Plant Physiology
Drawn directly from OPM FedScope (June 2026), this page tracks headcount, average salary, tenure, and pay comparison for the Plant Physiology occupation series (code 0435).
The verdict
Plant Physiology is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 62 employees (0.0% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Biological Sciences Group family. At an average salary of $140,918 it pays above the federal average.
- Headcount change
- 0.0%
- Pay change
- +0.8%
- Avg tenure
- 17.2 yrs
- Rank in family
- #29 of 31
FedScope read on Plant Physiology (thin series)
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. Pay moved up between the two reporting periods, a modest shift, consistent with routine locality pay and grade-level movement. 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.
The Biological Sciences Group family (code 04) groups Plant Physiology together with 30 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Plant Physiology postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Biological Sciences Group family. The Biological Sciences Group family totals 67,961 employees, and Plant Physiology accounts for 0.1% of them.
Salary context · rich-pay series
How Plant Physiology pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$140,918
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
+20.1%
Where Plant Physiology ranks on rich federal pay
Plant Physiology earns more on average than 83% of federal occupation series (448 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Plant Physiology sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Plant Physiology.
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 Plant Physiology 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 (62 here).
Similar rich average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($140,918 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Plant Physiology 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 Plant Physiology 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.