Federal jobs for young workers are becoming a bigger focus for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and Director Scott Kupor is taking a different approach to recruitment: Don’t ask young people to commit to a 40-year federal career. Ask them to try it for two or three years.
Kupor laid out that message in a recent OPM post after speaking with students on college campuses. His argument is that younger workers increasingly think about careers as a series of experiences rather than a commitment to one employer for decades. His pitch is simple: spend a few years in government, see whether you like it, and decide what comes next.
Why Does OPM Want Younger Workers?
The demographic imbalance is real. OPM’s current workforce data puts the median age of federal employees at 47. OPM has also reported that only about 7% of the federal workforce is under 30, compared with roughly 22% of the broader workforce. At the other end, about 44% of federal employees are over 50.
The trend also predates the current administration. A Congressional Budget Office analysis of OPM data found that the average age of newly hired federal employees increased from roughly 31 in 1990 to about 36–37 by 2005. In other words, the government was bringing in older new hires well before today’s recruiting push.
Federal Jobs for Young Workers Aren’t a New Idea
OPM has tried other approaches to building the early-career pipeline. Kupor’s current message is different mainly in how he frames the commitment.
Instead of selling federal employment as a career decision that starts at 22 and ends at retirement, he’s presenting it as an experience that can fit into a broader career.
That approach also lines up with how federal and private-sector employment differ in tenure. BLS reported median tenure with a current employer of 6.5 years for federal workers in January 2024, compared with 3.5 years in the private sector. BLS notes that age is one factor behind the difference.
Will the “Try It for a Few Years” Strategy Work?
OPM has launched several efforts aimed at early-career recruitment, including its Early Career Talent Network and programs designed to bring younger workers into technology and other fields. The agency’s own data shows how large the gap is: only a small share of federal employees are under 30.
Kupor’s approach doesn’t require young workers to decide today whether they want a lifetime federal career. It simply asks them to consider federal service as one part of their early career.
Whether that changes the age profile of the workforce will take years to measure. But the message itself represents a shift: federal jobs for young workers might be geared more toward getting them in the door than convincing them to stay for 40 years.
