Social Science Student Trainee Economist, ZP-0199-II, BEA Pathways-MB

Duties
Summary

This vacancy is for a Social Science Student Trainee Economist position with the team working on the estimation of Puerto Rico GDP and related measures in the Office of the Director located at the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Social Science Student Trainee Economist, ZP-0199-II, FPL Band III positions within the Bureau of Economic Analysis in the same geographic location with the same qualifications and specialized experience.

Responsibilities

• Compile and tabulate data from various federal, state/territorial, municipal, and private data sources.
• Use data manipulation and analysis tools, such as Excel, SAS, STATA or SPSS.
• Examine data for reliability, timeliness, and comparability among primary and secondary sources.
• Investigate and resolve issues in data sources.
• Identify anomalies and outliers in data sources.
• Present data in tables, charts, and spreadsheets.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status

No

Promotion Potential

03 – If this position is filled at a level below the full performance level, the selectee may be promoted without further competition. This implies no promise or guarantee of a promotion.

• Job family (Series)0199 Social Science Student Trainee
• Requirements

  Requirements
  Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizen.
• Suitable for Federal Employment.
• Registered for Selective Service System, if applicable. (www.sss.gov)
• Maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher.
• You Must sign a Pathways Agreement.
• Applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

  
  If a degree has been obtained, please include a letter of acceptance into another degree or certificate program to show proof of eligibility.

  This position will be filled under the Pathways Internship Program. This Program allows students to gain paid work experience while pursuing a degree, diploma or certificate at a qualifying institution. Under the Pathways Program, students who successfully complete all work, study, qualifications, and other eligibility requirements may be offered a permanent position work our agency upon graduation or completion of a qualifying certificate.

  At the Agency’s discretion, students hired under the Pathways Program may be non-competitively converted to a term, career, or career-conditional appointment with a possible Full Performance Level (FPL) of Band III (GS-11/12) (FPL varies based on hiring department).

  This position is in the excepted service.

  This position is non-bargaining unit unless the appointment extends beyond 90 days.

  This position may be eligible for telework; additional criteria will be required (e.g., supervisory approval).

  Qualifications

  BASIC ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: You must be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an accredited high school, technical or vocational school, two-year or four-year college or university, graduate or professional school (go to www.ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ to verify accreditation status). Individuals who are enrolled must be taking at least a half-time academic, vocational, or technical course load leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate. Applicants must have at least a 3.0 GPA.

  1. Degree: economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus.

  OR

  2. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

  Grade Level Requirements:

  Band II (GS-7 level): In addition to meeting the Basic Entry Requirements above, applicants must have the education listed below.

  Completion of 1 full academic year of graduate level education (18 credit hours, 27 quarter hours); or Eligibility under the Superior Academic Achievement Provision and completion of a bachelor’s degree.

  S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership.

  1. Class standing – Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. (Applicant will need to show proof of his/her class standing -Recommended that you submitt proof along with your documents)

  2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.)- Applicants must have a grade-point average of: a. 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 (“B” or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or b. 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 (“B+” or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.

  3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society – Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies. These honor societies are listed by the Association of College Honor Societies. (Recommended that you identify in your resume/documents which honor society you are associated with)

  -OR-

  Experience: For the Band II/ (GS-07), you must have one year of experience at a level of difficulty and equivalent to the Band I/(GS-05) grade level in the Federal service.

  Examples of specialized experience include: preparing basic reports to present economic data; individual economic basic research assignments requiring planning, information assembly, analysis and evaluation and conclusions or requiring the basic evaluation and interpretation of economic information.

  
  OR

  Combination of education and experience, as described above.

  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.

  Education

  Additional information

  The following links provide information on various hiring authorities that do not fall under competitive examining procedures; however, they may enable you to apply through merit assignment procedures, or be eligible for a non-competitive appointment.

• VRA (GS-11 or below)
• VEOA (permanent positions)
• 30% or more disabled veteran
• Persons with disabilities
• CTAP
• ICTAP
• The Department of Commerce provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the Human Resources Office. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis. TTY users can contact the Human Resources Office via the Federal Relay Service, 1-800-877-8339.

   

  How You Will Be Evaluated

  You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

  Your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation will be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the job opportunity announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire (True/False, Yes/No, Multiple Choice questions). Your resume and/or optional cover letter must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. The best-qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

  How you will be evaluated for preference eligibility: Within each category, those entitled to veterans’ preference will be listed at the top of the pre-defined category for which they are placed.

  The scored occupational questionnaire will evaluate you on the following competencies; please do not provide a separate written response:

  The following competencies are desirable at the full performance level of this position Band III.

• Ability to collect, compile and manipulate economic data using statistical or econometric techniques.
• Ability to compile and manipulate data using spreadsheets and time series database applications.
• Skill in analyzing statistical/economic data.
• Knowledge of economics and of the techniques and methods to identify data anomalies.
• For more information on category rating, please go to: http://www.hr.commerce.gov/s/groups/public/@doc/@cfpasa/@phrm/documents/content/prod01_009474.pdf

  We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process.

  
  Do NOT include the following types of information in your application:
  

• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Date of Birth (DOB)
• Photos of yourself (if included on your resume you will not be considered for this position)
• Personal information: such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
• To preview questions please click here.

  Background checks and security clearance
  Security clearance

  Other

  Drug test required

  No

  Position sensitivity and risk

  Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

  Trust determination process

• Required Documents

  Required Documents

  A complete application consists of the following:

• Resume showing relevant experience; cover letter optional. Your resume should list your educational and work experience including the dates (mm/dd/yy) of each employment along with the number of hours worked per week. For work in the Federal service, please include the grade level for the position(s). Your resume may be used to validate your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire. Your resume should also indicate your citizenship and if you are registered with the Selective Service System if you are a male born after 12/31/59.
• Veterans’ Preference Documentation: Please indicate on your resume the type of veterans’ preference you are claiming and provide the appropriate supporting documentation (DD-214 stating disposition of discharge or character of service, VA letter, SF-15, etc.) to validate your claim. For more information regarding eligibility requirements, please go to: http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref.index.aspx
• Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) documentation, if applicable (see other information).
• Education Documentation: If this position requires proof of higher education, or you are substituting education for experience, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. This also includes Bureau of Economic Analysis employees. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp for more information.
• You are not required to submit official documents at this times; copies are sufficient.

  
  All applicants to include BEA employees MUST submit a copy of your transcripts. Applicants may need to submit more than one transcript.

  Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcript, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education’s website http://www.ed.gov/international/usnei/us/workrecogdoc. You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.

  
  CTAP AND ICTAP Eligibles

  CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a rating of 85 out of 100. Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management’s Career Transition Resources website at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/ctap_guideline.pdf.

  CTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:

• A copy of your RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a directed geographic relocation outside of the local commuting area; a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES); or certification that you are in a surplus organization or occupation (this could be a position abolishment letter, a notice of eligibility for discontinued service retirement, or similar notice);
• A copy of your SF-50 “Notification of Personnel Action”, noting current position, grade/band level, and duty location;
• A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
• Any documentation from your bureau/operating unit that shows your current promotion potential.
•  

  ICTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:

• A copy of your RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a directed geographic relocation outside of the local commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination, certification from your former agency that it cannot place you after your recovery from a work-related compensable injury; or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement.
• A copy of your SF-50 “Notification of Personnel Action”, documenting your RIF separation, noting your position, grade/band level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through RPL, etc.;
• A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
• Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.
• NOTE: You will not be considered if you fail to provide all required documents.
• Benefits

  Benefits

  A career with the U.S. Government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Learn more about federal benefits.

  Benefits Description:

  Bureau of Economic Analysis offers a comprehensive benefits package. Explore the benefits offered to most Federal employees at https://www.usa.gov/benefits-for-federal-employees.

  Additional benefits available at the Bureau of Economic Analysis located in Suitland, MD, include: fitness center; child-care facility; credit union; free parking; convenient access to Metrorail and Metrobus transit services in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia communities; car pools/van pools; etc.

  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time, or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

Help
This job is open to

• Federal employees – Excepted service
  Current excepted service federal employees.
• Students
  Current students enrolled in accredited educational institutions from high school to graduate level. Includes internships, pathways and other student programs.

Clarification from the agency

This is an internship for students who have recently been accepted in or are currently enrolled at least half-time in a certificate or degree seeking program in an accredited college or university, graduate, or professional school. Half-time is typically 6 semester hours for undergraduates, and 3 semester hours for Masters and above (but may be determined by the school).