Benefits 
Vacation and Sick Leave—For 
vacations and other purposes, most 
Federal employees earn annual 
leave according to the number of 
years they have been in the Federal 
service: 13 days per year for the 
first 3 years and 20 days per year for 
the next 12 years. After 15 years, 
they earn 26 days of annual leave 
each year. 
Sick leave is earned at the rate of 
13 days per year. It is intended for 
use for illnesses serious enough to 
keep employees away from work 
and for appointments with doctors, 
dentists, or opticians. Sick leave 
that is not used accumulates for 
future use. It is one of the best 
forms of insurance an employee 
can have in case of extended 
periods of sickness. 
Retirement — Career and career- 
conditional employees contribute 
to a retirement fund that provides 
retirement income to employees 
and their families or survivors. The 
Government also contributes a per- 
centage to the fund. Employees 
appointed after January 1, 1983, are 
covered by Social Security as well. 
A Thrift Savings Plan allows tax- 
deferred savings for retirement. For 
post-1983 employees, the Govern- 
ment also contributes to this plan. 
10 
How To Apply 
Most permanent positions in 
the Forest Service are filled by 
appointment from a list of eligible 
candidates furnished by the Office 
of Personnel Management. An eligi- 
bility list is established as a result of 
competitive examination; some ex- 
aminations require a written test 
and others do not. If the examina- 
tion does not require a written test, 
applicants are rated primarily on 
the experience and education shown 
on the completed application form. 
Whether the examination is written 
or not, applicants with the highest 
scores are placed at the top of the 
eligibility list. 
Each examination announce- 
ment describes the criteria (educa- 
tion, experience, etc.) for rating 
applicants. Applicants must be on 
the register of qualified candidates 
in the OPM office covering the area 
where the job is located. Informa- 
tion about these examinations can 
be obtained from one of the OPM 
Federal Job Information Centers 
listed at the back of this publication. 
For forestry aid and technician 
positions, the Forest Service has the 
authority to recruit and examine 
applicants on a case basis. For each 
vacancy, the local employing office 
issues a recruitment notice, accepts 
and rates applications, and makes 
the selection. 
Candidates applying for consid- 
eration in the clerical field must 
take and pass the clerical examina- 
tion given by the Office of Person- 
nei Management. Clerk typists must 
also possess typing proficiency. As 
soon as clerical applicants receive 
an eligible rating, they may apply 
directly to agencies for employment 
consideration by submitting their 
Personal Qualifications Statement, 
Standard Form 171, and a copy of 
their OPM notice of rating. 
