Biological Science Student Trainee
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Biological Science Student Trainee occupation series (code 0499): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
Biological Science Student Trainee is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 202 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Biological Sciences Group family. At an average salary of $42,777 it pays below the federal average, and headcount grew from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- +17.4%
- Pay change
- -2.0%
- Avg tenure
- 2.5 yrs
- Rank in family
- #23 of 31
What the Numbers Say About Biological Science Student Trainee
On pay, the move between reporting periods was a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce. On length of service, this series shows a comparatively short average tenure, which can reflect faster turnover, a competitive private-sector alternative, or a newer program still building up its workforce. Headcount moved up versus 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.
Code 04, 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 in the Biological Sciences Group family. The Biological Sciences Group family totals 67,961 employees, and Biological Science Student Trainee accounts for 0.3% of them.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Biological Science Student Trainee pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$42,777
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-63.5%
Where Biological Science Student Trainee ranks on lean federal pay
Biological Science Student Trainee earns more on average than 1% of federal occupation series (7 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Biological Science Student Trainee sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Biological Science Student Trainee.
Related Occupations in Biological Sciences Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences | 23,662 | $124,641 | 14 yrs |
| Forestry Technician | 11,090 | $61,659 | 8.7 yrs |
| Wildland Fire Management | 9,667 | $64,457 | 7 yrs |
| Biological Science Technician | 5,212 | $56,618 | 8.9 yrs |
| Soil Conservation | 4,101 | $89,391 | 13.8 yrs |
| Wildlife Biology | 1,868 | $95,468 | 16.3 yrs |
| Fish Biology | 1,629 | $116,550 | 16.2 yrs |
| Microbiology | 1,629 | $143,306 | 16.3 yrs |
| Forestry | 1,626 | $88,902 | 15.1 yrs |
| Ecology | 989 | $122,664 | 16.1 yrs |
Nationwide occupation series with similar scale or pay
Two peer sets for Biological Science Student Trainee outside the Biological Sciences Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (202 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($42,777 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Biological Science Student Trainee pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the Biological Sciences Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Biological Science Student Trainee postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.