are part of a large organization you end up with a bureaucracy.
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HTH,
Former bureaucrat.
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This would be a great opportunity for anyone. I knew Charlie Glover and know the current staff at the Woodford, VA (Corbin, VA) site. What a place to up your game and learn geodesy.?ÿ Along with of course if you love history along with the Surveying History of the United States specifically. I am a bit biased though my better half works there and I personally have been in the Geomatics and Surveying Profession since the 90's. They are a great group of people and very knowledgeable. What a great place to learn for sure and great atmosphere. They perform many of the training classes at the site and all that knowledge that could be gained.
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