Laboratory Working
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Laboratory Working occupation series (code 3511).
The verdict
Laboratory Working is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 23 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the General Services and Support Work Family family. At an average salary of $50,290 it pays below the federal average.
- Headcount change
- 0.0%
- Pay change
- +1.1%
- Avg tenure
- 10.5 yrs
- Rank in family
- #4 of 5
FedScope read on Laboratory Working (thin series)
On pay, the move between reporting periods was a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement. 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. Headcount moved sideways 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.
Laboratory Working sits inside the General Services and Support Work Family family (code 35), which contains 5 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Laboratory Working postings should also review these sibling occupations in the General Services and Support Work Family family. Across the General Services and Support Work Family family, 14,196 employees work in 5 occupations; Laboratory Working is 0.2% of that headcount.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Laboratory Working pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$50,290
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-57.1%
Where Laboratory Working ranks on lean federal pay
Laboratory Working earns more on average than 6% of federal occupation series (32 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Laboratory Working sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Laboratory Working.
Related Occupations in General Services and Support Work Family
4 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custodial Working | 12,122 | $47,108 | 8.9 yrs |
| Laboring | 1,663 | $48,277 | 6.3 yrs |
| Misc General Services and Support Work | 371 | $51,243 | 6 yrs |
| Railroad Repairing | 17 | n/a | 4.8 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Laboratory Working outside the General Services and Support 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 (23 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($50,290 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Laboratory Working 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 General Services and Support Work Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Laboratory Working 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.