Instrument Making
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Instrument Making occupation series (code 3314), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
With 1 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce), Instrument Making ranks as a smaller, specialized federal occupation within the Instrument Work Family family. Its average salary of n/a pays below the $117,339 federal average.
- Employees
- 1
- Share of workforce
- 0.0%
- Avg salary
- n/a
- Avg tenure
- 30.8 yrs
FedScope read on Instrument Making (thin series)
As of the June 2026 reporting window, 1 people work in the Instrument Making occupation (OPM code 3314) across federal agencies, 0.0% of the 1,953,300-strong federal civilian workforce. Headcount moved sideways by 0.0% 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.
Instrument Making pays n/a per year on average, moving down 0.0% from the prior period (a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change). Employees in this role stay an average of 30.8 years, a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.
Instrument Making sits inside the Instrument Work Family family (code 33), which contains 5 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Instrument Making postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Instrument Work Family family.
Instrument Making makes up 0.1% of the 718 employees across the Instrument Work Family family, ranking #5 of 5 occupations in that family by headcount.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Instrument Making pay compares to the federal average of $117,339
Occupation Average
n/a
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-100.0%
Where Instrument Making ranks on lean federal pay
Its average salary of n/a is higher than 0% of federal occupation series (0 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Instrument Making sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; Instrument Making ranks higher than 0%.
Related Occupations in Instrument Work Family
4 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instrument Mechanic | 330 | $58,348 | 12.8 yrs |
| Precision Measurement Equipment Calibrating | 318 | $91,703 | 15.3 yrs |
| Optical Instrument Repairing | 66 | n/a | 12.7 yrs |
| Miscellaneous Instrument Work | 3 | $85,233 | 16.5 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Instrument Making outside the Instrument Work Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar thin headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (1 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families (n/a here).
Key takeaways
- Instrument Making pays below the federal average by 100.0% (n/a vs $117,339 federal-wide), at the 0th percentile for pay among 541 tracked occupation series.
- A smaller, specialized federal occupation by headcount: 1 employees, 0.0% of the federal civilian workforce.
- According to OPM FedScope June 2026, Instrument Making ranks #660 of 663 federal occupation series by headcount (the same employee_count ordering as our occupations directory).
- Instrument Making makes up 0.1% of the 718 employees across the Instrument Work Family family, ranking #5 of 5 occupations in that family by headcount.
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.