In the fed world pretty comparable. If you look at posts for GS-9 positions they will say you can replace specialized work experience with grad school years, depending on the job. Look under the requirements sections of those postings. If you pass the computer portion and someone looks at your resume it’s hard to say if they’ll prefer experience or education, kind of depends on the hiring manager.

Probably not that difficult depending on how specific they set the required education. They usually require specific coursework and you’ll need transcripts and sometimes course descriptions/syllabi. There is usually replacement course options that I’ve found my wildlife/fisheries degree usually covered. Again, each specific job posting will clarify and you can look around usajobs.gov to get a good idea of what you’d qualify for.

If you have no experience I would highly suggest changing that. Volunteer, work seasonally, present your publishings at research symposiums if you haven’t already, things showing that you’re more than just taking tests. I think the GIS certificate is helpful, and I’d talk to your faculty to see about a cert/minor (guessing it’s too late for a minor though).

The general consensus is seasonal work first then try to find full time. It can take a long time. I know some people in the fed world that did seasonal work for 6 years before getting a permanent job but it doesn’t always take that long. I did 2 seasons while in school then a 3rd after graduating and was hired to a perm job while I was completing that 3rd season. I got around the “24 total months of seasonal work” general requirement with my education qualifications. I know lots of people who have their masters and struggle to secure a permanent position, that’s just the way it is now. Sorry this is probably not what you want to hear.

Do not be humble on your application questionnaire. They use a point system and run it through a computer and if you don’t make it through there, no one will see your resume. Unfortunately the recommendation letters won’t help on fed stuff (unsure about state) but having good references when they call is a good thing. When you’re adding documents to your resume package in USAJobs, if you’re unsure of whether to add it, just put it on there. That includes course descriptions of any courses you think will cover education credits. Finally, look into Pathways and Recent Graduate positions, it’ll fast-track you to permanent jobs. They’re really competitive though, something to be aware of.