Start a Career with The Federal Government

The Federal Goverment is the largest employer in the US with 2,698,989
employees in September 2007. Jobs with the Federal Government are categorized into six major clusters - Professional, Administrative, Technical, Clerical, Other White Collar and Blue Collar. Knowing the job clusters will help job seekers know where to apply.

Fedscope.opm.gov has details on the number of employees hired per category, per year.

Professional Careers
Work requiring formal education or training from an accredited college or university. Examples of careers are Social Workers, IRS Agents and Nurses.39, 923 hired in 2006.

Administrative Careers
Work requiring analytical abilities and the application of knowledge gained through higher education or prior work experience. Career options include para legals, budget analysts and HR specialists. 47, 123 workers hired in 2006

Technical Careers
Occupations providing support to professional and administrative employees. The work typically requires extensive knowledge acquired through extensive training. Career options include accounting technicians and compliance technicians. 54,806 workers hired in 2006

Clerical Careers
Clerical workers for the Federal Government provide government office support. They are invaluable to operations as they answer phones, compile data and maintain and organize office files. 50,713 workers hired in 2006.

Other White Collar Careers
These jobs do not fit the typical occupations above and require specialized training and knowledge. Careers in this federal job category include police and correctional officers. 12,314 hired in 2006

Blue Collar Jobs
This job category covers all trade, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled staff. Some of the most common blue collar jobs in the Federal Government include mechanics, warehouse workers etc. 32,574 hired in this group in 2006.