What Is the GS-1102 Contract Specialist Series?

The GS-1102 series covers federal contracting and acquisition positions. Contract Specialists, Contracting Officers, and Procurement Analysts all fall under this job series. It is one of the most in-demand federal career fields, with openings across the Department of Defense, DHS, VA, GSA, and nearly every other agency that buys goods and services.

I worked in federal contracting myself. It was one of six federal career fields I held after separating from the Navy. So when I talk about what hiring managers look for in a 1102 resume, I am pulling from direct experience on both sides of the desk.

The 1102 series spans GS-5 through GS-15, with most mid-career veterans targeting GS-9 through GS-13 roles. Contract Specialists at the GS-12 and GS-13 level often carry a warrant, meaning they have the legal authority to sign contracts on behalf of the federal government. That is a significant responsibility and agencies staff these positions carefully.

If you have any military contracting, purchasing, or acquisition experience, the 1102 series should be on your radar. Even if your MOS or rating was not specifically "contracting," you may qualify based on related experience like purchase card management, requirements generation, or vendor coordination.

What Are the OPM Qualification Requirements for GS-1102?

OPM sets specific qualification standards for the 1102 series that differ from most other federal job series. For positions at GS-13 and above, there is a mandatory education requirement: you need a four-year degree OR at least 24 semester hours in certain business-related courses (accounting, business finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing, quantitative methods, or organization and management).

For GS-5 through GS-12, you can qualify through education, experience, or a combination. A bachelor's degree alone qualifies you at the GS-5 level. To qualify at higher grades on experience alone, you need one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade that demonstrates competence in contracting principles.

One critical detail: many veterans with military contracting experience earned their 24 credit hours through DAWIA courses or military education programs without realizing it. Check your Joint Services Transcript (JST) for business-related credits. Those hours count toward the GS-13+ education requirement, and missing this connection is one of the most common reasons veterans undersell themselves on 1102 applications.

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How Do You Translate Military Contracting Experience for a 1102 Resume?

Military contracting and federal civilian contracting run on the same regulations. FAR, DFARS, competition requirements, source selection — it is the same framework. The difference is vocabulary and context. When I reviewed resumes for federal contracting positions, the resumes that stood out were specific about dollar values, contract types, and regulatory compliance. The ones that got passed over were vague.

Your military contracting experience likely maps directly to civilian 1102 duties. The problem is that military job descriptions use different terminology, and USA Staffing (the federal ATS) scans for specific civilian keywords. You need both the right content and the right language.

Notice the difference. Same experience, but the second version uses the exact terminology that appears in 1102 job announcements: contract administration, firm-fixed-price, micro-purchase threshold, funds utilization. These are the keywords that get your resume ranked higher in USA Staffing.

Key Military-to-1102 Translations

Here are the most common military contracting terms and their civilian equivalents for 1102 positions. COR experience becomes "contract administration and surveillance." Purchase card holder translates to "micro-purchase procurement using simplified acquisition procedures." Requirements generation maps to "acquisition planning and requirements development." DAWIA certification stays exactly as-is — it is the same certification system used across DoD civilian positions.

If you served as a unit purchase card holder, you conducted simplified acquisitions. If you wrote statements of work or performance work statements, you performed acquisition planning. If you tracked contract deliverables and evaluated contractor performance, you performed contract surveillance using CPARS (Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System). Every one of these terms should appear on your 1102 resume if you did the work.

What Keywords Should a GS-1102 Resume Include?

The federal resume for a 1102 position needs to hit specific regulatory and procedural keywords. I am not talking about keyword stuffing. I am talking about using the right language to describe what you actually did. USA Staffing ranks resumes based on keyword matches to the job announcement, so missing a key term means your resume sinks to the bottom of the list where no one scrolls.

Do not dump all of these into a skills section and call it done. Weave them into your experience bullets where they are relevant. If you used FPDS-NG to pull contract data, say that in the bullet. If you conducted cost/price analysis on a specific procurement, describe the dollar value and outcome. The keywords matter, but they need context to be credible.

What Are the Most Common 1102 Resume Mistakes Veterans Make?

After years in federal contracting and reviewing applications on the hiring side, these are the mistakes I saw repeatedly from veterans applying to 1102 positions.

The first and biggest mistake is being vague about dollar values. Contracting is a numbers-driven field. Every procurement has a dollar amount, a contract type, and a timeline. When your resume says "managed multiple contracts" without specifying whether those were $50K simplified acquisitions or $50M IDIQ vehicles, the hiring manager has nothing to evaluate. Always include the dollar value, the contract type, and the scope.

Second mistake: not connecting military procurement systems to their civilian equivalents. If you used SPS (Standard Procurement System), that is a contract writing system — say so. If you used Wide Area Workflow for invoice processing, that is directly relevant. Hiring managers know these systems but the automated screening may not connect the acronym to the function unless you spell it out.

Third: leaving DAWIA certification details incomplete. Do not just write "DAWIA certified." State the specific level (Contracting Level I, II, or III), the date achieved, and your continuous learning status. For some 1102 positions at DoD agencies, DAWIA certification is either required or strongly preferred, and vague mentions do not satisfy that requirement.

Fourth: writing a generic federal resume instead of tailoring it to the specific 1102 announcement. Each job posting lists specific specialized experience requirements. Your resume needs to address those requirements directly, using the same language the announcement uses. A resume that worked for a GS-1102-11 posting at the Army may not work for a GS-1102-12 posting at DHS without adjustments.

How Should You Structure a GS-1102 Resume for USAJOBS?

Your 1102 resume should be two pages, formatted for the federal hiring process. That means including your hours per week, supervisor information, and detailed duty descriptions for each position. Keep it at two pages — the old myth about federal resumes needing to be four to six pages is not accurate, and longer resumes just mean the reviewer has more to skim past.

A strong 1102 resume reads like a contracting portfolio summary. Each role should tell the hiring manager: what you bought, how much it cost, what regulations you followed, and what systems you used. If your resume does not answer those four questions for every contracting position you held, it needs work.

Is the GS-1102 Series a Good Career Path for Veterans?

Short answer: yes, and it is one of the stronger federal career paths available to veterans with any acquisition or procurement background. The 1102 series has consistent demand across nearly every federal agency. DoD alone employs tens of thousands of contract specialists, and the civilian agencies (VA, DHS, GSA, DOE) all maintain large contracting workforces.

Pay progression in the 1102 series is strong. Most journey-level positions are GS-12 or GS-13, and supervisory contracting positions go up to GS-14 and GS-15. With veterans preference, you have a real advantage in the hiring process. Combined with DAWIA certification and military contracting experience, you are a strong candidate.

The transition from military contracting to civilian 1102 is one of the most direct paths in federal hiring. You already know the regulations. You already understand the acquisition lifecycle. The resume is just the bridge between what you did in uniform and what the hiring system needs to see on paper. Build that bridge with specific numbers, correct terminology, and a tailored approach for each announcement, and the 1102 series is well within reach.

Related: Military rank to GS level conversion chart and federal resume length 2026: the new 2-page limit.

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