Guide
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (March 2025), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Guide occupation series (code 90).
The verdict
With 710 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce), Guide ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family, and headcount declined 9.7% from the prior period. Its average salary of $46,319 pays below the $109,869 federal average.
- Employees
- 710
- Share of workforce
- 0.0%
- Avg salary
- $46,319
- Avg tenure
- 6.2 yrs
What the Numbers Say About Guide
As of the March 2025 reporting window, 710 people work in the Guide occupation (OPM code 90) across federal agencies, 0.0% of the 2,289,472-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved down by -9.7% from the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.
Guide pays $46,319 per year on average, 57.8% below the $109,869 federal civilian average, after moving up 4.1% from the prior period (a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce). Employees in this role stay an average of 6.2 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.
Code 0, the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family, is where the federal government classifies Guide alongside 25 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Guide 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.
Inside the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family (26 occupations, 105,611 employees combined), Guide holds the #14 spot by headcount, a 0.7% share of the family total. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (4th percentile) of pay among Miscellaneous Occupations Group occupations.
Employees
710
-9.7% from prior period
Average Salary
$46,319
+4.1%
Avg Length of Service
6.2 yrs
Occupation Family
Miscellaneous Occupations Group
Salary Context
How Guide pay compares to the federal average of $109,869
Occupation Average
$46,319
Federal Average
$109,869
vs. Federal Avg
-57.8%
Where Guide ranks on federal pay
Its average salary of $46,319 is higher than 4% of federal occupation series (24 of 634). The highlighted bar marks where Guide sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 634 federal occupation series; Guide ranks higher than 4%.
Related Occupations in Miscellaneous Occupations Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Security Administration | 20,053 | $115,362 | 12.4 yrs |
| Correctional Officer | 15,996 | $72,749 | 9.1 yrs |
| Police | 13,676 | $80,813 | 9.6 yrs |
| Emergency Management Specialist | 13,667 | $95,989 | 7.5 yrs |
| Fire Protection and Prevention | 9,509 | $67,840 | 11.7 yrs |
| Safety and Occupational Health Management | 6,680 | $110,678 | 13.8 yrs |
| Environmental Protection Specialist | 5,807 | $117,989 | 13.5 yrs |
| Security Guard | 4,887 | $55,256 | 7.9 yrs |
| Security Clerical and Assistance | 3,994 | $60,589 | 10.2 yrs |
| Park Ranger | 3,762 | $85,055 | 14.1 yrs |
Frequently Asked Questions
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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.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
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.