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As
those of you in the professional and technical fields advance
in your specialties and seek federal jobs at the mid and
senior levels, you will find that your competitiveness will
depend increasingly upon your abilities in a new area: how
well you can organize and manage people and projects.
The point at which you will face this shift in emphasis from
technical skills to management abilities will vary, depending
upon your profession and your employer.
For
example, a GS-12 electrical engineer may spend 95 percent of
his or her time designing electrical systems. However, the
designer's supervisor, a GS-13 electrical engineer in charge
of the design group, probably will spend 95 percent of his or
her time supervising and training subordinates, assessing
manpower resources versus workload requirements, preparing
budgets, and completing other non-technical but necessary
functions
In
another organization or technical specialty, the assumption of
management responsibilities might be expected at a lower or
higher level than GS-13. Whether you are a newcomer or an old
hand in your field, you should be anticipating this shift in
qualifications requirements now --- and be making plans to
meet it. Let's identify exactly what qualifications we are
talking about. To advance to the higher levels in most
technical fields, you will need, in addition to first rate
technical qualifications:
- Administrative
ability --- The ability to write reports, conduct briefings, analyze
problems, communicate with others, prepare budgets, etc.
- Management
ability --- The ability to produce reports through others, assign assets
(people and money) where they produce the most effective
results, etc.
- Supervisory
ability --- The ability to run a group of subordinates as a smoothly
functioning and productive entity. This includes knowledge
of EEO principles.
- Organizational
ability --- The ability to cause an entity to produce desired results as
efficiently as possible.
- Public
administration --- An understanding of the role, goals and problems of your
organization within the overall scheme of the government.
Qualifications in these areas come from two sources:
training and experience, and usually in that order. The
importance of these skills has become increasingly
apparent to government and educational administrators. The
result has been twofold:
First,
employers are demanding more administrative and management
skills from mid and senior level staff members. Second,
organizations and education institutions have responded with
courses especially designed to meet these needs. Your goal
should be to locate the courses most helpful to you, take
them, and then let the right people know you took them.
Where
are the courses? Just about everywhere. The Office of
Personnel Management sponsors many for federal employees. Most
large federal agencies and departments also sponsor courses,
as do universities and colleges. Contact your human resources
office and the local educational institutions to discover what
is available.
The
programs can range from a single course of several weeks
duration to a complete graduate degree program. For example,
in the Washington D.C. area, the George Washington University
offers a Master's of Science in Engineering Management program
for employees of engineering, business and technical
organizations and are intended to complement technical
knowledge with managerial skills. This part-time
Master's
Degree program provides both management and technology
credentials in a format designed for busy working
professionals. We single out this program as an example only ---
there are similar programs available to you from many other
institutions, everywhere.
After
you've taken a course (or even just begun one), let the right
people (prospective employers) know about it. How? Discuss the
course whenever you are talking with someone you feel could be
instrumental in your career advancement. Make your course
activities highly visible on your application package under
the Education or Training & Certification sections. Be
sure to include:
- The
name of the course;
- A
brief description of course content;
- Name
of educational institution and its locations;
- Time
period that the course spans; and
- Number
of classroom hours devoted to the course.
Many
people are confused by the distinction between education and
training. This makes it difficult for them to decide whether
their coursework should be described under the Education or
Training & Certification section of his or her resume. If
the course is part of a formal educational program and
culminates in a degree, it's classified as education. Other
courses and miscellaneous training should be placed under the
Training & Certification section.
Don't
let the cost of the courses scare you. In many cases, your
agency or firm will pay part or all costs. If not, courses of
the type we've described can often be tax deductible
(including your related expenses, such as mileage.) The
controlling tax policy is IRS Code, Section 162. If the course
maintains or improves skills required in your present job, or
is required by your employer as a condition of continued
employment, the costs are tax deductible.
Sandra M. Harris
President
Federal Research Service
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