MBA Jobs in the Federal Government

The Federal Structure

Federal jobs for MBA graduates and others are posted by the individual government agencies. Resumes are collected during a period of time when the application process remains open. There are two types of Federal job classifications; competitive and excepted. Competitive jobs are subject to civil service laws passed by Congress to ensure that applicants and employees receive fair and equal treatment in the hiring process. Excepted service agencies have their own requirements and are not subject to the same laws as competitive positions other than Veterans' preference, a classification that awards Veteran's points on their application.

Some Federal agencies have only excepted positions while others have only competitive positions. The majority of the U.S. agencies have a mixture of positions. There are also levels or grades within the government. Each position is ranked in grade and then in step. There are 15 grades so a job can be considered GS-1 through GS-15. There are five executive levels. There are several steps within each level and generally, employees work their way through each step in order to get to the next level.

MBA Jobs in the Government

Business school graduates are valuable to the Federal government and act in a diverse number of roles. Analyst positions exist in many of the agencies so that the material being analyzed will vary. With advanced analytical skills, individuals who have completed their MBA at a leading university or business school will have the ability to apply to several positions at the GS-7 level or above. MBA job applicants with advanced management training from their university or business school may be qualified to apply for higher positions at the GS-9 level and above. In general, senior management positions are ranked at GS-11 and higher.