Grades and pay
Typical grades
GS-5 to GS-12
Most common promotion potential: GS-11
GS pay plan, used by 75% of this series' postings.
Typical posted salary range
$70,623 to $99,618 per year
Median of the yearly salary ranges in posted announcements.
Series 1311
Physical Science Technician
Physical science technicians who run tests, operate lab and field equipment, and collect data for physical science research. Many jobs are with the Navy.
See open 1311 jobs on USAJOBS Compare with another series Back to Series Directory
At a glance
- Job postings, last 12 months
- 126
- Open now
- 9
- Trend (last 3 months vs. 3 before)
- Falling (-36%)
- Demand score
- 64/100
- Remote opportunity score
- 44/100
- Veteran opportunity score
- 92/100
Grades and pay
Who can apply
Share of job postings in the last 12 months, by who the announcement was open to.
- Open to the public
- 47%
- Federal employees and other special groups only
- 53%
- Listed a veterans hiring path
- 55%
- Telework eligible (open now)
- 44%
- Fully remote (open now)
- 0%
Who is hiring and where
Hiring patterns
Based on job announcements since Mar 2017. How patterns are calculated
When this series usually posts jobs
Postings usually peak in March and August.
| Month | Compared with an average month |
|---|---|
| January | About average |
| February | About average |
| March | 24% above average |
| April | About average |
| May | About average |
| June | 9% below average |
| July | 5% below average |
| August | 13% above average |
| September | 5% below average |
| October | About average |
| November | 7% below average |
| December | 8% 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.
| Fiscal year | Postings |
|---|---|
| FY 2018 | 162 |
| FY 2019 | 224 |
| FY 2020 | 209 |
| FY 2021 | 203 |
| FY 2022 | 220 |
| FY 2023 | 252 |
| FY 2024 | 258 |
| FY 2025 | 107 |
| FY 2026 | 121 |
Postings by month, last 12 months
| Month | Postings |
|---|---|
| Dec 2025 | 8 |
| Jan 2026 | 16 |
| Feb 2026 | 8 |
| Mar 2026 | 17 |
| Apr 2026 | 12 |
| May 2026 | 9 |
| Jun 2026 | 12 |
| Jul 2026 | 15 |
| Aug 2026 | 6 |
| Sep 2026 | 8 |
| Oct 2026 | 9 |
| Nov 2026 | 6 |
Related series in Physical Sciences Group
- 1301 General Physical Science 1,161 postings in 12 months
- 1320 Chemistry 270 postings in 12 months
- 1310 Physics 207 postings in 12 months
- 1350 Geology 166 postings in 12 months
- 1306 Health Physics 114 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.