Irrigation System Operation
Federal headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison for the Irrigation System Operation occupation series (code 0459), drawn directly from the OPM FedScope dataset (June 2026).
The verdict
Irrigation System Operation is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 63 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Biological Sciences Group family. At an average salary of $54,438 it pays below the federal average, and headcount declined from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- -1.6%
- Pay change
- +0.3%
- Avg tenure
- 14.6 yrs
- Rank in family
- #28 of 31
FedScope read on Irrigation System Operation (thin series)
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Headcount moved down 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. As for pay, the latest move was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
Irrigation System Operation sits inside the Biological Sciences Group family (code 04), which contains 31 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Irrigation System Operation postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Biological Sciences Group family. The Biological Sciences Group family totals 67,961 employees, and Irrigation System Operation accounts for 0.1% of them.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Irrigation System Operation pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$54,438
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-53.6%
Where Irrigation System Operation ranks on lean federal pay
Irrigation System Operation earns more on average than 8% of federal occupation series (44 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Irrigation System Operation sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Irrigation System Operation.
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 peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Irrigation System Operation outside the Biological Sciences Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar thin headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (63 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($54,438 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Irrigation System Operation 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 Irrigation System Operation 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.