Miscellaneous Instrument Work
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Miscellaneous Instrument Work occupation series (code 3301): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
Miscellaneous Instrument Work is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 3 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Instrument Work Family family. At an average salary of $85,233 it pays below the federal average.
- Headcount change
- 0.0%
- Pay change
- 0.0%
- Avg tenure
- 16.5 yrs
- Rank in family
- #4 of 5
FedScope read on Miscellaneous Instrument Work (thin series)
On pay, the move between reporting periods was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change. On length of service, this series shows a long average tenure, typical of career federal roles where employees stay through much of a full career before retirement. 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.
Code 33, the Instrument Work Family family, is where the federal government classifies Miscellaneous Instrument Work alongside 4 related occupations. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Miscellaneous Instrument Work postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Instrument Work Family family. The Instrument Work Family family totals 718 employees, and Miscellaneous Instrument Work accounts for 0.4% of them.
Salary Context
How Miscellaneous Instrument Work pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$85,233
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-27.4%
Where Miscellaneous Instrument Work ranks on federal pay
Miscellaneous Instrument Work earns more on average than 41% of federal occupation series (222 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Miscellaneous Instrument Work sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Miscellaneous Instrument Work.
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 |
| Instrument Making | 1 | n/a | 30.8 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this thin headcount
Two peer sets for Miscellaneous Instrument Work 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 (3 here).
Similar average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($85,233 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Miscellaneous Instrument Work 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 Instrument Work Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Miscellaneous Instrument Work 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.