Social Science Aid and Technician
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Social Science Aid and Technician occupation series (code 0102): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
Social Science Aid and Technician is a smaller, specialized federal occupation: 1,534 employees (0.1% of the federal civilian workforce) in the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family. At an average salary of $67,632 it pays below the federal average, and headcount edged up from the prior period.
- Headcount change
- +0.9%
- Pay change
- -0.4%
- Avg tenure
- 12.4 yrs
- Rank in family
- #9 of 29
FedScope read on Social Science Aid and Technician (dense series)
Headcount moved up versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. Pay moved down between the two reporting periods, 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 mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.
The Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family (code 01) groups Social Science Aid and Technician together with 28 other related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Social Science Aid and Technician postings should also review these sibling occupations in the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family. Social Science Aid and Technician makes up 1.5% of the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family's 101,196 combined employees. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (22nd percentile) of pay among Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Social Science Aid and Technician pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$67,632
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-42.4%
Where Social Science Aid and Technician ranks on lean federal pay
Social Science Aid and Technician earns more on average than 23% of federal occupation series (124 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Social Science Aid and Technician sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Social Science Aid and Technician.
Related Occupations in Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group
10 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Insurance Administration | 24,044 | $105,855 | 17.7 yrs |
| Social Work | 22,339 | $112,147 | 10 yrs |
| Social Science | 13,513 | $109,039 | 11.8 yrs |
| Intelligence | 12,860 | n/a | 15 yrs |
| Psychology | 10,259 | $144,240 | 10.7 yrs |
| Economist | 3,774 | $158,425 | 14.1 yrs |
| Foreign Affairs | 2,748 | $155,920 | 14.4 yrs |
| Health Insurance Administration | 2,443 | $149,476 | 15.3 yrs |
| Archeology | 1,448 | $91,675 | 12 yrs |
| Social Services Aid and Assistant | 962 | $59,911 | 11.7 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Social Science Aid and Technician outside the Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (1,534 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($67,632 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Social Science Aid and Technician 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 Social Science, Psychology, and Welfare Group family occupations in the table above, or search current Social Science Aid and Technician 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.