JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
RECRUITMENT OF PROFESSIONAL CHEMISTS FOR THE FEDERAL SERVICE E. J. STOCKING United States Civil Service Commission, Washington, D. C.
IN 1883 Congress passed the Civil Service Act and thereby established a basis for the competitive system in the federal government and laid the foundation for the career service as we now know it. However, all positions were not immediately included within the competitive service and it was not until 1888 that professional and related positions became in part subjected to competitive recruitment. Since that time the expansion of scientific investigations within the federal government and the utilization of scientists by government in many other fields of endeavor have advanced steadily.
An executive order of May 6, 1896, so modified the then existing Civil Service Rules and Regulations as to permit large numbers of positions in the field service (that is, federal positions outside of Washington) to be included in the competitive classified service. A number of chemist positions then established, and also a very large number of similar positions established a t later dates, have been included in the classified service as a result of the executive order of May 6, 1896. Congress, by legislation, has also brought certain professional chemist positions within the classified service in recent years.
FEBRUARY, 1949
In the period of more than half a century since the executive order of 1896, the nation has passed through a number of crises created by industrial depressions, financial panics, and wars. The activities of the federal government have contracted and expanded with these crises, but in general there has been a constant expansion of federal personnel throughout the years. This could he expected as the nation grew during that period from approximately 70,884,554 persons to a population now numbering about 145,340,000. Every crisis and every war has found the Government calling upon its trained scientists to aid in arriving a t quick, sound, and equitable solutions to the many problems with which the nation was faced. World War I1 demonstrated more forcefully than ever before the part that scientists do play in the development of offensive and defensive weapons, but of more importrthce is the recognition that is now being given to the need for calling upon the skills and abilities of those same scientists to keep the nation ever in the vanguard in developing cultural and scientific pursuits. As the nation grew, demand developed for chemists to assist their government in finding ways and means for conserving and utilizing the natural resources of the nation. The government, in order to assist its citizens to take full advantage of the Nation's resources and of its industrial and agricultural potentialities, has expanded its research facilities year after year and now has scattered throughout the 48 states a number of laboratories under the jurisdiction of the various federal departments. These laboratories employ professional chemists on basic and developmental research in many special fields. The recruitment of trained chemists to fill positions in these laboratories, and the promotion, retention and professional development of those chemists while in the service, have always been recognized by the Civil Service Commission as an important phase of its activities. In the early days of recruitment for scientific positions, under civil service procedures, most of the recruitment occurred a t the lower salary levels and the higher salaried positions were filled largely by promotion from within. Such a policy is recognized as good and sound, but it is also desirable to bring into the federal service some trained scientists at all salary levels and during periods of rapid expansion it is obviously necessary to recruit from outside the federal service, some chemists who are capable of assuming the responsibilities of positions of the very highest grade. Throughout the years, as conditions changed and as the demand varied in the type, quantity, and quality of persons needed, the Commission has modified its recruiting pattern in an effort to best meet the needs of the service. Generally it has been seriously handicapped by a lack of resources and seldom has it been possible to maintain a scientific staff adequate to do the recruiting job in as efficient a manner as is desirable. Speed is of the essence in scientific recruiting but speed in any undertaking costs money. As a result of the Commission's experience gained during the recent war, and because of the greatly in-
creahed and much more comljlex activities of the federal government, two concepts have been developed in connection with the recruitment of civil service personnel which differ materially from the concepts existing prior to the war. One of these concepts is that the recruitment and examining activities of the Civil Service Commission must be decentralized to the greatest possible extent. This is believed necessary in the interest of speed and efficiency in the placement of personnel in the federal agencies. The second of these concepts is that the various federal agencies must share responsibilities with the Commission in recruiting and &mining personnel, particularly for professional, technical, and scientific positions. Application of these two concepts has given us our present practice of di;iidmg the announcement of examinations between the Commission's central office, in Washington, and the Commission's 14 regional o5ces. The central office announces examinations for filling departmental and field positions in Washington and the immediate vicinity. The regional offices, and hoards of examiners under their jurisdiction, announce examinations for filling positions in the field service. To assist the Commission in its recruitment and placement programs there have been established, under the jurisdiction of the Commission's regional offices, numerous Boards of U. S. Civil Seri.ice Examiners. These boards are established within the federal agencies operating outside of Washington, D. C., and they carry on their examining and recruitment activities under the general policies, practices, and procedures promulgated and published by the Commission. They hold examinations, maintain registers, and certify eligibles for many positions, particularly those peculiar to their agency. The boards are guided and supervised in their activities by the regional o5ce under whose jurisdiction they operite. In Washington, D. C., various federal agencies have been authorized to establish somewhat comparable examining bodies known as Committees of Expert Examiners. These committees also operate under the practices, policies, and procedures established by the Commission. They prepare examination announcements, formulate examination questions, rate papers, establish registers, certify eligibles, and recruit for those positions which are peculiar to their respective agencies. In Washington the activities of such committees are guided and directed by the Examining and Placement Division of the central office of the Commission. During the last war, a serious scarcity of trained scientists developed. That scarcity still exists in many scientific areas. Because of that scarcity we find a t the present time the various federal agencies, and bureaus within agencies, competing for the same scientific personnel and in most cases having to recruit from the same sources that private industry and state and municipal civil service systems are using. The demand a t the present time, within and without the federal service, for trained scientists capable of maintaining high standards
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of performance, particularly in the fields of research and development, is, I believe, causing a greater movement of personnel from the federal service to industry and from industry to the federal service than would he considered normal in the years before 1942. You will sometimes hear it stated that the federal government is unable to recruit leaders in scientific thought, and also that many of the better scientistsare leaving the federal service to go into industry. Personally, I do not believe that the facts will justify such a statement or any such conclusions. Some scientists, including chemists, are leaving government senrice and going into industry, but it is equally true that many now employed outside the federal service are entering the service. The loss of a scientist by the federal service does not mean that his skills and abilities are being lost to the nation: it means only that he is exercising the rights and privileges guaranteed him under our American form of government, and when he exercises those prerogatives we should not look upon it with great distress. After all, he is still a loyal citizen working for the welfare of this nation. My pe;sonal opinion is that any person, federal representative or other, who makes statements loosely to the effect that the federal government cannot compete for the higher-grade scientists is doing a disservice to his government, and in a sense maligning many fine federal employees. Admittedly, with present shortages it is difficult to recruit young scientists, and some recent graduates whom the agencies would like to have, and who undoubtedly are qualified to do excellent work for those agencies, will choose not to work for the federal government. However, if you add up the total number of scientists recruited by all the federal agencies during recent months you will find that the government has obtained a large number of exceptionally well-qualified young scientists. This recruitment has been acaomplished under a competitive system that is truly an American system, and it can be expected that in the years ahead significant contributions to their profession will be made by these neophytes. Personally I am optimistic enough to believe they will contribute a great deal that will be new, interesting, and extremely worth while. True it is that not all of the great scientists can be brought into the federal service, hut I think it is equally true that not all of them should come into the federal service. Again, many who do not come into the federal service upon graduation from school will in the years ahead find federal service acceptable and appealing to them. Therefore, the fact that some scientists cannot he recruited as soon as they leave school doesnot mean that the agencies will not have access to their talents in the years ahead; recruiting experience indicates that they will. I would be the last one to say that the practices and policies for the recruitment of scientists under civil service procedures should never be changed, and the Civil Service Commission will freely admit that real improvements in its recruiting techniques can be
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
made. That does not mean, however, that these improvements can always be made quickly. We may expect improvements inre~ruitingtechniques to result from the experience which the Commission is gaining in working with committees of expert examiners and boards of U. S. civil service examiners, and from the help and advice it will get from the members of those committees and hoards and from the Advisory Committee on Scientific Personnel. There are many factors, however, besides civil service recruiting techniques which will encourage or discourage scientists from entering the federal service. Such things as entrance salary, promotions within grade, promotions from grade to grade, leave and vacation periods, retirement privileges, etc., all play their part in encouraging scientists to enter the service and in maintaining a high morale among the scientists in the federal service. In recent years, Congress has approved a much more liberal retirement plan that existed in the past. There are some other factors affecting the employment of scientists, however, that Congress must give further consideration to, and undoubtedly it will do so as soon as more urgent matters are disposed of. Such factors as revisions and modifications of the position-classification system, salary schedules, personnel and promotion practices and policies, etc., are examples of matters affecting the recruitment of personnel that Congress must review from time to time. The problem of recruiting and of maintaining an adequate staff of highly skilled scientists rests jointly with the Commission and the agencies. However, while this is a cooperative venture the agencies must do a great deal more advance planning on staffing than they have done in the past, if the planning is to be truly effective. Since the cessation of hostilities in 1945, the Commission has established in a number of its regions Joint College-Federal Service Councils. These councils were organized for the purpose of getting college officials together with agency officialsso that they might discuss problems of mutual interest. Obviously, the Civil Service Commission has a direct interest in such councils and a responsibility to foster, encourage, and give guidance to their work. Through the efforts of such councils, employment opportunities in the federal service will come to the attention of college students a t the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner. The Commission understands full well that practically the only recruitment source for young scientists is the colleges, and that it must seek professional chemists from among those who have been trained in the colleges. Issues and problems which need to be faced by the federal agencies if sound recruiting programs are to be developed, are being brought into sharp focus by these Joint College-Federal Service Councils. Cooperation among federal personnel, operating officials, and college officialsis going to be needed if recruiting problems are to be met and overcome. The initiative, must come from federal officials, for they have t,he biggest stake in the results.
The Commission believes that these steps--estab- service. Many of them maintain affiliations with the lishing committees and boards of examiners within the various professional societies. Some are constantly various agencies, getting their suggestions and advice, contributing to the scientific literature of the day, and and obtaining the cooperation of the Joint College- the leading chemists in the federal service can point to Federal Service Councils-are giving us a foundation on outstanding accomplishments in their respective fields. which to build a better system for the recruitment of The government chemists appreciate the opportunity of scientists, fully qualified to carry on in the fields of meeting with their fellow chemists in order to discuss research, development, advisow service and regulatory mutual problems and to formulate philosophies that activities. will lead to future professional development, with parIn closing, I wish to point out that chemists in the ticular respect to the recruitment of scientists for the Federal service are much the same as those outside the federal service.
