GS 12 target 13

[Guest]

What does GS 12 target 13 mean? What does it take to get to 13?

[Guest]

Should mean you start as a GS 12 and the position top out point is GS 13. If you met all requirements of your IDP then after 1 year your supervisor would put the paperwork in to move you from 12 to 13.

BUT, that means you have to be "working at grade". Which basically means you have to be doing GS12/13 level work at a sufficient skill level to warrant moving to GS 13.

If not then you would move up a step within Grade. GS 12 Step something.

Just a note: when you move up a whole grade you look at the OPM GS pay scale for your Step and Grade. Then add two step bumps. Then move to the grade you are moving to. Find the first step that is above your current Grade+Step+2Step move and that will be your Step and Grade after the move.

[Guest]

What does GS 12 target 13 mean? What does it take to get to 13?

It means get that in writing before committing to SMART.

My hiring specialist reported that OPM requires GS12/13 positions are required to be competed for. You could argue that the SMART scholarship is a form of competition, and the direct hiring authority should allow for SMART scholars to be placed in 12/13 positions.

But then you'd be arguing with the DoD. I know how that ends.

[Guest]

OP here. Thanks to both of you. So is the consensus that if I work hard and stay out of trouble, I will get to GS 13 after the first year?

[CMMMM]

That is not the consensus; read through the forum and you will see there are myriad examples of scholars being promised one thing and the SF delivering another-especially when it comes to $. Be sure to return to the forum a year from now when the target 13 you are promised verbally doesn't materialize so that you can warn others. Good luck.

[Guest]

That is not the consensus; read through the forum and you will see there are myriad examples of scholars being promised one thing and the SF delivering another-especially when it comes to $. Be sure to return to the forum a year from now when the target 13 you are promised verbally doesn't materialize so that you can warn others. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I should have specified that the offer letter actually says 12 target 13. In this case, would there be more of a consensus that if I do my job and stay out of trouble, I should get to 13 after a year?

[GUEST]

It means you start at a GS-12 Paygrade, with the possibility to go to a GS-13 without competition. In other words, GS-13 is your full paygrade potential. There's actually no time limit involved, your supervisor can promote you to a GS-13 whenever they think you're doing GS-13 level work, but not less than 1-year. If you were hired at a GS-12, you would have to compete for a GS-13 position otherwise.

[Another Guest]

That is not the consensus; read through the forum and you will see there are myriad examples of scholars being promised one thing and the SF delivering another-especially when it comes to $. Be sure to return to the forum a year from now when the target 13 you are promised verbally doesn't materialize so that you can warn others. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I should have specified that the offer letter actually says 12 target 13. In this case, would there be more of a consensus that if I do my job and stay out of trouble, I should get to 13 after a year?

No. Not at all. There's no reason to believe you'll be a GS-13 after 1-year. Your promotion is at the discretion of your supervisor, who will likely tie it to your job performance. There are different job duties and expectations assigned to GS-12 to GS-13. So when you start performing at a GS-13 level, your supervisor can promote you without advertising the position as competitive.

[hmmmmmmmmmm]

I was hired as a GS 12 target 14. Got promoted to a 13 after one year.

[2012_cohort]

It really depends on your agency. At my agency, cohorts before mine were being hired during the agency's "years of plenty" and were auto-promoted yearly until they reached their target. So (for instance) you got hired with a MS as a 9, then the next you were 10, the next you were 11, and so forth until you reached your target.

But I got hired as the bottom fell out of the budget, and they instituted promotion quotas. So I was hired as a PhD as an 11 with a 13 target, my supervisors thought my work was great and rated me "must promote", and like almost everyone else I was not in fact promoted two years running.

So no, it's not guaranteed. This isn't a SMART problem, it's a government problem. There's tons of new employees in my agency in the exact same situation, and only a tiny percentage of them were hired through SMART. And I will say I really do like my job a lot. It's a fantastic place to work except for the terrible pay and promotion problems.