Materials Examining and Identifying

What the Numbers Say About Materials Examining and Identifying

0.1% of the federal civilian workforce (2,289,472 employees total, March 2025) works in the Materials Examining and Identifying occupation (OPM code 6912): 1,539 people, headcount up 1.3% versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path.

Average tenure in Materials Examining and Identifying runs 8.4 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career. Pay averages $60,102 per year, 45.3% below the $109,869 federal civilian average and up 0.9% from the prior period, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement.

Code 69, the Warehousing and Stock Handling Family family, is where the federal government classifies Materials Examining and Identifying alongside 8 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Materials Examining and Identifying 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.

Materials Examining and Identifying makes up 10.4% of the 14,742 employees across the Warehousing and Stock Handling Family family, ranking #4 of 9 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (33rd percentile) of pay among Warehousing and Stock Handling Family occupations.