Series 0499

Biological Science Student Trainee

Student trainees in biological science fields who work for a federal agency while enrolled in school. These jobs can lead to a permanent job after graduation.

Plain-language description based on the OPM series definition.

0400 Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences Group · General Schedule

See open 0499 jobs on USAJOBS Compare with another series Back to Series Directory

At a glance

Job postings, last 12 months: 46
Open now: 19
Trend (last 3 months vs. 3 before): Rising (+800%)
Demand score: 47/100
Remote opportunity score: 95/100
Veteran opportunity score: 7/100

What these scores mean

Grades and pay

Typical grades

GS-2 to GS-9

Most common promotion potential: GS-4

GS pay plan, used by 97% of this series' postings.

Typical posted salary range

$35,749 to $53,610 per year

Median of the yearly salary ranges in posted announcements.

Who can apply

Share of job postings in the last 12 months, by who the announcement was open to.

Open to the public: 7%
Federal employees and other special groups only: 93%
Listed a veterans hiring path: 0%
Telework eligible (open now): 95%
Fully remote (open now): 0%

Who is hiring and where

Top hiring departments

Department of Agriculture (20)
Department of the Interior (16)
Other Agencies and Independent Organizations (5)
Department of Energy (1)
Department of the Air Force (1)

Top states

California (8)
Washington (8)
North Dakota (5)
Puerto Rico (5)
Arizona (4)

Hiring patterns

Based on job announcements since Mar 2017. How patterns are calculated

When this series usually posts jobs

Postings usually peak in October, March, and January and are lowest in July and June.

Typical postings for series 0499 by calendar month, compared with an average month
Month	Compared with an average month
January	12% above average
February	11% above average
March	17% above average
April	About average
May	18% below average
June	19% below average
July	23% below average
August	13% below average
September	16% below average
October	73% above average
November	17% below average
December	6% below average

Postings by fiscal year

The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30. Fiscal years 2025 and 2026 include the government-wide hiring freeze that began in January 2025.

Job announcements for series 0499 by fiscal year
Fiscal year	Postings
FY 2018	241
FY 2019	210
FY 2020	193
FY 2021	179
FY 2022	207
FY 2023	190
FY 2024	148
FY 2025	53
FY 2026	22

Postings by month, last 12 months

Job announcements for series 0499 opened each month
Month	Postings
Dec 2025	3
Jan 2026	4
Feb 2026	3
Mar 2026	3
Apr 2026	2
May 2026	1
Jun 2026	0
Jul 2026	2
Aug 2026	0
Sep 2026	0
Oct 2026	27
Nov 2026 (month to date)	1

0401 General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences 1,076 postings in 12 months
0456 Wildland Fire Management 784 postings in 12 months
0404 Biological Science Technician 456 postings in 12 months
0462 Forestry Technician 213 postings in 12 months
0457 Soil Conservation 103 postings in 12 months

About this data

Job numbers come from the USAJOBS API: 244,223 job announcements opened from December 1, 2025 to November 15, 2026, plus 12,260 announcements open on November 15, 2026. Canceled announcements are not counted. Series descriptions summarize the OPM Handbook of Occupational Groups and Families.

These figures describe posted job announcements, not hiring outcomes. Always read the official announcement and its qualification requirements before applying. How the scores are calculated.