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Vilerat posted:Counterpoint: Today sucks. Living the dream Vile!
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Nov 29, 2010 19:53
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TCD posted:Living the dream Vile! First this wikileaks poo poo now a 2 year federal pay freeze. I'm running out of colorful profanity at an alarming rate.
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Nov 29, 2010 20:02
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Vilerat posted:now a 2 year federal pay freeze. I come home crack open a nice cold beverage, and walla... pay freeze. Edit: Confused acronyms and word placement. Running around consular for several hours will do that. Edit2: Ignoring this rant of scanners, and of those really weird ISSO issues one only hears about in training, running to keep up with chimpanzees through the jungle is a really unique experience. Just a shame I won't be able to pay for it! TCD fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Dec 8, 2015 |
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Nov 29, 2010 20:22
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So the pay freeze... No pay for two years or just no raises, etc.? What are the details surrounding this?
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Nov 30, 2010 00:40
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khysanth posted:So the pay freeze... they wouldn't freeze salaries, there just won't be raises. This is just a way to save some money.
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Nov 30, 2010 01:20
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khysanth posted:So the pay freeze... Holy poo poo who would work for that?
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Nov 30, 2010 06:43
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I don't think they've come out and said exactly what they mean so people are just guessing right now. Some have suggested it's only the annual cost of living increase (1.5% this year) and not step increases nor promotions. If this is the case I'm a little less heated about it since it's supposed to be covering inflation increases (which was officially 0% this year) but it serves no useful purpose so I'm kinda wondering why it was done.
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Nov 30, 2010 13:04
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Vilerat/TCD/IMS Goons: Any word on the SAT's? (security teams). I know OMB pushed it out last night, but can't find any further info. I figured you guys would be front and center on that..
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Nov 30, 2010 16:23
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Skandiaavity posted:Vilerat/TCD/IMS Goons: Any word on the SAT's? (security teams). I know OMB pushed it out last night, but can't find any further info. I figured you guys would be front and center on that.. My hunch is that this is going to be a DC issue, and we'll get the "suggestion".
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Nov 30, 2010 17:44
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I figured it was going to be something along those lines, but was also curious to see if anything's being hammered out since you folks are pretty much on the frontlines. Be nice to your marines, too :P I saw Hillary's message the other day (the long one) and boy, she mad.
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Nov 30, 2010 20:09
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Regarding the recently leaked cables, is there any particular cone that is responsible for writing most of these things? I think some of them are pretty hilarious.
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Dec 1, 2010 01:46
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Ganguro King posted:Regarding the recently leaked cables, is there any particular cone that is responsible for writing most of these things? I think some of them are pretty hilarious. You mean the allegedly leaked cables that are not acknowledged in any official fashion?
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Dec 1, 2010 03:05
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Vilerat posted:You mean the allegedly leaked cables that are not acknowledged in any official fashion? Umm yeah. Suppose there were cables written that resembled these recent allegedly leaked but officially unacknowledged cables. Would there be a particular cone that might possibly be responsible for writing most of them? Hypothetically.
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Dec 1, 2010 03:59
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Ganguro King posted:Umm yeah. Suppose there were cables written that resembled these recent allegedly leaked but officially unacknowledged cables. Would there be a particular cone that might possibly be responsible for writing most of them? Hypothetically. it sounds like most all of them are political. Some might be related to economics, but my guess is most are political.
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Dec 1, 2010 04:53
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Could be Political dealing with contacts to get a better understanding of a countries thoughts, could be Econ speaking to the condition of their economy and major exports/imports, could be Public Diplomacy dealing with major events and public outreach efforts. Management and Consular only write boring poo poo that nobody wants to read.
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Dec 1, 2010 12:56
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So how many career Foreign Service people make it all the way to ambassadorship? I'm curious about the percentage of FS people who eventually make ambassador as well as the percentage of ambassadors from the diplomatic corps machine as opposed to ambassadors who got their post through other methods, such as previous high-profile political positions or being a big-time donor.
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Dec 1, 2010 18:47
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Sweet, once I finally get to the front of the line for an A-100 invite, now there's no clue when the next class will be. I'm sure they'll figure it out once 30 more people place in front of me.
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Dec 1, 2010 19:03
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OSheaman posted:So how many career Foreign Service people make it all the way to ambassadorship? I'm curious about the percentage of FS people who eventually make ambassador as well as the percentage of ambassadors from the diplomatic corps machine as opposed to ambassadors who got their post through other methods, such as previous high-profile political positions or being a big-time donor. Dunno. One of my mom's friends/acquaintances from high school (an american school in another country, so foriegn service was a big deal) became an ambasador through foreign service.
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Dec 2, 2010 05:09
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OSheaman posted:So how many career Foreign Service people make it all the way to ambassadorship? I'm curious about the percentage of FS people who eventually make ambassador as well as the percentage of ambassadors from the diplomatic corps machine as opposed to ambassadors who got their post through other methods, such as previous high-profile political positions or being a big-time donor. I think I saw that 60% of ambassadors come from the foreign service (the rest are appointed by the president or whoever). I also assume you have to be in the service for a good 20 years before you're appointed an ambassador so I bet the number is fairly small.
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Dec 2, 2010 06:14
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I applied to the Summer Internship program with the Foreign Service, and one of the requirements was that you had to pass a Secret/Top Secret security clearance. I haven't heard anything back about it yet (I don't think we will until about April), but I did have a couple questions on this part of it. Do Security clearances travel with you to other departments, say from State to Interior, or even Public -> Private? Does it need to be renewed occasionally? Are you allowed to say you have Security Clearances?
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Dec 2, 2010 17:17
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Slaan posted:I applied to the Summer Internship program with the Foreign Service, and one of the requirements was that you had to pass a Secret/Top Secret security clearance. I haven't heard anything back about it yet (I don't think we will until about April), but I did have a couple questions on this part of it. It depends. TSA, which is under the Department of Homeland Security, was not going to recognize my active clearance with State (which I got through the internship program you're describing, although I was just an alternate) and make me go through an entirely new investigation. They said this policy was for all clearances; DoD/military, CIA, etc. From the reading I've been doing on State's Diplomatic Security, some clearances are reciprocated and some aren't, but even the reciprocated ones are subject to an opaque and often vastly inefficient verification process, which can actually take longer than starting a new one! As far as private employers, I believe the clearance falls under whichever department the private agency is contracting for. I don't believe there's any hard and fast rule (at least at the lower levels like Secret), but it certainly doesn't help to go around shouting it from the rooftops or anything, and most people don't. On the other hand, it can help you get a job even outside of government-related work since it's a much more thorough background investigation than the average private employer would be able to do. I might leave it off a publicly-searchable resume, but include it on one that I was submitting directly to an employer. Again, this is just my admittedly amateur take on it. Also, if you get the internship and start the clearance process, don't freak out if you get an e-mail saying DoS's request for an interim clearance was denied. It just means that the investigation wasn't finished when they requested the info, not that they'd found something to disqualify you. edit: nvm, Hero has much better info! Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 17:38 on Dec 2, 2010 |
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Dec 2, 2010 17:34
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Slaan posted:Do Security clearances travel with you to other departments, say from State to Interior, or even Public -> Private? All three questions are a yes. For the first one, an security clearance than can be activated without re-investigation (especially TS/SCI) is really a boon to your desirability for both federal and private contractor employers, and in some cases can be a defining reason as to why they choose you over other applicants for employment. However, some agencies will not accept other agencies' clearances. If you applied to the intelligence community, an active clearance from a State Department internship probably would not do much for you, for instance. However, clearances expire. Top Secret lasts 5 years, Secret lasts 10 years, and Confidential lasts 15 years if you stay in the same job and then you have to be re-investigated. If you leave the job, your clearance becomes inactive but can be re-activated if within 24 months without requiring a new investigation, assuming it wouldn't fall outside the re-investigation window in the first place. And yeah, you can say you have a clearance. As long as you're not a CIA superspy and going around telling people that. Maybe bragging to strangers at bars about it isn't the best idea, but it's not something you are required to withhold from friends, family members, and most people with active clearances put them on their resumes as well. Here's a website about it: http://govcentral.monster.com/security-clearance-jobs/articles/2327-dont-let-your-security-clearance-expire
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Dec 2, 2010 17:36
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That is pretty much what I thought it was about. Thanks guys!
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Dec 2, 2010 22:29
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Good luck with that; I was a Boren scholar (Thai) with almost 3 years of undergrad overseas, was only good enough to make alternate for Bangkok. That was my second try, the first time I didn't even make alt. What did you end up doing for your service requirement after Boren?? I'm applying right now.
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Dec 7, 2010 00:33
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barbudo posted:What did you end up doing for your service requirement after Boren?? I'm applying right now. I got 3 months of credit for a year of service in National Language Service Corps, otherwise nothing yet. I'm hovering around my phone praying I get called for an interview with the Border Patrol (and putting tons of effort into researching and preparing for it as much as possible), and am seriously considering the Army. I'm far from the only Boren Scholar in this sort of position; NSEP does very little to help you find a job, Schedule A/non-competitive status isn't that useful, and the federal hiring process works at a glacial pace (with hundreds or thousands of other applicants trying to scramble up that glacier at the same time). As another Boren goon put it, it's not a golden ticket to a fed job. Definitely apply (can't hurt), but if they offer it to you I urge you to put some consideration into accepting it. Truthfully, if I could do it all over again, I wouldn't.
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Dec 7, 2010 02:06
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Pompous Rhombus posted:I got 3 months of credit for a year of service in National Language Service Corps, otherwise nothing yet. I'm hovering around my phone praying I get called for an interview with the Border Patrol (and putting tons of effort into researching and preparing for it as much as possible), and am seriously considering the Army. I'm far from the only Boren Scholar in this sort of position; NSEP does very little to help you find a job, Schedule A/non-competitive status isn't that useful, and the federal hiring process works at a glacial pace (with hundreds or thousands of other applicants trying to scramble up that glacier at the same time). As another Boren goon put it, it's not a golden ticket to a fed job.
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Dec 13, 2010 00:54
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barbudo posted:Wow, that's great news. My advisor is giving me the "I can't tell you not to apply but don't apply" speech on account of my GPA. I can go to my program for free anyway, I just wanted the hiring aid. Sorry to hear you are having trouble finding a job. I'm telling you clearly and straight-up, it's not really a hiring aid, and you will be on the hook for the amount of your award until you find a job (if you can find a job). If you can do your program for free, do it for free and don't gently caress around with the NSEP contract. The "success stories" thread on Borenforum has like 5 posts. My GPA wasn't amazing when I applied (I want to say 3.49ish?), but I had a ton of study abroad under my belt and experience studying languages when I applied.
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Dec 13, 2010 01:34
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Welp, found out that the next class will be the end of March. I'm still really high up on the register, so I hopefully should be getting an invite.
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Dec 17, 2010 19:05
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SWATJester posted:Welp, found out that the next class will be the end of March. I'm still really high up on the register, so I hopefully should be getting an invite. The March class historically is one of the easiest to get into due to calls going out soon after those for the January class (already-depleted registers) and the reluctance of candidates to either take kids out of school or to leave school themselves mid-semester.
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Dec 18, 2010 05:29
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I released my first reporting cable the other day. That was pretty interesting going through the Pol/Econ clearance process. I have a 2nd one in draft and hope to have it out next week. FSOT here I come.
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Dec 18, 2010 09:48
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TCD posted:I released my first reporting cable the other day. POL work is the best work. Seriouspost.
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Dec 18, 2010 10:48
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Business of Ferrets posted:POL work is the best work. Seriouspost. It's actually Econ. What Econ covers is huge, and when you only have one FSO covering Econ/Commercial Services, they are desperate for help. So reporting on telecomm (natural fit), but also environmental issues is pretty sweet. Pol/Econ chief gave me free reign to do what I want. As it's a co-located office with only a few officers, it's pretty easy to also report on some Pol stuff even if you're Econ and happen to stumble into it while doing Econ work. FSO mentioned to me if I keep up the reporting I could get an award. I also received an outstanding endorsement on Friday from another office so it was good way to end the week. 
TCD fucked around with this message at 13:42 on Dec 18, 2010 |
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Dec 18, 2010 13:40
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TCD posted:I also received an outstanding endorsement on Friday from another office so it was good way to end the week. This reminds me, gonna be in Rwanda for most of January. It would be good meet up if you're in town.
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Dec 19, 2010 02:27
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TCD posted:It's actually Econ. Oh, I wasn't suggesting that you had done POL work, only that you were missing out by not doing so! 
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Dec 19, 2010 07:27
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xanthig posted:This reminds me, gonna be in Rwanda for most of January. It would be good meet up if you're in town. Yeah, I'm in town for nearly all of January. Shoot me a PM.
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Dec 19, 2010 10:52
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Business of Ferrets posted:Oh, I wasn't suggesting that you had done POL work, only that you were missing out by not doing so! That is one the better parts of being an IMS at a busy Post that's short staffed. I know exactly what cone I want to try and get into. Now begins the fun part.
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Dec 19, 2010 10:55
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TCD posted:That is one the better parts of being an IMS at a busy Post that's short staffed. I know exactly what cone I want to try and get into. Actually, between POL and ECON, the latter has by far better employment prospects outside of government. MGMT and PD are up there, too. POL and CONS operations are so distinctly governmental in nature that they are disadvantaged when looking for private-sector work.
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Dec 19, 2010 11:32
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Management and Economics are pretty obvious for outside work, but Public Diplomacy? I'd think that would be different enough from normal PR to not have a close private business equivalent.
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Dec 19, 2010 21:27
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Slaan posted:Management and Economics are pretty obvious for outside work, but Public Diplomacy? I'd think that would be different enough from normal PR to not have a close private business equivalent. The Cultural Affairs side of PD is pretty much only useful if you want to run university or NGO exchange programs. The Information (press) side, though, is basically private-sector PR on steroids. Once you've been spokesman/woman at a Class A (big) embassy, the skill set and contact base -- not to mention language and cross-cultural skills -- make one appealing to PR firms.
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Dec 20, 2010 13:05
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Business of Ferrets posted:The Cultural Affairs side of PD is pretty much only useful if you want to run university or NGO exchange programs. The Information (press) side, though, is basically private-sector PR on steroids. Once you've been spokesman/woman at a Class A (big) embassy, the skill set and contact base -- not to mention language and cross-cultural skills -- make one appealing to PR firms. Additionally, as one moves up the ranks, in any cone and a few specialties, you're becoming a manager of people, resources, and information.
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Dec 20, 2010 18:38
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