General Physical Science
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the General Physical Science occupation series (code 1301): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
In the Physical Sciences Group family, General Physical Science counts 8,297 employees, a mid-sized federal occupation at 0.4% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount declined from the prior period; pay averages $145,078, which pays above the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- -1.7%
- Pay change
- +0.1%
- Avg tenure
- 14.6 yrs
- Rank in family
- #1 of 25
FedScope read on General Physical Science (dense series)
Headcount moved down versus the prior period, a useful gauge for job seekers on USAJOBS trying to assess whether this role is expanding government-wide or contracting under hiring freezes and attrition. Pay moved up between the two reporting periods, a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
Code 13, the Physical Sciences Group family, is where the federal government classifies General Physical Science alongside 24 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for General Physical Science postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Physical Sciences Group family. General Physical Science makes up 30.8% of the Physical Sciences Group family's 26,960 combined employees. Its average salary ranks right at the midpoint of pay among Physical Sciences Group occupations.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How General Physical Science pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$145,078
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+23.6%
Where General Physical Science ranks on rich federal pay
General Physical Science earns more on average than 85% of federal occupation series (462 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where General Physical Science sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks General Physical Science.
Related Occupations in Physical Sciences Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chemistry | 4,440 | $149,099 | 14.9 yrs |
| Meteorology | 2,494 | $123,942 | 15.9 yrs |
| Physics | 2,009 | $174,005 | 15.9 yrs |
| Physical Science Technician | 1,577 | $78,820 | 13.3 yrs |
| Hydrology | 1,524 | $116,486 | 17.1 yrs |
| Hydrologic Technician | 1,356 | $76,077 | 12.9 yrs |
| Geology | 1,240 | $124,746 | 14 yrs |
| Health Physics | 746 | $146,649 | 16.4 yrs |
| Cartography | 487 | $120,890 | 16.3 yrs |
| Astronomy and Space Science | 416 | $177,819 | 18 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for General Physical Science outside the Physical Sciences Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (8,297 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($145,078 here).
Key takeaways
- Place General Physical Science 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 Physical Sciences Group family occupations in the table above, or search current General Physical Science 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.