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OPM FedScope March 2025 Biological Sciences Group

Biological Science Student Trainee

Everything OPM FedScope (March 2025) reports about the Biological Science Student Trainee occupation series (code 499): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.

The verdict

Biological Science Student Trainee is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 453 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Biological Sciences Group family. At an average salary of $41,294 it pays below the federal average of $109,869, and headcount declined 23.2% from the prior period.

Employees
453
Share of workforce
0.0%
Avg salary
$41,294
Avg tenure
1.6 yrs

What the Numbers Say About Biological Science Student Trainee

As of the March 2025 reporting window, 453 people work in the Biological Science Student Trainee occupation (OPM code 499) across federal agencies, 0.0% of the 2,289,472-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -23.2% from the prior period, though at this small a headcount, year-to-year swings can reflect a handful of hires or departures rather than a broad hiring trend.

Average tenure in Biological Science Student Trainee runs 1.6 years, a comparatively short average tenure, which can reflect faster turnover, a competitive private-sector alternative, or a newer program still building up its workforce. Pay averages $41,294 per year, 62.4% below the $109,869 federal civilian average and up 3.1% from the prior period, a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce.

Code 4, the Biological Sciences Group family, is where the federal government classifies Biological Science Student Trainee alongside 30 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Biological Science Student Trainee postings should also review these sibling occupations, since federal hiring managers often cross-post positions across closely related codes when recruitment is difficult. All figures here come directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes, the same official source referenced in federal workforce planning, budget justifications, and GAO reports.

Biological Science Student Trainee makes up 0.7% of the 69,668 employees across the Biological Sciences Group family, ranking #20 of 31 occupations in that family by headcount.

Employees

453

-23.2% from prior period

Average Salary

$41,294

+3.1%

Avg Length of Service

1.6 yrs

Occupation Family

Biological Sciences Group

Salary Context

How Biological Science Student Trainee pay compares to the federal average of $109,869

Occupation Average

$41,294

Federal Average

$109,869

vs. Federal Avg

-62.4%

Where Biological Science Student Trainee ranks on federal pay

Its average salary of $41,294 is higher than 1% of federal occupation series (8 of 634). The highlighted bar marks where Biological Science Student Trainee sits in the federal pay distribution.

$16,074132$63,787308$111,499167$159,21223$206,9242$254,6372
Distribution of average salary across all 634 federal occupation series (OPM FedScope) - Biological Science Student Trainee is in the highlighted range.

Average-salary distribution across all 634 federal occupation series; Biological Science Student Trainee ranks higher than 1%.

Source: OPM FedScope Employment Cubes As of March 2025

10 other occupations in the same family

Occupation Employees Avg Salary
General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences 28,385 $115,600
Forestry Technician 11,381 $55,040
Biological Science Technician 5,597 $55,254
Soil Conservation 4,882 $84,996
Wildlife Biology 2,082 $95,599
Fish Biology 1,992 $114,066
Microbiology 1,940 $140,441
Wildland Fire Management 1,908 $69,817
Forestry 1,870 $86,729
Ecology 1,260 $118,786

Frequently Asked Questions

How many federal employees work as Biological Science Student Trainee?
There are 453 federal employees in the Biological Science Student Trainee occupation as of March 2025. This represents 0.0% of the total federal civilian workforce.
What is the average salary for Biological Science Student Trainee in the federal government?
Compared to the $109,869 federal-wide average, Biological Science Student Trainee pays 62.4% less: an average of $41,294 per year.
What occupation family does Biological Science Student Trainee belong to?
The Biological Sciences Group family (code 4) is home to Biological Science Student Trainee (code 499) and 30 other occupations.
What is the average length of service for Biological Science Student Trainee?
Biological Science Student Trainee employees stay an average of 1.6 years, compared with the 11.8-year federal-wide average.
Is the Biological Science Student Trainee workforce growing or shrinking?
A decline of 23.2% from the prior period put the Biological Science Student Trainee occupation at 453 employees, down roughly 137 positions.
How does Biological Science Student Trainee pay compare to private sector salaries?
The federal average salary for Biological Science Student Trainee is $41,294, 62.4% below the $109,869 federal-wide average. For private-sector benchmarks in this field, see the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program.

Data Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) FedScope Employment Cubes, March 2025. Federal civilian non-seasonal full-time and part-time employees. Data does not include military personnel, postal workers, or intelligence agency staff. Last updated: 2026-03-10.

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainGovJobs

PlainGovJobs is rendered directly from OPM FedScope federal-workforce data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on OPM FedScope occupation-level employment records. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.