Summary
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is ranked within the top 5 mid-size agencies through the Partnership for Public Service’s Best Places to Work in the Federal Government Rankings! Our Pathways Internship Program provides students the opportunity to acquire first-hand experience in the energy industry, while gaining exposure to the Commission’s work. This vacancy will be used to fill multiple positions in OE, OEMR and OEPI. For more information visit: FERC
Duties
This vacancy is for a Summer 2025 internship.
While the duties of a Student Trainee (Energy Industry Analysis), may vary depending on office placement, some of your typical work assignments may include:
- In The Office of Energy Market Regulation (OEMR): Assisting professional staff members in performing analyses of economic and regulatory issues associated with filings for the purpose of identifying trends, problems, or deviations from pertinent regulatory requirements or Commission policies and developing recommendations to resolve issues for use by the team leader or supervisor.
- In the Office of Enforcement (OE): Assisting in the analysis of electric and gas markets, assessing market fundamentals/trends and complex issues of market structure, conduct and performance. Analyzing large volumes of data using R, Python or SAS and working independently to summarize anomalous market outcomes and visually present data.
- In the Office of Energy Policy and Innovation (OEPI): Assisting professional staff members, following detailed instructions, in the analysis and review of routine regulatory data and other documents associated with Commission filings that are routine or of limited complexity. Interpreting policy/regulations and applying them to analyses of specific issues arising in the regulation of the energy industry or on policies affecting the energy industry. Reviewing and analyzing data and documents on matters related to the energy industry. Managing large datasets and conducting analysis using statistical software.
The intern program at FERC is unique in that we post one intern vacancy for multiple offices to make selections. This means you may be contacted by several different hiring managers for different vacancies. See Next Steps section for additional information.
Our Internship Program offers students the opportunity to attend networking events, visit regulated hydropower dams, and participate in seminars with career advice and tips from FERC’s top management officials. For more information, visit: https://www.ferc.gov/about/careers/student-relations.
This appointment is not to exceed (NTE) 09/30/2025. May be extended if the student continues to meet program requirements. This internship position may confer non-competitive conversion eligibility, however, conversion is not required or guaranteed.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
- A background investigation is required.
- Relocation expenses will not be paid.
- You must meet the eligibility and qualification requirements.
- You must submit proof of enrollment in a degree-seeking program.
- You must submit transcripts at the time of application.
- You may be required to divest certain energy-related securities.
- This is not a bargaining unit position.
- You must sign Pathways Program Agreement.
You must meet all eligibility and qualification (experience and/or education) requirements by the end of spring 2025 semester.
Qualifications
Eligibility: In order to be eligible for our Pathways Internship Program, you must:
- Be accepted for enrollment or enrolled and seeking a degree or certificate in a qualifying educational institution on a half- to full-time basis (as determined by the educational institution); AND
- Meet the definition of a student throughout the duration of your appointment; AND
- Meet the qualification standards (e.g., series and grade).
Qualifications: To view the qualification requirements of a Student Trainee (Energy Industry Analysis) GS-07- 1199 please visit: Internship Qualifications
You can qualify based on your education, OR one full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-05 level, OR have a combination education and experience. Specialized experience is defined as: Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Word.
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills, and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including any volunteer experience.
Please do not cut and paste the position description, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume, as this will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position.
Education
This position has an education requirement (as referenced in the “Qualifications” section) and therefore, transcripts and/or proof of enrollment are required. Failure to submit this documentation at the time of application will result in your application being marked incomplete and you will not receive further consideration.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
- Once the vacancy announcement closes, we will review your resume and any supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements for the position. Your resume must address the following competencies (knowledge, skills, and abilities, and other characteristics):
- Analysis
- Written Communication
- Oral Communication
- Research
- The online assessment is used to evaluate your relevant education and experience in relation to the required competencies for this position.
- If you meet the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements, your application will be further evaluated based on your answers to the vacancy questionnaire, using the Category Rating Method. This means you will be placed into one of three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified, depending on your responses. Your rating may be lowered if your responses are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your resume. Veterans’ preference is applied by listing preference eligibles ahead of non-preference eligibles within the same category in which they are placed. Qualified preference eligibles with a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent (CPS and CP) will be placed at the top of the highest quality category (Best Qualified), ahead of all other preference and non-preference eligibles, regardless of the quality category in which they are placed as a result of the assessment of their qualifications (excepted for scientific or professional at the GS-9 grade level and above). A selecting official may make selections from the highest quality category (Best Qualified), provided no preference eligibles in that category is passed over to select a non-preference eligible.
- You may be required to participate in a selection interview. Please note - only your resume and cover letter will be forwarded to the selecting official.
You may preview questions for this vacancy.
Required Documents
If you do not provide all required documents by the closing date of this vacancy announcement, you will not be considered for this position or receive special consideration/hiring preference (e.g. transcripts, proof of enrollment, veterans’ preference, etc.).
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR ALL CANDIDATES:
- RESUME: Your resume should describe your specialized experience and support your answers to the vacancy announcement questionnaire. You must ensure it contains the following information for each experience/position:
- Position title
- Name of employer
- Beginning and ending dates of employment (Month/Day/Year format)
- Hours worked per week
- Detailed description of job duties, accomplishments, related skills, and responsibilities to include any supervisory/managerial responsibilities and number of staff supervised (if applicable)
- Series and grade or equivalent (for federal positions)
- If the position has an education requirement or you are qualifying based on your education, you must list your education history, including the type of degree and your major of study.
- VACANCY QUESTIONNAIRE: You must submit and complete the online eligibility and vacancy questions.
- TRANSCRIPTS AND PROOF OF ENROLLMENT: You MUST submit copies of your college transcripts AND proof of enrollment to verify your education. Unofficial copies are acceptable; however, if selected you will be required to provide official documentation before your effective date.
OPTIONAL DOCUMENTS TO SUPPORT PREFERENCE OR ELIGIBILITY CLAIMS:
- VETERANS’PREFERENCE (DD-214, VA Disability Letter, etc.): If you are claiming veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, DD-214 (Member 4 copy), or other official documentation from a branch of the Armed Forces or the Department of Veterans Affairs showing dates of service and type of discharge. Ten-point preference eligibles must also submit an “Application for 10-point Veteran Preference” (SF-15), along with official VA letter and the required documentation listed on the back of the SF-15 form. For more information about veterans' preference, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Veterans.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
The FERC Careers site provides detailed instructions on how to apply to our vacancies. For more information visit: How to Apply
Here are a few additional tips:
- When applying to a FERC vacancy announcement, please remember you must complete and submit your entire application (including your resume, vacancy questionnaire, and any applicable supporting documentation) no later than 11:59 pm Eastern Time (ET) on the vacancy closing date. Please note, it may take you longer to apply to some vacancy announcements than others. Starting your application late on the evening the vacancy closes is not recommended because you might not have enough time to ensure your application is successfully submitted and received.
- When the specialized experience statement in the vacancy announcement requires experience presenting information to a large audience, your resume should include speeches or presentations you've given.
- Make sure you verify that your resume clearly indicates possession of the competencies and specialized experience listed under the “Qualifications and Evaluations” and “How You Will Be Evaluated” sections of this announcement.
- Remember to submit all required and supporting documentation listed under the “Required Documents” section of this announcement.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
FERC provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you require a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please contact DisabilityManager@FERC.gov no later than 11:59 pm ET on the vacancy closing date. The decision to grant a reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
For more information on telework, click the following link: USAJOBS Help Center | What is telework?
For more information on remote work, click the following link: USAJOBS Help Center | What is a remote job?
Next steps
Once your complete application is received, we will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications and determine your ranking. You will be notified of the status of your application up to four times throughout the application process, via your USAJOBS dashboard. To verify the status of your application, both during and after the announcement open period, log on to your USAJOBS account. The application record in your USAJOBS account provides an option to “Track this application.” Your “Applicant status” will also appear along with the dates you applied to this position and when your application was last updated. To learn more about your specific job status and how this helps you track jobs and applications visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status
Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement.
The intern program at FERC is unique in that we post one intern vacancy for multiple offices to make selections.
What does this mean for you as an applicant? Managers from any one of our 13 Offices could contact you for an interview depending on their programmatic needs. In order to prepare for a potential interview, we suggest you ask the person contacting you for the exact name of their Program Office and Division so you can research their respective mission. Details about each Office can be found here: https://www.ferc.gov/offices.
During this initial conversation, ask questions about the duties of interns in their respective Office. Consider the work of that Program Office in coordination with your career interests and goals. Note that if you are tentatively selected for an intern position by more than one Program Office, the decision on which office to join will be solely up to you.
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