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SWATJester posted:Right, but does someone pay you to live Oakwood? Or is that only if you're over 50 miles away and getting the allowance? You only get perdiem if you wrote on those initial papers that your residence is outside of a 50 mile radius from a point in DC. Thus, you can only stay in the Oakwood for free if you're eligible for perdiem. A few times I stayed at Oakwood and opted to stay while my training was posted in another area, and I had to pay the difference. Oakwood isn't cheap. If you are from DC, you get no perdiem, AND no DC pay. You just get your base overseas pay (Grade and step *1.075). It sucks. In other news the Ambassador told my wife this week how happy he was to have me as a communicator 
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Apr 8, 2010 06:35
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Two speak on why I'm trying to pick up Arabic AND French: It's because I think I can brush up enough on French to pick up a bonus (Arabic not so sure, doubt I can figure out how to finance a trip to an Arabic country) and I'd like to work in Sub-Saharan Africa for the most part. I figure I speak French, Arabic, and English I should be golden for most of Africa. Speaking of, in case I don't get picked up this round (which I doubt I will) I'm trying to find some sort of aid org or NGO (preferably Africa) to hook up with. Get some overseas experience, a salary, etc. Anyone have any ideas? Is that feasible?
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Apr 8, 2010 07:44
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TCD posted:You only get perdiem if you wrote on those initial papers that your residence is outside of a 50 mile radius from a point in DC. See if he'll write you a bullet for your EER about how much he loves you (serious).
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Apr 8, 2010 12:58
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BOF - LOL @ Saudi Arabia. That's an ingenious plan. Vilerat & TCD, thanks for your input. Appreciate it. I guess I'll contact HR and clue them in with the certification's updates when it comes in. (Hope I hear good news from the QEP) Happydayz, Thanks. I suppose it [marginally?] increases our chances of getting more goons in the FS if they're on a blitz. Miss Fats, from a few friends Facebook's statuses, it seems USAID is also hiring a lot of people. Fairly sure they have opportunities in Ghana and the area.
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Apr 8, 2010 15:00
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CherryCola posted:How much do you guys think a PhD would help me in getting a foreign service job? I'm thinking if I don't get hired after the next round (and after a year break), I might go back to school. That's sort of my dilemma, if I don't get hired next year, I'd like to keep applying. But if I get hired before finishing my PhD will I be totally murdered by academia if I drop out? This one got lost on the last page. A PhD won't help you get hired by the Foreign Service, but if you are looking for something to do while you keep applying, a funded program in something you enjoy (and which, preferably, is employable in the long run if the FS does not work out) is probably not a bad option. A recent boss of mine was an ABD, and I don't know of any Asian-studies graduate-adviser hit squads after him. But YMMV.
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Apr 8, 2010 15:18
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Business of Ferrets posted:This one got lost on the last page. Yeah, my hope is that I can keep improving my language skills (thinking about doing a full year of Urdu study in 2011) and then do some internships that I can actually write about on my PN. That's how I'm hoping it will sort of work for me in both the academic direction and the good job experience direction.
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Apr 8, 2010 15:38
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Vilerat posted:Every 6-8 years you MUST go overseas. Many times people volunteer for 1 year unaccompanied tours just so they can reset the timer. There's always that I suppose! Would he be likely to say it's "fired up?"
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Apr 8, 2010 18:34
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AKA Pseudonym posted:Would he be likely to say it's "fired up?" Hehehe yeah 
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Apr 8, 2010 19:16
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TCD posted:You only get perdiem if you wrote on those initial papers that your residence is outside of a 50 mile radius from a point in DC. Hmm. Well I shouldn't be totally hosed. On various papers I think I've mistakenly put DC as my permanent residence on some, and Florida as my permanent residence on others. It should be florida for all of them though; that's where I vote, my drivers license is, it's where my loans go to, it's my address of record for the bar exam, etc. So I think I just have to unfuck the discrepancy.
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Apr 8, 2010 22:51
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xanthig posted:Does anybody ever get horribly drunk and make a fool of themselves? Vilerat posted:You would only make this mistake once I think. I wasn't floating that as a way of having fun at embassy parties, I was fishing for stories of embassy hilarity. Also, haha I'm screwed at A100 if I ever make it in. The distance between my house and the Washington monument, 37 miles as the bird flies.
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Apr 9, 2010 01:30
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Don't know if this got posted but HINT DONT DO THIS: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3289834
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Apr 9, 2010 02:43
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Xandu fucked around with this message at 05:22 on Jun 10, 2011 |
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Apr 9, 2010 03:48
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Xandu posted:I remember trying to convince some employees of one of the Arab embassies in DC to speed to our meeting because they had diplomatic immunity, but they were very against it. This guy should have known better, I guess he didn't think about what his government would do to him. Yeah um more likely than not they'd have to pay that ticket just FYI.
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Apr 9, 2010 11:52
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So what real powers do you have for being protected by diplomatic immunity?
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Apr 9, 2010 13:51
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Wickerman posted:So what real powers do you have for being protected by diplomatic immunity? Powers? I think you're looking at this in the wrong way. We get diplomatic immunity to protect us from laws that might be really dangerous for us while serving in another country in an official capacity. Think places that outlaw alcohol, or have laws against homosexuality, perhaps laws that make it so women can't walk outside without their male family escort. You get protection from laws like that, but if you get a ticket or a reasonable fine you are expected by the US embassy to pay that fine/ticket. Also if you do something real bad there's a decent chance your government will waive the immunity and let proceedings continue. Movies have made diplomatic immunity out to be some kind of magical force field that gets you out of any law and fine imaginable, this couldn't be further from the truth.
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Apr 9, 2010 14:25
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Vilerat posted:...diplomatic immunity... 
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Apr 9, 2010 15:20
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Diplomatic immunity CAN be revoked, but only by the country the diplomat is from and you can't self revoke. The most the host country can do is kick out the diplomat.
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Apr 9, 2010 15:34
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The super-power of lots of the single male FSOs I know seems to be the ability to pick up women pretty much anywhere (except sometimes in the States). I'm reasonably certain this correlates in part with their diplomatic status.  SWATJester and others who have passed the orals: you might consider joining the Yahoo! Group for FSOA passers at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/A-100-2002/. The newer people there are drawn heavily from the other two groups (which should tell you something about the banter) but there are a few of us crotchety old experienced FSOs who still post there, and the archives, though difficult to search, have some really good info. After you apply you will get a form email; make sure you fill it out completely, and make sure your Yahoo profile allows moderators to view your email address. Sadly, the group above is for generalist candidates only, though I have heard that there are comparable groups for specialists out there.
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Apr 9, 2010 15:41
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Business of Ferrets posted:The super-power of lots of the single male FSOs I know seems to be the ability to pick up women pretty much anywhere (except sometimes in the States). I'm reasonably certain this correlates in part with their diplomatic status. Hot foreign chicks? Also, I hate to ask again but can anyone give me a brief rundown about the Economic cone?
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Apr 9, 2010 15:44
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Omits-Bagels posted:Hot foreign chicks? I wouldn't go so far as to say they all have good taste, but most find something along the lines of what they're looking for.
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Apr 9, 2010 15:58
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Business of Ferrets posted:I wouldn't go so far as to say they all have good taste, but most find something along the lines of what they're looking for. so prostitutes?
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Apr 9, 2010 16:04
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Not so much. Mostly girlfriends or acquaintances. On the other hand, Thailand remains a popular R&R point for any number of reasons. (Actually, prostitution is very much frowned upon by the State Department, which works against human trafficking and sexual exploitation. There was even a cable sent to every post a few years ago making soliciting prostitutes a no-go for diplomats. When it came out, everyone was trying to figure out what precipitated it. I never heard if there was an incident or reason it was sent.)
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Apr 9, 2010 16:10
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Vilerat posted:Yeah um more likely than not they'd have to pay that ticket just FYI. Really? I always heard stories about people at the UN completely ignoring traffic/parking laws and NYPD being unable to do anything about it.
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Apr 9, 2010 16:18
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Xandu posted:Really? I always heard stories about people at the UN completely ignoring traffic/parking laws and NYPD being unable to do anything about it. Vilerat is right. A good friend of mine wound up paying more than US$1,000.00 in personal traffic fines before he was allowed to depart post. NYPD still tickets dips in NY, but yeah, unless the cops decide to provoke an international incident, there isn't much they can do.
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Apr 9, 2010 16:26
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Business of Ferrets posted:Not so much. Mostly girlfriends or acquaintances. What cone works with anti-human trafficking and sexual exploitation? That is always something I wanted to do.
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Apr 9, 2010 16:33
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Omits-Bagels posted:What cone works with anti-human trafficking and sexual exploitation? That is always something I wanted to do. Usually political. I've covered these for the past few years. Business of Ferrets fucked around with this message at 16:39 on Apr 9, 2010 |
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Apr 9, 2010 16:35
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Xandu posted:Really? I always heard stories about people at the UN completely ignoring traffic/parking laws and NYPD being unable to do anything about it. Well they CAN get out of the ticket but State at least doesn't offer you protection if you get one by default. If the ticket is complete BS, such as harassment because you are American, they can get you out of it but it's enforced policy to make people responsible for their own actions in reasonable circumstances.
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Apr 9, 2010 17:01
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BOF- wasn't it only recently (within the past decade) that State formally got their boots on the Human Trafficking from the public perspective, wasn't it? Definitely, traveling to Thailand and Haiti have made for interesting security clearance questions, though. Really sad how much kids go for. 
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Apr 9, 2010 17:04
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Business of Ferrets posted:Vilerat is right. A good friend of mine wound up paying more than US$1,000.00 in personal traffic fines before he was allowed to depart post. Also because it doesn't matter if the ticket gets paid or not, NYPD can meet quota like that.
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Apr 9, 2010 19:44
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Business of Ferrets posted:The super-power of lots of the single male FSOs I know seems to be the ability to pick up women pretty much anywhere (except sometimes in the States). I'm reasonably certain this correlates in part with their diplomatic status.
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Apr 9, 2010 19:46
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Posted a new blog in the OP: http://diplotette.wordpress.com/ - female management FSO, worked a year in DC at a POL officer for Near East Affairs, Iraq desk. Was then sent to Tel Aviv. Early posts describe what's up in A-100.
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Apr 10, 2010 02:20
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Heyo, Meant to post earlier but got caught up in stuff at school. Went to the Orals last week and didn't pass. 5.1 total score. I passed the interview and case management, but apparently got sunk on the group exercise, which is really strange to me because I thought it went pretty well. I was contributing a good amount, asked some good questions and redirected conversations when they were wasting time. Maybe I was too passive or something, I'm not quite sure. I'm not too bummed about failing, but I can't really think of what I could have done better. The FSO position was something I was really hoping for and was probably romanticizing a little bit... and now I'm at a loss as to where I should look for a career. I'm graduating in May and was the youngest person in my group by far, but I was really hoping to jump into something like the State Department right after I graduate. Oh well. I doubt I'll take the test again. Lots of work and stress on top of school work for no result leaves a pretty bad aftertaste in my mouth. Congratulations to everyone who passed. I'll still be checking in this thread periodically to see how everyone is doing.On another note, it seemed like 1/4 of my Orals group had law degrees, and were struggling to find jobs elsewhere. It looks like you made a good decision swatjester, haha.
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Apr 12, 2010 03:38
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I've been teaching English in South Korea for almost two years and have fallen in love with traveling. I've been looking into a career as a public servant for a long time, and it looks like becoming a Foreign Service Officer will allow me to serve my country while also doing a lot of traveling. I signed up for the test in Seoul on a whim. It's in two months. Since February, I've been reading the newspaper every day, and I'm waiting for the majority of the books on the FSO reading list to be delivered to my apartment. I'm glad I've stumbled upon this thread because it's given me a heavy dose of reality. I now know not to put my eggs in one basket and assume that I'm going to pass the written or oral exams. Besides reading the required books and taking the ACT practice exam, what else should I be doing? I'm a little worried about the economics section of the test because I know nothing about the subject outside of the two classes I took before I switched majors (I have an MA in English). I'm definitely going to look at the Yahoo Groups and read through the resources provided in this thread. I just hope two months is enough time to prepare for this bad boy. EDIT: I applied for the Consular track, if that matters. Rabid Koala fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Apr 13, 2010 |
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Apr 12, 2010 08:02
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Putting the final touches on my Personal Narratives. Due tomorrow at 11:59PM central. Any last minute advice?
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Apr 12, 2010 21:54
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is there any harm in just taking the next test just to see what it is like? I'm currently planning on taking the GRE about the same time as the next FSO test is scheduled so I don't want to devote much study time for the FSO test. Can I take it more than once a year?
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Apr 12, 2010 22:03
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Omits-Bagels posted:is there any harm in just taking the next test just to see what it is like? I'm currently planning on taking the GRE about the same time as the next FSO test is scheduled so I don't want to devote much study time for the FSO test. Can I take it more than once a year? I don't think so. You only get one try a year, as far as I know. That's why I'm spending this upcoming summer volunteering and working so I can have better stuff to write next October.
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Apr 12, 2010 22:28
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CherryCola posted:I don't think so. You only get one try a year, as far as I know. That's why I'm spending this upcoming summer volunteering and working so I can have better stuff to write next October. Dang, I'm about to finish my AmeriCorps term (only 2 more weeks!) but I might push the FSO test off until the fall.
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Apr 12, 2010 22:52
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Well, I just submitted my personal narratives after reviewing/revising them more times than I can remember...now the waiting game begins. To everyone else that's submitting their PNQ's by tomorrow, best of luck! Miss Fats posted:Putting the final touches on my Personal Narratives. Due tomorrow at 11:59PM central. Any last minute advice? Be careful if you're copying/pasting your responses from Word or Notepad to the webpage; make sure to save them first on the website before submitting them for final approval because for whatever reason it seems that quotations and dashes get messed up and you have to go in and revise them after the initial save, if that makes any sense. It seems like this problem is affecting a lot of the people in the yahoo group. sah deuudes fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Apr 12, 2010 |
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Apr 12, 2010 23:46
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Omits-Bagels posted:is there any harm in just taking the next test just to see what it is like? I'm currently planning on taking the GRE about the same time as the next FSO test is scheduled so I don't want to devote much study time for the FSO test. Can I take it more than once a year? Once a year, but if you can stand waiting until next year, may want to just apply anyway. The FSOT didn't (in my opinion) require a whole lot of preparation; it's the FSOA and the QEP process that do require the preparation. If it's not a big deal for you, might want to just get it started now, since the process takes so long.
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Apr 13, 2010 01:00
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Grr8 posted:On another note, it seemed like 1/4 of my Orals group had law degrees, and were struggling to find jobs elsewhere. It looks like you made a good decision swatjester, haha. I was the only lawyer/law student in mine, though there were public policy grad students and financial analysts -- at that level a lot of the jobs crossover anyway. But yeah, I don't know why this job isn't being advertised to lawyers more, especially at schools like mine/GULC/GWU that are international law/public service heavy.
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Apr 13, 2010 01:02
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