Entry Level Ntsb Investigator Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Summary
This position is being filled under the Pathways Recent Graduate Program. This position provides those who have graduated from a qualifying educational institution or certificate program within the past two years with opportunities for work in agencies and career development with training and mentorship. You must apply within two years of getting your degree or certificate (veterans have up to six years to apply due to their military service obligation).
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Duties
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GS-7 is an entry level professional grade and is considered a trainee level by OPM. GS-9 is a mid-level professional grade, which requires higher qualifications and involves more complex work than a GS-7. Please see the duties and specialized experience for additional information.
GS-7: $57,736 - $75,059
GS-9: $70,623 - $91,815
As an IT Specialist (APPSW), GS-2210-7/9, you will perform the following major duties:

• Aid in web-based, cloud-hosted, and platform-based application development using Microsoft development tools and technologies, including Visual Studio .NET, ASP.NET, .NET, VB.NET, SQL Server, SharePoint, PowerApps, Power Automate, Azure DevOps, Azure services, and scripting languages.
• Identify routine technical issues and elevates matters to senior specialists, architects, cybersecurity personnel, or platform administrators.
• Support senior specialists in evaluating software, cloud, platform, and hardware solutions, including Azure services, Azure DevOps capabilities, Salesforce platform capabilities, SharePoint, SQL Server, .NET, Power Platform, low-code/no-code tools, intelligent automation, APIs, and real-time analytics.
• Answers basic IT questions and provide non-complex guidance related to application functionality, user access, configuration, and common system issues.

At the GS-9 grade level, in addition to the duties at the lower grade level, typical duties include:

• Support use of Azure DevOps for source control, work item tracking, build and release activities, testing coordination, and traceability from requirements through deployment.
• Participate in software and hardware evaluations and assessments aimed at optimal performance and interoperability between existing and proposed applications.
• Coordinate with technical staff to monitor, triage, and resolve helpdesk activities and user problems.

The Full Performance Level (FPL) is the GS-13.
Requirements
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Conditions of employment

• Applicants must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. National
• Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service system or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/.
• Suitability for Federal employment
• Financial interest in transportation enterprises will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
• Bargaining Unit Position: YES - Bargaining unit represented by NTSB-AFGE Local 2211.
• Direct Deposit is required.
• Non-Veterans must have completed, within the previous 2 years, a qualifying degree.
• Veterans must have completed, within the previous 6 years, a qualifying degree.
• OFFICIAL transcripts must be submitted prior to establishing a start date.
• One year trial/probationary period may be required.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• Must be able to successfully pass a background investigation.
• Appointees must sign a Participant Agreement that sets forth expectations of the Pathways Program.
• If selection is made below the full performance level, promotion up to the full performance level may be made without further competition. However, promotions are not automatic or guaranteed and will depend on the performance and supervisor approval.
• Two-Page Resume Limit: Resumes must not be more than two standard single-sided pages (or one page if submitting a front and back, hard-copy).
• A Relocation or Recruitment Incentive may be offered to highly qualified candidates.

Qualifications
Applicants must have completed, within the previous two-years, a qualifying associate's, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical education program (which may include Registered Apprenticeship Programs, Job Corps, AmeriCorps, and Peace Corps).
EXCEPTIONS TO THE TWO YEARS:

1. Veterans, as defined in 5 USC 2108 , who, due to military service obligations, were precluded from applying to the Recent Graduate Program during the two-year eligibility. Veterans have a full two-year period of eligibility upon their release or discharge from active duty. The eligibility period shall not extend beyond six years from the date of academic completion.
2. Current students or qualifying program participants may also apply, provided they are "up to nine months prior to completing their academic requirements". The application must include documentation that clearly shows the student is within the 9-month education completion window.

Qualifying Education Institution: Any of the following educational institutions or curricula that have been accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.
Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.
Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations e.g., professional; philanthropic, religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies; knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
To qualify at the GS-7 level:
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as follows:

• Providing timely IT customer service; and
• Utilizing Microsoft development tools (e.g. Power Platform, Azure, SharePoint).

-OR-
Education: Successful completion of one full year of graduate education to a master's degree in a related field (e.g. computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management).
-OR-
Superior Academic Achievement as demonstrated by a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with one of the following. Degree must be in computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management or degree that provided a minimum of 24 semester hours in one or more of the fields identified above and required the development or adaptation of applications, systems or networks. NOTE It is your responsibility to ensure your application clearly states how you meet one of the provisions below:

• A grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher based on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last 2 full years of undergraduate study;
• A GPA of 3.5 or higher based on a 4.0 scale for required courses completed in a major field of study, or those courses completed in a major field of study during the last two years of undergraduate study;
• Class standing of upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision of the college;
• Membership in a national Scholastic Honor Society certified by the Association of College Honor Societies, excluding freshman honor societies.

-OR-
A combination of related graduate-level education and specialized experience.
To qualify for the GS-9 level:
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as follows:

• providing IT customer service and resolving application problems; and
• supporting configuration, maintenance, and administration of applications using Microsoft development tools; and
• and following established procedures to resolve basic system issues.

-OR-
Education: a Master's or equivalent graduate degree in a related field (e.g. computer science, engineering, information science, information systems management, mathematics, operations research, statistics, or technology management); OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree; OR LL.B. or J.D., if related.
-OR-
A combination of both experience and education.
For more information see link: Information Technology Management Series 2210
Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.
PROGRAM COMPLETION AND CONVERSION: Upon completion of the minimum 1-year career development program, Program participants may, at agency discretion, be non-competitively converted without a break in service, to a career or career conditional appointment. There is no guarantee for conversion.
To be eligible for conversion, Recent Graduates must:

• Successfully complete the one-year developmental period identified.
• Demonstrate successful job performance.
• Meet the Office of Personnel Management's qualifications for the position to which the Recent Graduate will be converted.
• Complete 40 hours of formal interactive training within developmental period.
• Sign a Pathways Programs Participant Agreement upon appointment.
• Meet established goals outlined in the Recent Graduate's Individual Development Plan (IDP).
• Recommended by supervisor/manager for conversion to permanent OR term position.

Additional Pathways Programs information can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/students-recent-graduates/#url=Overview
Education
For qualification purposes, an academic year is computed as follows:

• At the undergraduate level, successfully completed education that has not led to possession of a degree is credited based on its relationship to 120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours. For example, 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours is comparable to 1 year of undergraduate education. Four years of progressive study or 120 semester hours meets the degree requirements. Additional credit cannot be given for duplicate course work.
• For study at a business or technical school, 36 weeks of study (20+ classroom hours per week) is comparable to 1 academic year above high school.
• An academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 academic year of full-time study. This determination is made based on normal course loads for a full year of study in the graduate program. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended.
• When academic credit is expressed in contract months, units, or other terms that differ from conventional semester or quarter hours, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide an interpretation of such credits from the appropriate institution in order to equate them to the semester or quarter hours specified in the standard. NOTE: If your college, vocational, trade, technical or high schools' definition of "academic year" differs from above, you must submit proof of this difference (e.g., copy of course catalog that defines an academic year). Absent this documentation, you will screened for academic qualifications based on the academic hours as defined in the bullets above.

Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be combined to meet the total qualification requirements. Only education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used.
The Pathways Recent Graduate Program requires education, as described in the Qualifications Section, above.
DOCUMENTATION: You must submit an transcript or unofficial list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completed or anticipated completion date, and quarter and semester hours earned. See the Required Documents section.
GENERAL EDUCATION: All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at an institution that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for it to be credited towards qualifications. For a list of schools that meet these