Q: Do I need to enlist?
A: No, there is no enlistment required. You will be a civilian employee of the Air Force. The Air Force has over 130,000 civilian employees, including about 10,000 scientists and engineers.
Q: Can I be deployed?
A: No.
Q: Will I wear a uniform?
A: No.
Q: Do I have to be a US citizen?
A: Yes. In order to work with the U.S. Air Force, one must be a native-born or naturalized United States citizen.
Q: Do I need security clearance?
A: U.S. citizenship is required for security clearance purposes. There will be some level of clearance for civilian positions. This will be taken care of by the government.
Q: How will my time be divided between “doing engineering” and managing projects?
A: You’ll be doing engineering all the time! However, part of that does require active project management as well.
Q: What is the pay?
A: All civil service pay, as well as any annual pay raises or cost of living adjustments, is set by Congress. Starting salaries for S&E may vary between $31,302 at the GS-05 level up to $47,422 at the GS-09 level. Those hired under DCIP who may not meet the 3.0 minimum GPA to qualify for the GS-07 starting salary ($37,787) would start as GS-05. Those hired who have already completed or will complete masters degrees by their start date, automatically qualify for GS-09 salary ($47,422) upon satisfactory completion of one year’s work experience , promotion to the next higher grade occurs until reaching the fully qualified journeyman level grade of GS-12. Normal progression in the white collar science and engineering grades is GS-07, GS-09, GS-11, GS-12. This is valid for organizations not under pay banding or demonstration projects.
Q: What is the commitment level?
A: Unlike active duty military service, there is no time commitment for civilian scientist and engineers. If you ever want to leave your civilian S&E government job, you are free to leave.
Q: How will I be evaluated? By a civilian? By military personnel?
A: Air Force evaluations will come from the chain of command you are assigned to. There may be both civilian and military supervisors in that chain. However, you will only be evaluated per the civilian standards you are working against (the core document of the position you are hired against).
Q: Safety of work environment?
A: Safety is paramount to the government and work environments are constantly being monitored to ensure employees are safe.
Q: How far can I advance as a civilian engineer?
A: You can become a member of Senior Executive Service which is equivalent to being a civilian general.
Q: How long is my resume kept on file?
A: Your submitted resume will be kept on file for one year for the various Air Force bases to review.
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