Why This Distinction Matters Before You Apply

You find a federal job on USAJOBS. The title looks right. The pay grade fits. You start your application. Then you see language about "competitive service" or "excepted service" and wonder what it means.

This is one of the most confusing parts of federal hiring. And it changes how you apply, how your veterans preference points work, and how your career moves forward after you get hired.

I spent 1.5 years applying to government jobs after I separated from the Navy. I burned applications on jobs I did not understand. Some were competitive service. Some were excepted. I had no idea the rules were different for each one. Once I figured it out, I changed federal career fields six times. The service type mattered every single time.

This guide breaks down the three federal service types. It explains how each one affects veterans. And it tells you what to look for on every USAJOBS announcement before you waste time on the wrong approach.

What Are the Three Federal Service Types?

The federal government splits its workforce into three categories. Every federal job falls into one of them.

Competitive Service: This is the largest category. About 70% of federal jobs fall here. Agencies must follow OPM rules for hiring, promoting, and firing. That means job announcements, rating panels, and structured merit promotion or DEU processes.

Excepted Service: These agencies or positions are exempt from OPM competitive hiring rules. They can set their own hiring processes. The CIA, FBI, NSA, FAA, USPS, and the entire VA Title 38 medical workforce are excepted service. So are many DoD cyber roles.

Senior Executive Service (SES): This is the top tier. SES members are senior leaders (think GS-16 and above, though GS-16 no longer exists). They can move between agencies. Most veterans will not deal with SES early in their careers. But it is worth knowing it exists.

For most veterans, the real question is competitive vs excepted. That is where the rules change the most.

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How Does Competitive Service Hiring Work?

Competitive service jobs follow a structured process. OPM sets the rules. Agencies must follow them.

When a competitive service job opens on USAJOBS, it goes through a standard process. HR specialists review applications. They score resumes against the job announcement. They use category rating to sort candidates into groups like Best Qualified, Well Qualified, and Qualified.

Veterans preference points get added during this process. If you have 5-point or 10-point preference, it gets applied in competitive service hiring. That is a real advantage. A 10-point preference veteran in the Best Qualified group moves to the top of the list.

There are two main ways competitive service jobs get announced:

DEU (Delegated Examining Unit): Open to the public. Anyone can apply. Veterans preference applies fully here. This is where your 5 or 10 points matter most.

Merit Promotion: Open to current federal employees, VEOA-eligible veterans, and others with status. If you have never held a competitive service federal job, you usually cannot apply through merit promotion unless you use VEOA.

The structured process in competitive service protects veterans. The rules exist so that qualified veterans get a fair shot. Your preference points actually carry weight because the system requires agencies to follow them.

How Does Excepted Service Hiring Work?

Excepted service agencies have more freedom. They do not have to follow OPM competitive hiring rules. That cuts both ways for veterans.

An excepted service agency can post a job, review applications, and hire whoever they want. Some still use structured processes that look similar to competitive service. But they are not required to.

Here is where it gets important for veterans. In excepted service positions, your 5-point or 10-point veterans preference may not apply the same way. Some excepted service agencies honor veterans preference voluntarily. Others do not. The law requires excepted service agencies to follow veterans preference only when they use an OPM-approved examining process.

That said, excepted service agencies often hire faster. They skip some of the bureaucratic steps. If you are a strong candidate, you might get hired in weeks instead of months.

Entirely excepted service agencies include the CIA, FBI, NSA, FAA, TVA, USPS, and parts of the VA. The VA medical workforce operates under Title 38, which is excepted service with its own pay system. DoD cyber positions now fall under the Cyber Excepted Service with unique pay bands.

What Are Schedule A, B, and C Appointments?

Within excepted service, there are three schedules. Each one works differently.

Schedule A: These positions are excepted because of the nature of the job or the hiring authority used. The most common example for veterans is Schedule A for disabled veterans. If you have a 30%+ VA disability rating, you can use Schedule A to get hired without competing through the normal process. This is a powerful path. Attorneys, chaplains, and certain medical professionals also come in through Schedule A.

Schedule B: These are positions where it is not practical to use competitive examining. The agency must still follow some OPM rules. Schedule B appointments are less common. You will see them in certain internships and fellowship programs like the Pathways Program.

Schedule C: These are political appointments. The incoming administration fills these positions. They are policy-making or confidential roles. Schedule C positions change with every election cycle. Most veterans will not encounter these unless they work in political circles.

For most veterans, Schedule A is the one to know. If you have a qualifying disability rating, it can bypass the competitive process entirely.

How Does Veterans Preference Differ Between the Two?

This is the part that trips people up. Veterans preference does not work the same way in both service types.

In competitive service: Veterans preference is required by law. If you have 5-point preference (TP), you get 5 extra points added to your score. If you have 10-point preference (CP, CPS, or XP for disability), you get 10 points. In category rating systems, preference-eligible veterans who score in the Best Qualified or Well Qualified groups get placed ahead of non-veterans in their group.

In excepted service: The rules are looser. Agencies must give preference to veterans when they use a process similar to competitive examining. But many excepted service agencies use their own hiring methods. When they do, your preference points might not carry the same weight.

This does not mean excepted service is bad for veterans. Some excepted service agencies actively recruit veterans because of security clearances, discipline, and relevant experience. The FBI, CIA, and NSA all want veterans. They just do not always use the same point system to get you there.

The key takeaway: check every job announcement. It will tell you whether the position is competitive or excepted. And if it is excepted, read the "How to Apply" section carefully to see how that agency handles veterans preference.

Which Agencies Are Entirely Excepted Service?

Some agencies do not have any competitive service positions. Every job they post is excepted.

Here are the major ones veterans should know:

• CIA (Central Intelligence Agency): All positions excepted. Own hiring process. Heavy emphasis on clearances.
• FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation): All positions excepted. Uses own application portal alongside USAJOBS.
• NSA (National Security Agency): All positions excepted. Strong demand for SIGINT, cyber, and intel backgrounds.
• FAA (Federal Aviation Administration): All positions excepted. Air traffic control, safety, and aviation tech roles.
• USPS (United States Postal Service): Excepted service. Has its own hiring and pay system separate from GS.
• TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority): All positions excepted. Engineering, environmental, and energy roles.
• VA Title 38 Medical Staff: Doctors, nurses, dentists, and other clinical staff at the VA are excepted under Title 38. They use a different pay scale than the GS system.
• DoD Cyber Excepted Service: Cyber and IT positions in DoD now fall under CES with their own pay bands.

If you are applying to any of these agencies, know that their process will look different from a standard USAJOBS competitive service job. Research their specific application process before you start.

Can You Move Between Excepted and Competitive Service?

Yes. But it is not always simple. Career mobility between the two service types has real rules you need to understand.

Moving from competitive to excepted: This is usually straightforward. You apply to the excepted service job like anyone else. Your competitive service status does not automatically transfer. But your federal experience, time-in-grade, and step increases still count toward your pay.

Moving from excepted to competitive: This is harder. Time served in excepted service does not automatically give you competitive service status. You would need to go through the competitive hiring process, use a veteran hiring authority, or get converted through an interchange agreement.

OPM maintains interchange agreements with many excepted service agencies. These agreements let employees move from certain excepted service agencies into competitive service positions without losing status. The VA, FAA, FBI, and several others have interchange agreements. But not all excepted service agencies do.

I changed federal career fields six times. Some moves were within competitive service. Others crossed into excepted service territory. The interchange agreements made some of those moves possible. Without them, I would have been stuck reapplying from scratch.

How to Tell Which Type a Job Is on USAJOBS

Every USAJOBS announcement tells you whether the job is competitive or excepted. You just need to know where to look.

Open any job announcement and scroll to the "This job is open to" section. It will list the hiring paths. Then look for these clues:

Check the "Service" field. Under the job details, you will see "Service: Competitive" or "Service: Excepted." This is the clearest indicator.

Check the "Appointment Type" field. It will say permanent, term, or temporary. Combined with the service type, this tells you what kind of tenure you are getting.

Check the "Who May Apply" section. If it says "United States Citizens" with a DEU process, that is competitive service. If it references a specific hiring authority or says the position is in the excepted service, it will note that.

Look for hiring authority references. Announcements that mention VRA, Schedule A, or 30% disabled veteran authority are telling you specific paths into that position. Some of these paths cross service type boundaries.

Spend 60 seconds on this before you start any application. It saves you from tailoring a resume the wrong way or expecting veterans preference to apply when it might not.

How Does Pay Work in Each Service Type?

Pay is mostly the same. But there are exceptions worth knowing.

Most competitive service jobs use the General Schedule (GS) pay system. GS-1 through GS-15, with 10 steps at each grade. Locality pay adjusts your salary based on where you work.

Many excepted service jobs also use GS pay. If you get hired at the FBI as a GS-9, your base pay and locality adjustment are the same as a GS-9 at the IRS. The pay tables do not change based on service type.

But some excepted service agencies use their own pay systems. The VA pays Title 38 medical staff on a separate scale. DoD cyber jobs use pay bands that can exceed GS-15 limits. The USPS has its own pay grades entirely. The FAA uses a core compensation plan that differs from GS.

Step increases, within-grade increases, and quality step increases work the same in both service types when you are on the GS scale. Your step increase timeline does not change because you are in excepted vs competitive service.

What Should Veterans Do With This Information?

Understanding the difference between competitive and excepted service is not academic. It changes your job search strategy.

If you have strong veterans preference (especially 10-point), competitive service DEU announcements are where your preference carries the most weight. Focus your best applications there.

If you are targeting agencies like the FBI, CIA, NSA, or VA medical roles, know that you are entering excepted service territory. Your resume still needs to be strong. But the hiring process will look different. Research each agency before you apply.

If you plan to build a long federal career with moves between agencies, pay attention to interchange agreements. Starting in an excepted service agency with no interchange agreement can limit your options later.

And always read the full job announcement. The service type, hiring authority, and "Who May Apply" section tell you everything you need to know about how that specific position handles veterans.

BMR's Federal Resume Builder helps you tailor your resume to specific federal announcements. Whether you are applying to competitive or excepted service positions, it formats your experience the right way for federal HR systems. Built by a veteran who has been hired into six different federal career fields.