Join the remote work revolution with a career at VA

As the world continues to adapt to working conditions changed by the pandemic, and job seekers reconsider how they want to work, VA has recognized the need for flexible career options, including more remote work.

“At VA, since the pandemic, a lot of positions have gone virtual, and a lot of positions have been deemed telework,” explained Mike Owens, a recruitment marketing specialist at VA and the host of our weekly “Talk About It Tuesday” broadcast.

Virtual vs. telework

At VA, remote work options are typically divided into two categories: “virtual” and “telework.”

A “virtual” position allows you to conduct your work from a destination of your own choosing. If you’re working virtually, you can be at home, at the coffee shop or even at the park – anywhere you have a good internet connection.

A “telework” position is more of a hybrid option. While you’ll be able to work at an approved alternate worksite, these positions also require participation at a main facility on some days.

Conducting your search

So, how do you know if the job you seek offers virtual or telework options?

To start with, you can find out if a job is eligible when you open a job description.

If you look through the “overview” section of the announcement, you’ll see a summary of telework eligibility, and if you’re on a desktop computer, when you over your mouse over the section, a pop-up will tell you if you can work from home some days.

As you go deeper into the job description, you can learn more about the telework or virtual options, too. Some jobs may offer telework and virtual opportunities for highly qualified candidates. That opens up both options to you.

There also may be telework options as part of the announcement, but the position itself is not considered fully virtual. Again, that means you’ll have the option to work from home (or wherever you like) some days, but you’ll still need to report to the office regularly.

You can also filter your search on USAJobs.gov. If you look to the right when you begin your search, you can find telework options under “more filters,” so you can select jobs with that specific benefit. Once you’ve selected that filter, you’ll see it as one of your options under the search bar at the top of the page.

Opportunities abound

Right now, there are over 1,100 jobs at VA with virtual or telework options as part of the job announcement. These positions run the range of nearly everything we do here at VA. Whether it is in clinical fields, such as medical and health, or in nonclinical fields like software development, human services and project management, there’s an opportunity waiting for you at VA.

And just like any VA career, these virtual and telework positions come with many more benefits, just like any in-person job on our team.

• Competitive starting salaries. We offer our employees strong starting salaries based on education, training and experience. We also offer steady growth, with periodic pay raises that address inflation and local market changes.
• Flexible schedules. Beyond the chance to work from home, our employees receive 13 to 26 paid vacation/personal days, as well as 13 sick days annually with no limit on accumulation. We also celebrate 11 paid federal holidays each year.
• Robust insurance options. You can choose from a variety of health maintenance organizations or fee-for-service health plans, and all cover preexisting conditions. We also pay up to 75% of health premiums, a benefit that may continue into retirement.

Work at VA

Whether fully virtual or hybrid telework, VA has opportunities for you to work in ways that matter to you and improve your quality of life.

• WATCH our “Talk About It Tuesday” episode about remote work.
• READ about some of our telehealth positions.
• LEARN more about the benefits of working at VA.
• SEARCH for your VA career at VACareers.va.gov.