Metallurgy

What the Numbers Say About Metallurgy

0.0% of the federal civilian workforce (2,289,472 employees total, March 2025) works in the Metallurgy occupation (OPM code 1321): 21 people, headcount down -12.5% 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.

The average salary for Metallurgy is $155,650 per year, placing it 41.7% above the overall federal civilian average of $109,869. Salaries moved down by -0.7% from the prior period, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement. Average length of service in this role is 16.6 years, a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement.

Metallurgy sits inside the Physical Sciences Group family (code 13), which contains 25 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Metallurgy 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.

Metallurgy makes up 0.1% of the 32,337 employees across the Physical Sciences Group family, ranking #23 of 25 occupations in that family by headcount.