Branch Chief - candidates are required to show successful completion of a standard professional curriculum in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's degree with major study in an appropriate field of engineering (not engineering technology), physical science, life science or mathematics.

Research Scientist - applicants must possess at least 1 year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the federal service. Specialized experience is experience which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and which is typically in or related to the position to be filled. This includes experience that is in or related to one or more of the following areas: fishery biology, aquatic biology, aquatic ecology and physical science.

Additional Minimum Requirements - both positions: in addition to the above, applicants must meet the following basic requirements for each title/series for which they apply:

Biologist, GS-0401: Applicants must possess A or B as follows:
A) Bachelor's degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to this position. OR B) Combination of education and experience--courses equivalent to a major, as described in A above; plus appropriate experience or additional education.
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Ecologist, GS-408: Applicants must possess a Bachelors degree with a major in biology, or related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester hours in ecology, and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences.
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Fishery Biologist, GS-0482: Applicants must possess A or B as described: A) Bachelor's degree with a major study in biological science that included 6 semester hours in aquatic subjects such as limnology, ichthyology, fishery biology, aquatic botany, aquatic fauna, oceanography, fish culture, or related courses in the field of fishery biology; and at least 12 semester hours in the animal sciences in such subjects as general zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, entomology, parasitology, ecology, cellular biology, genetics, or research in these fields. OR B) Combination of education and experience--courses equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), of which a minimum of 6 semester hours were in aquatic subjects and 12 semester hours were in animal sciences, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
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Electronic Engineer, GS-0855 (Branch Chief position only): Applicants must possess A or B as follows: A) Degree: professional engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. OR B) Combination of education and experience--college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering.
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Physical Scientist, GS-1301: Applicants must possess A or B as follows: A) Bachelor's degree in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties or materials and electronics. OR B) Combination of education and experience--courses equivalent to a major, as described in A above; that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
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It is expected that the successful applicant will have obtained a doctoral degree in his/her field of expertise.