Please read entire announcement and view announcement questions 
before contacting for questions! Also, feel free to reference the 
FSIS Web-Site for other common questions regarding this program.
VSEP Information

Questions - click here Common Q & A's 
About Applying For Federal Jobs on USAJobs

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is a public health 
regulatory agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).  Our 
mission is to protect consumers by ensuring that the commercial 
supply of meat*, poultry, catfish and egg products moving in 
interstate commerce or exported to other countries is safe and 
correctly labeled and packaged.  We offer opportunities for future 
merit-based promotion, career enhancement and professional 
development; flexible work schedules; and transit subsidies in some 
locations.  For more information about the agency, visit FSIS.
 
* The "Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008", also referred to 
as the "2008 Farm Bill", was signed into Law on June 18, 2008. The 
Farm Bill amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) to include 
Catfish as an amenable species under the Act.  

This student position is covered by the Public Health Human Resource 
System (PHHRS) Demonstration Project.

Effective July 19, 2009, FSIS began operating under the PHHRS, a Pay 
Banding and Pay for Performance Demonstration Project, in which non-
bargaining unit positions will be classified by career path, 
occupational series, and pay bands rather than the traditional 
General Schedule (GS) grades in the Federal Service.  The AP-02 band 
is equivalent to the GS-5/7 grade levels.  

PHHRS will allow FSIS the flexibility to offer exceptional 
candidates higher salaries than most other Federal agencies.  
Additionally, employees will be eligible to receive an annual pay 
increase based upon performance.

For more information on PHHRS, including information on its pay 
tables and how it will benefit employees, please visit 
PHHRS.

WE CALL IT OUR "VETERINARY STUDENT EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM" (VSEP)

This program has been developed under the Student Career 
Experience Program (SCEP) component of the Student Education 
Employment Program (SEEP). The program provides experience that is 
directly related to the student's educational program and career 
goals. We have developed this program to provide students with a 
valuable career-related work experience in our Public Health Agency.

SEEP-SCEP 
Information 

Students will work directly under the supervision of a Food Safety 
Inspection Service (FSIS) Public Health Veterinarian (PHV) acquiring 
knowledge of what PHV's do throughout the Agency. Students will 
learn how our in-plant PHV's ensure the meat and poultry 
products that reach the consuming public are safe, wholesome and 
correctly labeled. Students will spend time with several PHV's in 
the Agency to gain an understanding of the variety of roles PHV's 
have in our Public Health Regulatory Agency. 

At a minimum, students will be asked to be available and commit to 6 
weeks of full-time employment (max 16 weeks) during summer 2010. 
It doesn't matter when the student starts (other than the beginning 
of a pay period), it just depends on the student's schedule. 
Students MAY also work during subsequent school breaks prior to 
graduation but housing would not be paid for outside of summer 
employment. 

We have PHV's in various locations throughout the country to serve 
as Mentors. The students Duty Station* will be determined based on 
many different factors. We do review applicants' geographical 
interests but the Mentors & Duty Stations that each District has 
available varies from year to year. Please note that there is 
absolutely no guarantee for a job placement in a city and state 
(Duty Station)that you would like, even if there is a facility near 
where applicant goes to school or lives.

If the Duty Station for which the student is selected requires the 
student to relocate from their current school location, FSIS WILL BE 
responsible for locating and paying for summer housing and travel 
costs incurred (Domestic travel within the United States) in getting 
the student to their Duty Station and back to their school location 
at the end of their employment period.

Housing usually includes a fully furnished place along with a 
kitchenette if available. Not all remote locations have all 
available amenities. The selected individual may not know where 
their housing will be located until 2 weeks prior to their start 
date. 

*Duty Station - the geographic location (city and state) where the 
student will spend the majority of their time this summer; it will 
serve as the students "hub".

• Must be currently attending a College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM)
• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• See Education section for Transcript Requirements.
• Must have completed all Vacancy Questions with Complete Answers.