Series 0102

Social Science Aid and Technician

Social science technicians who collect data, conduct interviews, and support research or social programs under the direction of professionals. Most jobs are at Veterans Affairs.

Plain-language description based on the OPM series definition.

0100 Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group · General Schedule

See open 0102 jobs on USAJOBS Compare with another series Back to Series Directory

At a glance

Job postings, last 12 months: 318
Open now: 17
Trend (last 3 months vs. 3 before): Falling (-14%)
Demand score: 78/100
Remote opportunity score: 35/100
Veteran opportunity score: 92/100

What these scores mean

Grades and pay

Typical grades

GS-5 to GS-9

Most common promotion potential: GS-9

GS pay plan, used by 96% of this series' postings.

Typical posted salary range

$47,500 to $80,243 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: 17%
Federal employees and other special groups only: 83%
Listed a veterans hiring path: 77%
Telework eligible (open now): 35%
Fully remote (open now): 0%

Who is hiring and where

Top hiring departments

Department of Veterans Affairs (255)
Department of the Interior (40)
Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for DC (14)
Department of Health and Human Services (3)
Department of the Navy (3)

Top states

California (49)
Texas (28)
South Dakota (19)
District of Columbia (17)
North Carolina (17)

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 January and are lowest in June and May.

Typical postings for series 0102 by calendar month, compared with an average month
Month	Compared with an average month
January	17% above average
February	9% below average
March	20% above average
April	7% above average
May	11% below average
June	11% below average
July	5% below average
August	About average
September	5% below average
October	7% above average
November	About 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.

Job announcements for series 0102 by fiscal year
Fiscal year	Postings
FY 2018	291
FY 2019	365
FY 2020	277
FY 2021	344
FY 2022	718
FY 2023	654
FY 2024	486
FY 2025	267
FY 2026	326

Postings by month, last 12 months

Job announcements for series 0102 opened each month
Month	Postings
Dec 2025	27
Jan 2026	32
Feb 2026	45
Mar 2026	32
Apr 2026	33
May 2026	22
Jun 2026	20
Jul 2026	28
Aug 2026	14
Sep 2026	19
Oct 2026	27
Nov 2026 (month to date)	19

0185 Social Work 4,756 postings in 12 months
0189 Recreation Aid and Assistant 3,802 postings in 12 months
0101 Social Science 2,569 postings in 12 months
0180 Psychology 2,229 postings in 12 months
0132 Intelligence 1,800 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.