I don’t know about everyone else, but when I first started perusing USAJobs for jobs to apply to I took one look at the General Pay Scale and went “what the hell does this mean”? I had no idea what I could or couldn’t apply to, other than GS15 seemed to pay pretty well for government work, so it clearly couldn’t apply to lowly entry-level me. I’m pretty sure that first time resulted in me immediately closing the window and tabbing back over to facebook. Needless to say, the job search this year has been rife with denial and emotional shut downs at the sheer prospect of educating myself on absolutely everything related to law jobs (and procuring one) overwhelmed me.
So I did what any self-respecting student born in the internet age would do – I googled. And then I googled some more. And then I came across this lovely gem of an article: The Ultimate Guide to the GS Page Scale. Complete with FAQ.
The most helpful/relevant section for budding law grads was the discussion on how to determine where you stand on the pay scale if you’re not already within the system.
The run down:
- GS-9: MA/MS, J.D/LLM
- GS-11: Ph.D, Equivalent doctoral degree (which arguably a J.D. qualifies as), or 3 academic years of progressively higher level graduate education
What does this translate to practically? Most newly-minted J.D.s are hired at GS-9, and then bumped to GS-11 with bar passage. Also, if you see a job listed at GS-11 and it doesn’t absolutely require bar passage to begin with, you should probably apply for it. Additionally some GS-11 and GS-12 attorney positions allow you to substitute experience in internships, judicial clerkships, and your position on things like Journal or moot court for the total years of work experience if you don’t yet have bar passage.
Lesson: Don’t discount yourself too early and read job postings carefully. Further, most postings on USAJobs have a contact name with an email where you can send questions. When in doubt, ask someone.
Missing, Presumed Unemployed 