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Skandiaavity posted:Out of curiosity, why are you converting from IMS to FS? Because he loves overtime but hates being paid for it.
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Jan 13, 2012 08:32
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HeroOfTheRevolution posted:What's this about Russian not being a CNL anymore? According to the State Department it's still worth .40 points, but you have to opt-in to serving in a Russian-speaking country during one of your first two tours: http://careers.state.gov/officer/selection-process#forlang
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Jan 13, 2012 11:12
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Vilerat posted:Because he loves overtime but hates being paid for it. I love the USG so much I want to give my time for free.
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Jan 13, 2012 12:57
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TCD posted:I love the USG so much I want to give my time for free. Don't FSOs stop getting paid overtime after a tour or two?
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Jan 13, 2012 13:19
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Homie S posted:Don't FSOs stop getting paid overtime after a tour or two? Tenured FSO's are not eligible for OT. They can be made to work it, but they don't get paid for it. Specialists get paid for every hour they work, and if they are called in after hours they get a minimum 2 hours for reporting in.
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Jan 13, 2012 13:31
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It's pretty cool though being able to pick and choose whether my excess time is comp time or OT. Yeah I know it changes after tenure but still.
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Jan 13, 2012 14:15
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Monkey Fury posted:According to the State Department it's still worth .40 points, but you have to opt-in to serving in a Russian-speaking country during one of your first two tours: Oh, well that's 100% fine then
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Jan 13, 2012 17:51
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Diplomaticus, According to the State Department it's still worth .40 points, but you have to opt-in to serving in a Russian-speaking country during one of your first two tours. (from the Yahoo Board, posted on 1/5/12): State is currently reviewing its foreign language policies and practices. State limited the languages tested to those with entry-level positions requiring them. In addition, telephone language tests are only valid now for 18 months. Also, State is currently looking at the point structure awarded for different languages. There have been no changes approved yet, but: "points already awarded to candidates on a register will remain valid for the life of that candidacy even if changes are made." So if you're on the register or just about, it's good news for you. Otherwise, it seems they'll only test on non-SCNL when necessary? Or am I reading that wrong. edit: HR just called me. Yay, I'm on the register 
Skandiaavity fucked around with this message at 22:08 on Jan 13, 2012 |
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Jan 13, 2012 18:09
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Diplomaticus posted:It's pretty cool though being able to pick and choose whether my excess time is comp time or OT. Yeah I know it changes after tenure but still. GAH Totally jealous as this doesn't happen domestically. For example I almost hit my pay cap during UNGA due to not being able to convert OT into comp.
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Jan 13, 2012 22:33
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Well, just registered for the February exam. Guess I should start learning the first thing about it! Any specific recommendations for study? (Political track)
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Jan 14, 2012 06:41
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dancehall posted:Well, just registered for the February exam. Guess I should start learning the first thing about it! Any specific recommendations for study? (Political track) Be able to talk about current events in politics and American history both political and social (like jazz, architecture, etc...). Know some generic business management stuff. Also start thinking about how to very succinctly describe the things you've done and the people you've met in your life. If you are a Liberal Arts major paper writing machine you'll be fine for the writing section and if you've majored/minored in Political Science or History you'll likely need very little studying for the general information section. Don't want to downplay it too much, but at the same time it isn't the hardest test in the world.
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Jan 14, 2012 07:01
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Your track makes no difference in the actual test itself.
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Jan 14, 2012 15:04
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I have a few questions those of you who have completed the process. I currently work for the Georgian government and I was curious if this will help or hinder me. I think I remember reading somewhere that working for a foreign government would make you ineligible for work in certain areas of the US government. Also, would consular work be largely paperwork? How much time is spend amongst the actual people not working on processing visas? If anyone would like to enlighten me, or would just wants to shoot the poo poo, I would love to hear from you. Skype: mtthacke
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Jan 14, 2012 20:35
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Tankus posted:I have a few questions those of you who have completed the process. I currently work for the Georgian government and I was curious if this will help or hinder me. I think I remember reading somewhere that working for a foreign government would make you ineligible for work in certain areas of the US government. Also, would consular work be largely paperwork? How much time is spend amongst the actual people not working on processing visas? Well, are you a U.S. citizen? It's mandatory to be eligible to join the Foreign Service. Edit: Consular work is addressed at the start of this thread. TCD fucked around with this message at 20:46 on Jan 14, 2012 |
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Jan 14, 2012 20:40
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TCD posted:Well, are you a U.S. citizen? Yes, I am a US citizen. I saw the breakdown of the cones (really great job guys) and I was just curious if one could count on doing nothing but visa applications as a nine to five or if they break up the monotony a bit. Sorry if my question is a bit naive, but I have only recently started looking into this career field. So far the political and consular track are the most appealing.
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Jan 14, 2012 21:09
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Tankus posted:Yes, I am a US citizen. I saw the breakdown of the cones (really great job guys) and I was just curious if one could count on doing nothing but visa applications as a nine to five or if they break up the monotony a bit. Sorry if my question is a bit naive, but I have only recently started looking into this career field. First few tours Consular Officer is broken up doing visas and American Citizen Services. Some paper work, lots of interaction issuing visas and doing stuff like prison visits and stuff for Am Cits. Once you hit mid level (generally after 4-8 years), you will come off the visa line and will be doing much more personnel management and policy stuff. As to your current employer and ability to get a TS clearance, I have no idea, but I'd guess it would complicate things.
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Jan 14, 2012 21:33
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I would think working for another government, depending on what it is you did there, could have significant implications in your TS clearance. If it was political, intelligence, military etc. fuggedaboutit. If it was something like filing papers in the Ministry of Sport, though, probably not as big a deal. -e- Also consular work can vary on the size of the post. A large consular presence might mean that you are in one section for a while, and rotating. For instance, a colleague in Manila when he first arrived was doing solely seafarer (C1 I think) visas. He'll do that for a while and then rotate into something else. In my embassy, we have a relatively small consular staff, so entry level officers are typically assigned as chiefs for one of the sections: Non-Immigrant, American Citizen Services, etc. However, they end up doing everything anyway, and rotate on a weekly or even daily basis, so our ACS chief still does visa work much of the time, the non-immigrant visa chief does immigrant visas, etc. Leif. fucked around with this message at 15:30 on Jan 15, 2012 |
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Jan 15, 2012 15:26
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Hey I am a dual U.S. and Canadian Citizen, residing in Canada. Will this prevent me from obtaining TS clearance?
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Jan 16, 2012 03:12
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Darksim posted:Hey I am a dual U.S. and Canadian Citizen, residing in Canada. You would almost certainly have to renounce your Canadian citizenship.
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Jan 16, 2012 04:23
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HeroOfTheRevolution posted:You would almost certainly have to renounce your Canadian citizenship. Sometimes just stating you're willing to renounce your citizenship is enough.
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Jan 16, 2012 06:15
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Homie S posted:Sometimes just stating you're willing to renounce your citizenship is enough. Yeah, the whole dual citizenship is a tricky scenario, but, what you (Darksim) do have going for you is that you're residing in the 51st state kidding you Canucks  which is much different than if you are a dual citizen and resident of a less than friendly country.
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Jan 16, 2012 11:08
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Homie S posted:Sometimes just stating you're willing to renounce your citizenship is enough. This. If you're willing to do so, and it's Canadian citizenship, I wouldn't think there would be a huge problem.
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Jan 16, 2012 14:07
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True story: A friend had to renounce her Polish citizenship when we started training. She duly did what was necessary, and when finalizing the whole thing, the Polish PTB sent her a very nice letter... including information on where to send her next application to renew her Polish passport, as hers is expiring in a couple of years.
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Jan 16, 2012 21:52
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Alright so I can say I am willing to do it and then just not? Edit: Also I am a Senior in college right now doing a double major in Aquatic Resources and Social Research. I also went on exchange to Denmark last semester, and picked up enough danish for conversation, sentence forming, etc. I am also going to be learning french courtesy of the Canadian Fed in May. I'm taking and have taken a lot of political science, as it is part of my major. Oh yeah I should mention I am not a resident of the USA right now, so I am wondering how that looks for my application. Anyways I don't know if I should write this February. Should I wait, or can I defer acceptance (if I do end up getting in). Darksim fucked around with this message at 01:47 on Jan 17, 2012 |
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Jan 17, 2012 01:42
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I know of an officer who is a dual US/Swedish citizen, so I guess it's possible.
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Jan 17, 2012 09:20
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1of7 posted:I know of an officer who is a dual US/Swedish citizen, so I guess it's possible. Yeah, like everything in the Department, "It depends". quote:Alright so I can say I am willing to do it and then just not? There's a few things the USG in the realm of TS land doesn't like... and one of those is lying. Your clearance is reviewed every 5 years. If they say you're supposed to renounce, and you don't, well, don't be surprised if bad poo poo flows your way.
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Jan 17, 2012 12:09
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Yeah the difference is that they may just ask "are you willing to renounce" but not actually ask you to do it; but if they ask you to do it, you need to go through with it.
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Jan 17, 2012 16:47
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Yay, I am an Alternate for a State Department internship! It's my #3 choice for my preferred programs to do this summer, but I still want to get security clearance out of the way so I can apply to them again after I get my MA. I'm working on the security clearance app now, and this is the only thread I can think of to put my question (outside of the other Government Job thread). I got an MIP in 2008, but finished a diversion agreement. I listed it anyways along with an explanation. Do I even have to put it on there with the diversion, or is it better to be safe than sorry? Also, I'm writing that I smoked weed from 06-08 on the application. I honestly can't remember if I smoked after then, but I don't think I have. I'm scared of a security check going through one of my friends and they'll mention me smoking sometime that I don't remember in 2009 or something. Is this something to worry about? Do they even do that intense of security checks for a summer internship? Thanks, and any advice would be awesome!
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Jan 18, 2012 02:13
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Even the IC doesn't really care about weed smoking more than a year ago, from what I've been told. It's more important to be honest and not have them ask or care than to have them ask or care and make it look like you're hiding something. And that's assuming it's for a TS. They hand out Secrets like candy, I think it took like a few weeks when I filled my form out to get approved.
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Jan 18, 2012 03:51
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HeroOfTheRevolution posted:Even the IC doesn't really care about weed smoking more than a year ago, from what I've been told. It's more important to be honest and not have them ask or care than to have them ask or care and make it look like you're hiding something. And that's assuming it's for a TS. They hand out Secrets like candy, I think it took like a few weeks when I filled my form out to get approved.
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Jan 18, 2012 03:56
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vegaji posted:Awesome, thank you. I went through and read some of the approvals/denials and got a bit nervous, but I know that I'm just overthinking this. That said, anyone here have experience with internships? I'm sure they vary widely between the bureaus, but I don't have a solid grasp on how federal jobs work and how useful internships are for future applications. Internships vary like crazy depending on not only bureau but what office you end up in.
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Jan 18, 2012 04:22
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vegaji posted:Yay, I am an Alternate for a State Department internship! Abroad or in DC? I'm an alternate in china but still waiting on African Affairs. And yeah, it is nice to go through the TS clearance now.
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Jan 18, 2012 05:27
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Internships, in pretty much anything, also vary based on supervisor and the intern themselves. Just be proactive and try to ask or volunteer for substantive work.
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Jan 18, 2012 05:33
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mtreecorner posted:Abroad or in DC?
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Jan 18, 2012 05:54
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vegaji posted:I applied for Foreign Service Institute.
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Jan 18, 2012 11:15
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You'll get stuck in the old building during summer.
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Jan 18, 2012 14:14
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Diplomaticus posted:You'll get stuck in the old building during summer. At least it's not goose patrol. Do they still have those ridiculous cardboard foxes on the grounds?
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Jan 18, 2012 14:17
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vegaji posted:Not sure yet. I get my (potential) assignment in the mail in a week or so. How did you find out your bureau application status? I applied for Bureau of European Affairs (first choice in Russia) and Foreign Service Institute. The China intern people just emailed me eariler this month saying I was an alternate at the guangzhou consulate. No interview. I just got the EQIP info yesterday for it. Still holding out hope on the other bureau since i was told they decide independently. So you could be an alternate for one and a primary for the other.
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Jan 18, 2012 15:45
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Yay! On the Register! Diplomaticus how do we deal with the wait. Just wait?  also an interesting statement from Rose Gottemoeller, the Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance: Another component of the 21st Century Statecraft Initiative focuses on bringing innovation to the Department of State and modernizing the practice of statecraft. Of interest to you: we are incorporating new standards for hiring to find young, technology minded staff, emphasizing new media platforms to reach younger and more tech-savvy audiences, and revising the Foreign Service exam to test for problem-solving skills necessary in today’s world. Wonder what revisions they're planning :|
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Jan 18, 2012 18:20
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Diplomaticus posted:I would think working for another government, depending on what it is you did there, could have significant implications in your TS clearance. If it was political, intelligence, military etc. fuggedaboutit. If it was something like filing papers in the Ministry of Sport, though, probably not as big a deal. I teach English here. I basically do exactly what Peacecorps folks do.
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Jan 18, 2012 18:37
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