U.S. Office of Personnel Mgt.

United States Office of Personnel Management

Operating Manual

Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions

Individual Occupational Requirements for

GS-688:    Sanitarian 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-125), but contains minor edits to conform to web-page requirements.

This is an individual qualification standard.

Basic Requirements:
Education (for GS-5 positions): A full 4-year course of study that meets all the requirements for a bachelor's degree, and that included or was supplemented by at least 30 semester hours in a science or any combination of sciences directly related to environmental health (such as sanitary science, public health, chemistry, microbiology, or any appropriate agricultural, biological, or physical science).

OR

Experience (for GS-5 positions): Four years of experience in inspectional, investigational, technical support, or other responsible work that provided a knowledge and a fundamental understanding of, and the ability to use, environmental health principles, methods, and techniques equivalent to that which would have been gained through a 4-year college curriculum.

OR

A combination of education and experience as described above.

Additional Requirements for Grades GS-7 and Above:
In addition to meeting the basic requirements, applicants for positions at grades GS-7 and above must have the amounts of education and/or experience required for the grade level as shown in the following table.
GRADE EDUCATION OR EXPERIENCE
GS-7 1 full year of graduate level education related to environmental health or superior academic achievement 1 year of experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 level
GS-9 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education or master's or equivalent graduate degree related to environmental health 1 year of experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 level
GS-11 Completion of all requirements for a doctoral degree (Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent) or 3 full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education 1 year of experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level
GS-12 and above None 1 year of experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level
Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for all grade levels for which both education and experience are acceptable.

Evaluation of Education: Examples of qualifying education related to environmental health include study in such fields as sanitary science, public health, chemistry, microbiology, or agricultural, biological, or physical sciences appropriate to the position to be filled.

Evaluation of Experience: Qualifying specialized experience is experience in developing, evaluating, and advising on programs designed to prevent and eliminate environmental health hazards. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include analyzing substances to determine contamination or the presence of disease, or resolving environmental health problems through collection, tabulation, and evaluation of environmental sanitation data and development and implementation of plans to eliminate or control environmental health hazards.

Page created 22 March 1999