I meant that a motivated and skilled person who enters federal service at the age of 22 in a 7/9/11 position could probably be GS 15 in their late 20s in tech in the DC area.
You’re absolutely right that getting directly hired into a higher level is much tougher, although not impossible if you are connected.
Are they in DC?
14s and 15s are relatively easy to access in a few fields in the DC area at a young age (tech and contracting are the two fields I know people who have fast-tracked in the GS system in DC). Anywhere else… not so much. Those are usually mid-career or late-career positions outside of DC area.
GS 7 and walk through the steps as normal for that role, jump to a higher GS via a job change/similar.
If that’s the case, then they should approximately never get applicants who could also get private sector jobs.
I wonder if they are targeting vets who got a small amount of programming under their belt while serving… or something like that.
Not even being a 7/9/11 for an in demand technical area (esp. if in the DC area) strikes me as extremely short-sighted.
I’m guessing that this was actually a 7/9/11 position, with automatic annual promotions (apprentice, journeyman, master, iirc).
Still… that’s really low for someone who can get a decent tech job in the private sector.
Note that an ambitious person with the right skill set could probably be GS-15 in the DC area in their late 20s, and they would hit the GS salary cap soon thereafter. I’m not necessarily saying that’s a good thing (total comp still low), but I just wanted to throw that out there.