Series 1313

Geophysics

Geophysicists who study the earth's physical properties, such as gravity, magnetism, and seismic activity, to map resources and hazards.

Plain-language description based on the OPM series definition.

1300 Physical Sciences Group · General Schedule

See open 1313 jobs on USAJOBS Compare with another series Back to Series Directory

At a glance

Job postings, last 12 months: 34
Open now: 1
Trend (last 3 months vs. 3 before): Rising (+167%)
Demand score: 42/100
Remote opportunity score: Not enough data
Veteran opportunity score: 88/100

What these scores mean

Grades and pay

Typical grades

GS-11 to GS-14

Most common promotion potential: GS-12

GS pay plan, used by 71% of this series' postings.

Typical posted salary range

$118,675 to $161,938 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: 44%
Federal employees and other special groups only: 56%
Listed a veterans hiring path: 47%
Telework eligible (open now): 0%
Fully remote (open now): 0%

Who is hiring and where

Top hiring departments

Department of the Interior (11)
Department of the Navy (8)
Department of the Air Force (6)
Department of the Army (6)
Department of Commerce (2)

Top states

Mississippi (11)
Colorado (8)
Florida (5)
Hawaii (2)
Louisiana (2)

Hiring patterns

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

When this series usually posts jobs

Postings are spread fairly evenly through the year, so there is no clear best month to look.

Typical postings for series 1313 by calendar month, compared with an average month
Month	Compared with an average month
January	8% below average
February	About average
March	8% above average
April	About average
May	About average
June	About average
July	About average
August	13% above average
September	About average
October	7% above average
November	14% 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 1313 by fiscal year
Fiscal year	Postings
FY 2018	81
FY 2019	99
FY 2020	91
FY 2021	79
FY 2022	75
FY 2023	90
FY 2024	95
FY 2025	28
FY 2026	30

Postings by month, last 12 months

Job announcements for series 1313 opened each month
Month	Postings
Dec 2025	2
Jan 2026	0
Feb 2026	1
Mar 2026	6
Apr 2026	2
May 2026	4
Jun 2026	1
Jul 2026	1
Aug 2026	6
Sep 2026	7
Oct 2026	3
Nov 2026 (month to date)	1

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
1311 Physical Science Technician 126 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.