Top products from r/usajobs

I will not name the agency or geographic region I work in, but I am in a metropolitan area. I was hired in an apprenticeship / internship / recent grad program. The program was for GS7/GS9/GS11/GS12. Essentially what these programs are designed to do is to make you take several in person contracting classes that are required for you to take in order to obtain a Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) or Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) certification. These certifications are required for people working as contract specialist. In order to obtain a level one certification you need take roughly 10-16 weeks of training, hence why they call these programs internships.


My view on these program is that they are worth there weight in gold. Most are designed so that by the time you finish the program you are level II qualified, exceed the education qualifications for most GS12 positions and are on par for most GS13 positions. So my advice is if you get accepted into one, do it and then leave the agency if they do not offer you a GS12 position within a reasonable period of time. These programs set you up on the path to GS13 non-supervisory if you are willing to finish out your required classes for your level III on your own and willing to agency hop if required.


Now what does a contract specialist do.....the simplest way to describe it is that you develop acquisition packets so they can be solicited to the public and eventually awarded to a company. This can mean very different things depending on where you work. Some offices are more challenging than others. This is my typical routine: (1) a program office in the government wants to obtain a good or service; (2) program office sends me paperwork to use for the procurement; (3) I review paperwork; (4) I call program office to get a better understanding of what they want and how to structure it so that private sector industry knows what they are asking for and can write a proposal; (5) I publish a final solicitation for industry to review / bid on / provide proposals; (6) I help the program office reviews the proposals in a legal manner according to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR); (7) sometime enter negotiations with industry about price, requirements, deliverables, ect; (8) write the contract and get it signed by the appropriate parties.


It is a pretty involved position in my office. In my office most contract specialist have a Masters degree (any masters degree that is remotely related to business will do....no need to rack up debt with a second degree). While it is not mandatory for a GS13 positions, it is pretty much an unspoken rule that you will not get a GS13 position as a contract specialist without one in the federal government. Most specialist are GS12/GS13 in my office. On Average you hit GS12 within 3-5 years and GS 13 within 5-8 years. Contracting Officers in my area are GS14 with 8-12 years experience as a specialist.

​

The classes are similar to 101 college courses. They are not designed to fail you as long as you put the minimum amount of effort into them. If you apply yourself at all, you will be fine. My undergrad was in history so if I did it, you will be fine. A good reference for beginners is "Federal Acquisition: Key Issues and Guidance". https://www.amazon.com/Federal-Acquisition-Key-Issues-Guidance/dp/1567262481/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1549503995&sr=8-2&keywords=federal+acquisition This is a great book to read for beginners that gives an amazing overview of what government contracting is. No need to buy it new, used is just fine because after a year or so you will know all information in the book. I read it before starting my program and it was a big help.

1102 is a great field to be in and good luck in the program.

​