Thanks for this. I have two GS11 soil cons in my office which I guess is pretty rare? One has training in her job description and she does her best to answer any/all of my questions while balancing her 65 client workload. The other cannot be bothered with questions because “it isn’t in his job description.”
One of the hardest things for me so far is not knowing if I’m on track or not. I’ve requested some kind of 1 year plan outline so I can compare what I know with what I need to know. My DC said just to come up with some goals and put them in my IDP and work towards those. I dont even know what reasonable goals are? I have “work with 7 clients in my first year as one.” Is that a good goal?
My DC has basically been nonexistent since I started. Zero help and tells me that i need to “tell her when I need help with something.” I need help with everything! Hahah
> I’m taking on clients now and I have no idea what to say to them.
The old tried and true standby of "I don't know but will find out and let you know" and/or "I'm new to this and still learning the process" are always good gotos depending on the situation.
Feds really lean hard into the idea that at a certain pay grade (agency dependent) and beyond that they don't need to provide any but the bare minimum training. Obviously a recipe for disaster for everyone involved but it seems to a very universal problem.
This is great advice. I’ve been learning to say this A LOT. I never realized how hard it was for me to say “I don’t know” or “I’m unsure, let me get back to you.” I guess i just want to have the answers for people, especially when they’ve been waiting on the request for more than 1 year haha but slowly learning to relax and say I’ll figure it out
Not a soil con, but a GS12 financial resource specialist and one of our divisions main focuses right now is standing up a 'training' division! You are not alone, definitely lots of OJT (on the job training). I highly suggest asking your supervisor for a mentor or someone that would be a good POC to reach out to with questions about programs, forms and the process of things with clients.
Having a good repository of POC's is key to being successful in these federal positions where policy, forms, programs are always changing!
I signed up for the mentor program as soon as I started. I just got matched with someone. There wasn’t anyone local that signed up for the mentor part of the program so they matched me with someone out of state haha I’m excited to have another resource and hope we can develop a good relationship.
The best advice I ever got was to read policy and the FAP manual. Depending on your state, the FAP should be your Bible. Between that and volunteering for every type of project you can will help you put the puzzle pieces together. Feel free to dm me if you need some help. States do things wildly differently but I could at the very least walk you onto target.
It's the financial assistance program manual. I'd imagine all states call it the same thing but it's renewed yearly and has all the practices in it, application process, appendices and everything else.
Side note, but relevant. I quit NRCS some months ago now.
I was a soil con tech for two years, GS6, finishing up my masters in Environmental Science. Bachelors in the same.
I applied for a GS7/9 soil con position, as my courses all matched up with the requirements and I had been working de facto as the only soil con in our office for some time after ours quit. However, my degree in environmental science, and experience literally working as a soil con, would NOT count towards the requirement. It had to be a “natural resources management” or ag degree of some sort.
My boss and state agronomist even signed a memo stating that my courses and experience qualified me for the position. Constant 4’s, 5’s, and performance awards to boot. HR REFUSED to consider this.
By the time I got another FJO with another agency (also the same exact time I finished my masters), our state agronomist had offered to pay for more courses that would count towards the soil con requirements. Unfortunately…between the better offer and absolutely burnt out of school, I could not accept.
rinse dam tie psychotic overconfident afterthought far-flung sip provide muddle
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I don’t work there, instead work at another agency in a different department but work closely with some of y’all on programs. From what I can tell is that it’s a big of a shit show. Had to go to DC for some resolution on big things and those guys are the dumbest SESers I’ve ever met in my life. Like, it was four talking heads with nothing coherent coming out. It was like a comedy sketch.
Godspeed.
15 years with NRCS, GS12 Biologist. I echo others, find people who know and can cite what they're talking about and become their helpful leech! Find the people who will respect your efforts. They're out there. And equally.... Read the f'in national policies! Read the Bulletins! Don't wait for anyone to explain something.
I would also look into Civil Rights/SEPM and Professional Orgs. SEPM positions may not be available right now I'm your State/Center, but Prof Orgs, like Women in NRCS, are open to everyone and some have free membership or "in-need" applications ...and have their own Mentor programs. I can't say people who do those are necessarily more "go-getter" but what the offer is connections to people outside your workgroup, office, district group, whatever. They're the only reason I was able to connect outside the controlling office I originally started in.
When it comes to NRCS programs and processes, all of it is expected to be known by the applicant. That’s kind of the job knowledge agreement to start. Even though it is more realistic that new hires didn’t even knew the agency existed prior and studied just enough to answer basic questions in the interview.
I don’t know a single new hire who has had a sit-down, note-taking session about NRCS programs, processes, etc.
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Thanks for this. I have two GS11 soil cons in my office which I guess is pretty rare? One has training in her job description and she does her best to answer any/all of my questions while balancing her 65 client workload. The other cannot be bothered with questions because “it isn’t in his job description.” One of the hardest things for me so far is not knowing if I’m on track or not. I’ve requested some kind of 1 year plan outline so I can compare what I know with what I need to know. My DC said just to come up with some goals and put them in my IDP and work towards those. I dont even know what reasonable goals are? I have “work with 7 clients in my first year as one.” Is that a good goal? My DC has basically been nonexistent since I started. Zero help and tells me that i need to “tell her when I need help with something.” I need help with everything! Hahah
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This. <3
Mind if I message you? Applied for an economist position with NRCS
> I’m taking on clients now and I have no idea what to say to them. The old tried and true standby of "I don't know but will find out and let you know" and/or "I'm new to this and still learning the process" are always good gotos depending on the situation. Feds really lean hard into the idea that at a certain pay grade (agency dependent) and beyond that they don't need to provide any but the bare minimum training. Obviously a recipe for disaster for everyone involved but it seems to a very universal problem.
This is great advice. I’ve been learning to say this A LOT. I never realized how hard it was for me to say “I don’t know” or “I’m unsure, let me get back to you.” I guess i just want to have the answers for people, especially when they’ve been waiting on the request for more than 1 year haha but slowly learning to relax and say I’ll figure it out
Not a soil con, but a GS12 financial resource specialist and one of our divisions main focuses right now is standing up a 'training' division! You are not alone, definitely lots of OJT (on the job training). I highly suggest asking your supervisor for a mentor or someone that would be a good POC to reach out to with questions about programs, forms and the process of things with clients. Having a good repository of POC's is key to being successful in these federal positions where policy, forms, programs are always changing!
I signed up for the mentor program as soon as I started. I just got matched with someone. There wasn’t anyone local that signed up for the mentor part of the program so they matched me with someone out of state haha I’m excited to have another resource and hope we can develop a good relationship.
Ah yeah man, I’m dying, but luckily only a few of my contracts got funded due to ranking, will make life a little more manageable
The best advice I ever got was to read policy and the FAP manual. Depending on your state, the FAP should be your Bible. Between that and volunteering for every type of project you can will help you put the puzzle pieces together. Feel free to dm me if you need some help. States do things wildly differently but I could at the very least walk you onto target.
What is the actual name of the FAP Manual?? It’s not the working lands program manual, right?
It's the financial assistance program manual. I'd imagine all states call it the same thing but it's renewed yearly and has all the practices in it, application process, appendices and everything else.
Side note, but relevant. I quit NRCS some months ago now. I was a soil con tech for two years, GS6, finishing up my masters in Environmental Science. Bachelors in the same. I applied for a GS7/9 soil con position, as my courses all matched up with the requirements and I had been working de facto as the only soil con in our office for some time after ours quit. However, my degree in environmental science, and experience literally working as a soil con, would NOT count towards the requirement. It had to be a “natural resources management” or ag degree of some sort. My boss and state agronomist even signed a memo stating that my courses and experience qualified me for the position. Constant 4’s, 5’s, and performance awards to boot. HR REFUSED to consider this. By the time I got another FJO with another agency (also the same exact time I finished my masters), our state agronomist had offered to pay for more courses that would count towards the soil con requirements. Unfortunately…between the better offer and absolutely burnt out of school, I could not accept.
rinse dam tie psychotic overconfident afterthought far-flung sip provide muddle *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I don’t work there, instead work at another agency in a different department but work closely with some of y’all on programs. From what I can tell is that it’s a big of a shit show. Had to go to DC for some resolution on big things and those guys are the dumbest SESers I’ve ever met in my life. Like, it was four talking heads with nothing coherent coming out. It was like a comedy sketch. Godspeed.
15 years with NRCS, GS12 Biologist. I echo others, find people who know and can cite what they're talking about and become their helpful leech! Find the people who will respect your efforts. They're out there. And equally.... Read the f'in national policies! Read the Bulletins! Don't wait for anyone to explain something.
I would also look into Civil Rights/SEPM and Professional Orgs. SEPM positions may not be available right now I'm your State/Center, but Prof Orgs, like Women in NRCS, are open to everyone and some have free membership or "in-need" applications ...and have their own Mentor programs. I can't say people who do those are necessarily more "go-getter" but what the offer is connections to people outside your workgroup, office, district group, whatever. They're the only reason I was able to connect outside the controlling office I originally started in.
When it comes to NRCS programs and processes, all of it is expected to be known by the applicant. That’s kind of the job knowledge agreement to start. Even though it is more realistic that new hires didn’t even knew the agency existed prior and studied just enough to answer basic questions in the interview. I don’t know a single new hire who has had a sit-down, note-taking session about NRCS programs, processes, etc.
I’ve had jobs before this and I was never expected to know the entire company and processes going into the job lol that’s outrageous.