Individual Occupational Requirements for
GS-1040: Language Specialist Series
The text below is extracted verbatim from
Section IV-B of the Operating Manual for Qualification Standards
for General Schedule Positions (p.IV-B-159), but contains minor edits
to conform to web-page requirements.
Use these individual occupational requirements in conjunction with
the "Group Coverage Qualification Standard for
Administrative and Management Positions."
EDUCATION
Major study--the appropriate
foreign language from an English-speaking college or university, English from a college or
university in the other country, or translating or interpreting where English and the foreign
language were prerequisites.
OR
EXPERIENCE
Knowledge of both English and
the appropriate foreign language are required. This knowledge may be demonstrated through education,
experience, or a combination of the two for entry level positions as listed below:
English
- Three years of work experience requiring considerable use of English.
- A full 4-year course in a college or university in any subject where the instruction was
primarily in English.
- Experience in speaking English where English was the second language in the high school
system of a non-English speaking country.
Foreign Language
- Experience in speaking or writing in the language because it was the language (a) in which
the applicant was educated (through the high school level), (b) of the household, or (c) in
which the applicant worked for a long period of time, including service in the Armed Forces.
- A full 4-year course in an accredited college or university in a country where the foreign
language required for the position to be filled is the native language.
Experience in
translating, interpreting, or other work requiring the use of English and the other language; or a
combination of work (that required English and the other language) and training at the Defense
Language Institute, Foreign Service Institute, or comparable training.
The following are examples of work in the required language that may have provided the required
abilities: translator; interpreter; librarian or information specialist required to make abstracts,
screen, index, and scan material; intelligence; writer or editor; international organizational work,
such as the Peace Corps, World Bank, United Nations, business, or other organizations; or professor,
teacher, or instructor work at the high school or college level that required use of the foreign
language.
TESTING PROVISIONS
Agencies may test applicants for foreign language proficiency on a pass/fail basis prior to
appointment. Agencies must document the connection between the level of proficiency required and
the duties of the position to be filled. Test material for applicants for the same position or
grade level should be equally difficult, and should be selected from typical work-related
documents.
|
