TL;DR
- The GS grade is the number that matters. The General Schedule runs from GS-1 to GS-15, and your grade sets your pay and signals the job’s level, more than the title does. It works exactly like a military pay grade.
- Grade and step are two different numbers. The grade (GS-9) is the job’s level. The step (1 to 10) is where you sit within that grade, and it rises with time and performance.
- Pay is base plus locality. Every grade and step has a base salary, and then a locality adjustment is added on top based on where you work.
- Education and experience map to grades. Roughly, a bachelor’s degree qualifies you for GS-5, a master’s for GS-9, and specialized experience carries you up from there.
- Veterans have a real edge. Veterans’ preference and special hiring authorities give eligible veterans a genuine advantage in federal hiring.
If you have ever looked at a federal job posting and seen “GS-12, Step 5” and had no idea what it meant, you are in the right place. The General Schedule is the pay system that covers most white-collar federal jobs, and once you can read it, USAJOBS stops looking like a foreign language.
Here is the useful part for a job seeker, and especially for a veteran: the GS system runs on the same logic as military rank. Your grade, not your title, sets your pay and your level. If you have read our guide to understanding military rank, you already understand the core idea. This is that idea, applied to a federal paycheck.
What the General Schedule is
The General Schedule (GS) is the governmentwide pay scale set by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). It covers 15 grades, GS-1 through GS-15, and each grade contains 10 steps. That single grid sets the salary for most professional, administrative, technical, and clerical jobs across federal agencies. Above GS-15 sits the Senior Executive Service (SES), the government’s executive tier.
The reason the grade matters more than the title is the same reason a pay grade matters more than a rank in the military: two people with very different job titles at the same GS grade earn from the same pay band and operate at the same recognized level. The grade is the honest signal.
Grade and step: the two numbers
A GS job is written as two numbers, and they mean different things.
- The grade (GS-1 to GS-15) is the job’s level: its difficulty, responsibility, and required qualifications. You get a higher grade by moving into a higher-level job, usually a promotion or a new position.
- The step (1 to 10) is your position within that grade. New hires usually start at step 1, and steps rise over time through within-grade increases based on satisfactory performance and time in grade. Steps are longevity and performance inside a grade; grades are the level itself.
So “GS-12, Step 5” means a grade-12 job, with the employee partway up that grade’s pay ladder.
What each grade takes, and pays
Here is roughly how education and experience map to grades, with approximate 2026 base pay. Remember that locality pay is added on top of these base figures.
GS grades: typical qualifications and 2026 base pay
| GS grade | Typical education or experience | Approx. 2026 base pay |
|---|---|---|
| GS-1 to GS-4 | High school to some college; entry and clerical | $22,584 to about $40,000 |
| GS-5 | Bachelor’s degree | About $37,700 to $49,000 |
| GS-7 | Bachelor’s with honors, or 1 year of graduate study | About $46,700 to $60,700 |
| GS-9 | Master’s degree, or 2 years of graduate study | About $57,100 to $74,250 |
| GS-11 to GS-12 | Doctorate, or specialized experience | About $69,100 to $107,600 |
| GS-13 to GS-15 | Senior specialist or manager; deep experience | About $98,500 to $164,301 |
Source: Approximate 2026 base pay (OPM General Schedule); locality pay is added on top and varies by area. Education paths are typical, not the only routes; experience can substitute.
Two things to hold onto. First, these are base numbers; the 2026 General Schedule from OPM adds a locality adjustment on top that can lift real pay well above the base, especially in high-cost areas. Second, the education column shows the common route, not the only one; specialized experience can qualify you for a grade without the matching degree.
How the pay actually works
Your salary is built in layers:
- Base pay comes from your grade and step on the national GS table. In 2026 that base ranges from about $22,584 at GS-1, step 1, to $164,301 at GS-15, step 10.
- Locality pay is a percentage added on top based on your duty location, to keep federal salaries competitive with local labor markets. The same grade and step earns more in a high-cost metro than in a low-cost area.
- Step increases raise your pay within your grade over time, and a promotion to a higher grade resets you onto a higher band.
The practical takeaway: when you compare two GS offers, compare grade first, then locality, then step. The grade is the big lever.
Reading a USAJOBS posting
Federal listings put the grade right in the title, and sometimes a range like “GS-11/12,” which means the job is filled at GS-11 with promotion potential to GS-12. Match the grade to your qualifications using the questions above (degree, graduate study, or specialized experience), and read the “specialized experience” paragraph carefully, because that is what actually gets you rated for the grade. Federal resumes are longer and more detailed than private-sector ones by design, so give them the full record, as we cover in our guide to military-to-civilian resume writing.
The veteran advantage
For veterans, the federal path is often the highest-percentage move, because the system is built to reward military experience. Veterans’ preference adds 5 or 10 points to a competitive rating, and special hiring authorities (the Veterans Recruitment Appointment and the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act) open additional routes into federal service. Start your search on USAJOBS, and see our roundup of job sites and resources for veterans for where else to look. If you served, the detail-rich federal resume plays to a strength you already have.
FAQ
What does GS stand for, and what is a GS job?
GS stands for General Schedule, the main federal pay system set by OPM. A GS job is a federal position graded on that scale, from GS-1 to GS-15, where the grade sets the pay band and the job’s level.
What is the difference between a GS grade and a step?
The grade (GS-1 to GS-15) is the job’s level and sets the pay band. The step (1 to 10) is your position within that grade and rises over time through within-grade increases. You raise your grade by moving into a higher-level job; you raise your step mostly through time and satisfactory performance.
What GS grade will my degree qualify me for?
As a rough guide, a bachelor’s degree qualifies you for GS-5 (or GS-7 with superior academic achievement), a master’s or two years of graduate study for GS-9, and a doctorate for GS-11. Specialized experience can substitute for education and carry you higher.
How much do GS jobs pay in 2026?
In 2026, GS base pay runs from about $22,584 at GS-1, step 1, to $164,301 at GS-15, step 10, before locality pay. Locality adjustments are added on top based on your duty location and can raise real pay substantially in higher-cost areas.
Do veterans get preference for GS jobs?
Yes. Eligible veterans receive a 5- or 10-point veterans’ preference in competitive federal hiring, and special authorities like the VRA and VEOA provide additional paths in. The detailed federal resume format also rewards the specifics a military record already contains.
The bottom line
The General Schedule looks complicated until you see the one idea underneath it: the grade is the number that matters, exactly like a military pay grade. Learn to read the grade and step, remember that base pay plus locality is your real salary, and match your education and experience to the right grade. For veterans especially, the federal path rewards the record you already built.
If you are aiming at federal or private roles, our team will review your resume for free and tell you honestly whether it reads at the grade you are targeting.
Before you count on a number here. Empire Resume is an independent editorial team. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by OPM, USAJOBS, or any federal agency, and we do not speak for them. The GS tables, locality rates, and veterans’ preference rules change year to year and depend on the specific job and location, so read the figures above as the shape of the system, not your exact paycheck. Confirm the current pay against the General Schedule at OPM.gov, and read the grade and qualifications on the actual posting at USAJOBS.gov. This is general information to help you read a federal job, not financial or career advice, and your grade, step, and pay come down to the position and the rules in force when you apply.