Series 0401

General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences

Biologists and natural resource specialists whose work doesn't fit a more specific series, such as managing natural resources, environmental programs, and biological research.

Plain-language description based on the OPM series definition.

0400 Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences Group · General Schedule

See open 0401 jobs on USAJOBS Compare with another series Back to Series Directory

At a glance

Job postings, last 12 months: 1,076
Open now: 46
Trend (last 3 months vs. 3 before): Rising (+49%)
Demand score: 92/100
Remote opportunity score: 76/100
Veteran opportunity score: 66/100

What these scores mean

Grades and pay

Typical grades

GS-9 to GS-13

Most common promotion potential: GS-13

GS pay plan, used by 89% of this series' postings.

Typical posted salary range

$101,811 to $138,370 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: 43%
Federal employees and other special groups only: 57%
Listed a veterans hiring path: 24%
Telework eligible (open now): 76%
Fully remote (open now): 0%

Who is hiring and where

Top hiring departments

Department of the Army (235)
Department of Agriculture (193)
Department of the Interior (188)
Other Agencies and Independent Organizations (134)
Department of Homeland Security (77)

Top states

California (115)
Maryland (105)
Texas (93)
District of Columbia (74)
Colorado (68)

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 0401 by calendar month, compared with an average month
Month	Compared with an average month
January	10% below average
February	About average
March	About average
April	About average
May	About average
June	9% above average
July	About average
August	9% above average
September	5% above average
October	About average
November	6% below average
December	17% 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 0401 by fiscal year
Fiscal year	Postings
FY 2018	2,644
FY 2019	3,144
FY 2020	3,255
FY 2021	3,125
FY 2022	3,951
FY 2023	4,218
FY 2024	3,896
FY 2025	1,222
FY 2026	917

Postings by month, last 12 months

Job announcements for series 0401 opened each month
Month	Postings
Dec 2025	21
Jan 2026	29
Feb 2026	63
Mar 2026	71
Apr 2026	98
May 2026	83
Jun 2026	105
Jul 2026	109
Aug 2026	147
Sep 2026	160
Oct 2026	136
Nov 2026 (month to date)	54

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
0486 Wildlife Biology 102 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.