Exploring Federal Government Careers
Are you interested in addressing complex and pressing issues faced by communities across the US and the world?
- If yes, a career in the US federal government may be for you.
The US government has agencies engaged in the fight against climate change; leading efforts in space exploration; overseeing disaster and emergency response efforts; and researching the latest in disease prevention, just to name a few. There are over 400 federal agencies. These are in every US state, territory, and Washington DC; and in over 140 countries. Many agencies are here in Denver, CO—you don’t have to leave Colorado or be a politician to work in the federal government, although those are certainly options.
There are three categories of federal employees:
- Competitive service includes most civil service positions. Applicants must apply for and compete with other applicants for positions. These positions work in many hundreds of US government agencies, in different specialties.
- Excepted Service appointments are civil service positions and often include security and intelligence agencies (FBI, CIA, NSA), and the US Department of State. Applications are managed by the respective agencies’ policies and procedures.
- Senior Excepted Service includes senior leadership positions, often political appointees.
Learn About Federal Civil Service Opportunities
With so many career opportunities across the hundreds of federal agencies, it is a good idea to first learn about the variety of career options:
GOGOVERNMENT
Use the Partnership for Public Service’s GOGOVERNMENT
- Take the Partnership’s Finding The Agency For You
- Use the Career Guide to learn about the opportunities within different areas of study.
- Listen to the Profiles in Public Service podcast
USAJOBS
Explore the USAJOBS.GOV website. This is the application portal for most civil service opportunities, but it also provides extensive information about the overall process.
- This USAJOBS guide helps you find federal occupations by college major.
- The USAJOBS Events page lists events (online and in-person) offered by different federal agencies to help you learn about their opportunities.
- Explore the unique hiring paths offered by the federal government.
Utilize Pathways to Apply for Civil Service Internships and Jobs
After you get an idea of all the opportunities in the federal government, you can start to consider specific pathways that can help you start your federal career.
Current students, recent graduates, and veterans all have specific pathways designed for individuals early in their careers.
- Click here to read about additional pathways for Individuals with Disabilities, Native Americans, Veterans, Peace Corps and Vista volunteers, and military spouses.
Finding Federal Civil Service Opportunities
Where do you find these hundreds of civil service internships and jobs? Most Pathways Program Internships and Recent Graduate jobs are found at USAJOBS.GOV, the website and application portal used to apply to all competitive civil service positions.
Current students can search for internships using the USAJOBS Federal Internship Portal.
- Pro-Tip: There are many internships across the US. Don’t let the location stop you from applying! Agencies may have remote work options that allow you to do some or all the required hours remotely.
The Partnership for Public Service’s Federal Internship Finder lists hundreds of internships for students.
- Pro-tip: Use the filters to narrow the options. For example, filter for a specific field, agency, paid vs. unpaid, etc.
Recent graduates (those who completed a degree within the previous two years, or the previous six years for veterans) can search for positions on the USAJOBS Recent Graduate portal.
- Pro-tip: Applications for positions must be submitted within two years of earning your diploma or certificate.
Additional Internships and Opportunities (agencies/departments using Excepted Service):
- Virtual Student Federal Service
- Defense Intelligence Agency
- Dept of Homeland Security Office of Intelligence and Analysis
- National GeoSpatial Intelligence Agency
- National Security Agency
- Space Force
- Supreme Court Internship Program
- Federal Judicial Center Internships
- FBI Internship program
- NSA Internship program
- If you are looking for an internship or job at a specific agency, you can also go to that agency’s webpage and search for an internship. Sometimes, agencies do not list on USAJOBS or other portals.
Questions? Contact Us.
Content provided in partnership with the Classroom to Career Hub.
MSU DENVER INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE
Shaun LaBarre, Director,
Institute for Public Service
Phone
303-605-7131
Email:
[email protected]