Questions on USACE & the Army Fellows Program
Several months ago, I applied for a USACE position within the Army Fellows Program. This week I received an email that I was referred to the hiring manager. My long-term goals are actually to work for a specific USACE ERDC if a spot is ever open and I was curious about bringing this up if I get selected for an interview. I actually spoke with a hiring manager at the specific ERDC lab 2 years ago and since then they said they were forwarding my information to their HR whenever I'd send them my new transcripts each semester of my master's degree. However, they haven't posted any entry level positions since at least 2024.
The current position isn't for that lab, but if asked during the interview about my long-term goals I don't want to bring up the lab and potentially hurt my chances. So I was curious on what the "feel" is of the Army Fellows program. Would a hiring manager want me to stay at this specific area or is it more of a 2 year fellowship for feeding entry level hires to the entirety of USACE? Would I be seen negatively for wanting to move to a different portion of USACE later or it would be seen in a positive light that I'd like to stay in the agency?
I've never held a federal job before so I'm not entirely sure how it all works even if it's the same agency.
Thank you for any responses.