|
atlas of bugs posted:Here's a question I feel dumb asking: For past usage questions, check this link for examples: http://www.dod.gov/dodgc/doha/industrial/ Your SSBI (background check) for your TS clearance will ask you those questions in an interview (not a poly.) Present usage is a no-no for your TS, and you can't really work as an FSO without your TS. Also, it's possible that you may have to advocate policy incompatible with marijuana usage. And it's a federal job, and it's federally illegal still. So the long and short answers are both "stay away from it."
|
#
?
Dec 23, 2012 00:13
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 24, 2024 23:57 |
|
|
In case anyone hasn't heard the news, we get Monday off.
|
|
#
?
Dec 23, 2012 03:30
|
|
|
Glad I submitted my leave form for tomorrow separate from the rest of the days of my vacation. :-) Also, the weather in Cebu is so much nicer than in Chengdu. This is the first time I've been in The Philippines in December and quite nice and not too hot.
|
|
#
?
Dec 23, 2012 10:14
|
|
|
glad you're here.. what up? were you staying at resort's world? if you come up to manila, i'm working all week..
|
|
#
?
Dec 23, 2012 11:04
|
|
|
Skandiaavity posted:glad you're here.. what up? were you staying at resort's world? Won't be in Manila until the end of next week. When I get a SIM I will email you my #.
|
|
#
?
Dec 23, 2012 12:51
|
|
|
Bruxism posted:I was a PMF finalist in 2010. I went to the job fair and secured a few different offers, but decided to go with DS instead. I would be happy to discuss my experience with him. It's a great way to get fast-tracked into DoS (well, any department) civil service and opens the door to a shorter/easier FSO exam. Didn't know that, that's cool! I'll connect you via email at work tomorrow if that's okay? (Blah blah blah thanks OPM but we're never closed in Tripoli.) We're mostly concerned about the interview process now - he doesn't always test well, but he has exactly the work experience, language skills, and motivations they're looking for.
|
|
#
?
Dec 23, 2012 18:37
|
|
|
I am completely lost. I started reading the thread then my eyes kind of glazed over and somehow I ended up taking the career track assessment quiz at the state department site. Scored highest in Consular (90), followed by Political (87), then management, Public Diplomacy, and lastly economic. I'm looking at scheduling the FSOT now, but in reality I just sort of gravitated there on autopilot and caught myself, then said "what the gently caress am I doing here?" So long story short - and I know it's buried in the 100+ pages here, but what's the difference between consular and political? Does ASL count as a second language for State Department purposes? What are the background requirements for these jobs? If I can't get a TS clearance am I screwed? If there's something precluding me from my TS is there a way to clear it up or waive it? I probably have a million other questions, and they're probably all answered previously in the thread. I'm going to go look through and see if I can find some of them, but any help here would be vastly appreciated.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 01:14
|
|
|
Wizard of Smart posted:If there's something precluding me from my TS is there a way to clear it up or waive it? Check out the link Diplomaticus posted at the top of this page. The short version is that other than stuff like "Admitted to literally being an al-Qaeda sleeper agent," "Is a convicted felon," or "Admitted to currently smoking weed errday with coke on the weekends" there really isn't much that is 100% guaranteed to prevent you from getting a clearance. While some things are more likely to be disqualifying than others, there is generally a way to mitigate the investigator's concerns. I could go on but really if you have security clearance concerns the best advice is to go to that link and start poking around to get a feel for what they are concerned with and what constitutes mitigating action. Each individual case is going to be different so you shouldn't take the examples from that link as gospel but they can at least give you a good idea of the general guidelines.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 02:03
|
|
|
Wizard of Smart posted:I am completely lost. I started reading the thread then my eyes kind of glazed over and somehow I ended up taking the career track assessment quiz at the state department site. Scored highest in Consular (90), followed by Political (87), then management, Public Diplomacy, and lastly economic. As for your clearance, you must get a TS. There's no waivers. However, you can mitigate stuff ( like say prior marijuana use ). Every situation is unique however.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 02:06
|
|
|
While every case is unique and there are no absolutes if you start digging through the cases you can see broad stroke patterns. For instance, 2012 cases with a ctrl+f for drug will give you every case where, surprise, drugs were involved in the clearance. I didn't go through every single case, but of the ones that I did, the denied cases were: People who used while on an active clearance. People who lied about prior usage. People who used previously in their life but no longer do. However they still daily associate with the people who they used with or are themselves currently using. Now there are people who had these factors who still passed and there are people who didn't have these factors who didn't. So again, broad strokes. It is important to remember that they are looking for things that would make you susceptible to blackmail for whatever reason. So another thing to remember along those lines is financial strain making you willing to take a bribe -meaning make sure all your taxes are in order and where not that you can explain why.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 03:18
|
|
|
Thank you to all the replies so far. My concern isn't drug related - but holy poo poo this quote:Case Number: 10-09538.h1 has alleviated my concerns greatly. I'm still digging through the cases but wow. Thanks again! Karma Comedian fucked around with this message at 03:50 on Dec 24, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 03:47
|
|
|
Wizard of Smart posted:I am completely lost. I started reading the thread then my eyes kind of glazed over and somehow I ended up taking the career track assessment quiz at the state department site. Scored highest in Consular (90), followed by Political (87), then management, Public Diplomacy, and lastly economic. Other posters covered the rest. but no, ASL is not considered a foreign language. If you're wondering, there is only one deaf FSO. Plenty of FSO with hearing loss/impairments too. It can be a rough life.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 06:19
|
|
|
Only 1? My A100 had a guy with hearing implants, as well as a blind FSO.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 07:53
|
|
|
Diplomaticus posted:Only 1? My A100 had a guy with hearing implants, as well as a blind FSO. Yeah, there's a few blind FSO. There's only one (they're accompanied to post with a full-time ASL interpreter.) Of course, that's what HR tells me. There are plenty of people with hearing loss, though. Usually happens after they become a FSO. The last other 'deaf' FSO was an IMO in Ottawa, I think. His name was Michael Bricker. He passed away recently.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 13:45
|
|
|
General question for the FS Goons while I'm waiting on the invite to the IMS orals. I'll preface this by saying if this falls under the "Fight Club Rules" category then no need to respond. Do you utilize a VPN service at your "home" while overseas? Obviously some countries restrict sites, etc (ex: Google, Facebook) as well as maybe you want to watch content from the US while overseas (ESPN3.com, various broadcasters (NBC, CBS), Hulu etc) so connecting to an endpoint in the US would be required. Oh, and Merry Christmas to everyone!
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 14:43
|
|
|
short answer: it depends There's no U.S. law explicitly forbidding using a VPN though; and you're given some leeway when it comes to things like that* on personal connections. * Note "things like that" does not include illegal downloading/warez/whatnot. If you're using it to actively circumvent a local law (making up a situation; using Facebook in Iran to post "how barbarian the government is", or if say, Midget Kickboxing is illegal and you're using a VPN to watch it... ) then your post will clue you in on it. (personally i do it to be safe than sorry. ID theft sucks.)
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 15:16
|
|
|
Thanks. I was talking about personal connections/personal computer/personal router/personal wireless access point. And in no way was I referring to/encouraging the use of a VPN connection for any illegal/illicit activities. I was thinking more of (examples): - watch my fav. college football team on ESPN3.com - wife watching her favorite tv show on CBS.com - "possibly" keeping a Google voice number Again in no way would I support/encourage illegal download of software/movies/music or circumventing local law.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 15:38
|
|
|
SCRwM posted:Do you utilize a VPN service at your "home" while overseas? Obviously some countries restrict sites, etc (ex: Google, Facebook) as well as maybe you want to watch content from the US while overseas (ESPN3.com, various broadcasters (NBC, CBS), Hulu etc) so connecting to an endpoint in the US would be required. Here in Italy, no. the service is pretty reliable and fast - and ISPs are not filtered like in China or the Middle East. However, I have met both FS and expat folks who do use VPN and other services like Slingbox to keep caught up on TV and American sports. While it'd possible to watch the big games on AFN if you have a decoder, it's kind of a bear figuring out the programming schedule.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 15:42
|
|
|
I meant; say if "country x" outlaws Google voice entirely; using a VPN to circumvent that would be actively breaking their telecommunciations laws, post would (should) have an advisory on that. But that's a pretty far stretched example as GVoice isn't illegal. There's also nothing wrong with sharing a cable subscription back stateside and logging in to watch TV over the net (Verizon, for instance, does this. You can get FIOS home then log in and watch it on your cell or on PC)
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 15:47
|
|
|
I believe I read AFN is not available at all posts (I could be wrong) and when I've looked at their schedule before, it is limited as to what they broadcast. SCRwM fucked around with this message at 15:52 on Dec 24, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 15:49
|
|
|
SCRwM posted:General question for the FS Goons while I'm waiting on the invite to the IMS orals. I'll preface this by saying if this falls under the "Fight Club Rules" category then no need to respond. Generally, VPN use is fairly prevalent for both security concerns (banking) and for personal reasons like having unfiltered access to facebook, espn, etc.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 19:16
|
|
|
SCRwM posted:General question for the FS Goons while I'm waiting on the invite to the IMS orals. I'll preface this by saying if this falls under the "Fight Club Rules" category then no need to respond. Yes; VPNs are of questionable legality here, or rather, they are legal under statute but are occasionally blocked/filtered.
|
|
#
?
Dec 24, 2012 22:47
|
|
|
I've been through a few different VPN services in China. It has almost gotten to the point where it isn't worth the effort for most people. I think most other places you should be ok, but I also think some are so bandwidth limited that it becomes a moot point.
|
|
#
?
Dec 25, 2012 03:16
|
|
|
You know how we celebrate Christmas in Tripoli? By prying open the four shipping crates of booze that just arrived. This the first shipment in 2012 that hasn't had pilferage from the local militias!
|
|
#
?
Dec 25, 2012 17:25
|
|
|
It's a Christmas Miracle! 
|
|
#
?
Dec 25, 2012 19:58
|
|
|
the_chavi posted:You know how we celebrate Christmas in Tripoli? By prying open the four shipping crates of booze that just arrived. This the first shipment in 2012 that hasn't had pilferage from the local militias! Cheers! 
|
|
#
?
Dec 25, 2012 22:09
|
|
|
Tyro posted:It's a Christmas Miracle! This is the single best beer I have ever had in my life.
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2012 19:03
|
|
|
I haven't seen State do a good job of explaining this question for job applicants - if it has been answered in this thread I'll look back on the thread and try to find it. I'm interested in understanding how the FP system works. As I understand, as a new IMS I start at FP-05 and get noncompetitively promoted to FP-04 after 18 months after which everything is competitive. Step promotions are given every year for 1-10 and take longer from 11-15. I come from civil service, is this a good way to look at the GS/FP equivalency? GS-11 / FP-05 GS-12 / FP-04 GS-13 / FP-03 GS-14 / FP-02 GS-15 / FP-01 SES 1-4 / SFS 1-4 Few questions: -How do FP grade promotions work and how are the different levels staffed across State? -Is FP like the military with an up or out culture? -How would an embassy be staffed (numbers wise) with differing FP levels, especially for FSS, and more specifically IMS/IMO? -Would a larger embassy have say an FP-03 with a few FP-04 and FP-05 billets? What are FP-02 and FP-01 billets - are those reserved for very large embassies or regions/bureaus? -What are some of the functional job duty changes of moving into FP-1/FP-2? -I've seen people discuss how they bid over their level at a hard post in order to get experience, say an FP-04 bidding for a FP-03, is this common? -Do the majority people promote into FP-03 and spend many years getting step increases, even retiring at that level, i.e its considered sort a terminal grade for those not seeing to move into more responsibilities? -How many years of experience and seniority do FP-03 to FP-01 have, on average?
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2012 19:03
|
|
|
problematique posted:I haven't seen State do a good job of explaining this question for job applicants - if it has been answered in this thread I'll look back on the thread and try to find it. Just look at the actual chart: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Schedule#Military_rank_equivalency quote:Few questions: They're broadly consistent with going up from entry-level to mid-level to senior. So for instance a first tour officer might be an FP-5 whereas a second tour might be an FP-4. Hitting your -03 typically signifies mid-level ranks. And -02 may find himself in section chief positions, even occasionally as a principal officer/DCM in some small missions. They could be a deputy office director or perhaps a small office director back in Washington. An -01 is very likely a section chief, if not potentially a DCM, or an office director back in D.C.; beyond that you're looking at Senior Foreign Service, people who will be office directors, DCMs, Counselors at very large/important embassies, Deputy Assistant Secretaries and higher, and Ambassadors. The progression is slightly different for specialists. The level of staffing varies widely. Washington will have all sorts of ranks. Only a large embassy is going to have significant numbers of -01s or SFS. However we don't seem to be as top heavy as much of the civil service is, maybe it is because they can just stay in a job and get higher and higher grades for the same work, but the civil service seems to have proportionally more GS-13-15 than we do at the equivalent foreign service ranks. quote:-Is FP like the military with an up or out culture? I'll leave the rest of the questions to others since you're looking for a more FSS side of things. Leif. fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Dec 26, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2012 20:22
|
|
|
Diplomaticus posted:There are certain paths that lead to higher/"better" positions in the foreign service. I saw a promotions list recently that indicated which generalist cones and specialist fields were promoted in which numbers (and to which grades), but I don't have the link unfortunately. If you do run across that info again, would you mind posting it here?
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2012 20:41
|
|
|
Barracuda Bang! posted:If you do run across that info again, would you mind posting it here? Doesn't it usually run in the AFSA or State magazine?
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2012 21:27
|
|
|
the_chavi posted:Doesn't it usually run in the AFSA or State magazine? Yeah I've seen it on the State magazine. Generally speaking, promotion rates are low for the IM field. As for staffing break down, problematique PM me your .gov email and I can go into detail our staffing patterns.
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2012 21:51
|
|
|
TCD posted:As for staffing break down, problematique PM me your .gov email and I can go into detail our staffing patterns. Sent!
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2012 23:53
|
|
|
TCD posted:Yeah I've seen it on the State magazine. I have a PDF, but I don't have a link to it. Fake edit: I googled it and found this. http://www.scribd.com/doc/98487538/Foreign-Service-2011-Promotion-Statistics-Extracted-from-State-Mag-June-2012
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2012 00:40
|
|
|
problematique posted:I'm interested in understanding how the FP system works. As I understand, as a new IMS I start at FP-05 and get noncompetitively promoted to FP-04 after 18 months after which everything is competitive. Step promotions are given every year for 1-10 and take longer from 11-15. to elaborate on Diplomaticus point, time-in-service and whatnot: there's no real hard age cap, but you can retire at 50; opposed to 60 as GS. At 60 in the FS, you're given two choices: "strongly recommended" to retire, or make SFS. And then you have either X amount of time (2? 5? years) to make it to the SFS rank or be retired to make room for younger employees. In the GS system, there is no 'forced retirement' in place, where you can literally work until you die which is why we have a large volume of GS 13/14/15. All that said, rank (pay grade), apparently, doesn't really mean much just aside from opportunities or in a situation where you need to override someone. And an Ambassador/Chief Of Mission/Principal Officer will always override you, regardless of your rank. To answer your points, for an IMS, at a large post, you'll probably be assigned to a single duty (and if you're with a good IMO, have that duty rotate so you gain experience in different IMS areas). You also have the benefit of learning from your co-workers and networking. At a smaller post, you will be the IMO, possibly more (i.e. Management Officer, GSO, RSO), or thereabouts; and basically it's sink or swim (you have help back in DC, though) and you'll need pretty good time management skills as your plate can pile up quickly. On the flip side, you gain the equivilent amount of experience via hands-on learning. The blunt way I've heard it from a co-worker, "at a smaller post you can be a rock star and at a larger post you can be just another <guy/girl in field>, until you get to the more visible jobs (IMO, ISO)." CDO's try their hardest to avoid putting Entry Levels in such managerial situations, though. But sometimes it happens or stuff can happen. It's why "it depends" is so strongly resonated. Bidding over your level is a good way to show promotion potential. It is by no means necessary. (Is what they told us in orientation, at least)
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2012 01:31
|
|
|
Skandiaavity posted:Bidding over your level is a good way to show promotion potential. It is by no means necessary. What qualifies as "bidding over your level?" Does this apply to overseas billets, i.e. are AIP bids for your first overseas posting is seen as having "promotion potential?" I didn't know that it was possible to bid for specific positions, rather than just specific posts (and then being placed in a "best fit" billet, or something). Do you know what's available at a given post before bidding (and thus by necessity incorporate that into the bids given to the CDO), or is it just say, "here's X countries; pick your top three?" For reference, I'm applying to DS. I know the competition and idiosyncrasies that are unique to DS even within the FS itself make this a difficult question to answer. While still an FSS position, I'm not sure if it's different enough from an IMS perspective that it still applies to (hopefully) future DS agents. Hopefully this isn't a confusing question. I'll explain myself if necessary. I just feel like I am missing a lot of pieces as far as how the process and pros/cons of bidding for posts are concerned, especially as it relates to career advancement.
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2012 02:54
|
|
|
I'm still on the register, not yet in the FS, so if I'm wrong, someone please correct me. As I understand it, when you bid, it's generally on a specific position that's open, not just "Embassy X" or "Country Y." Specific positions are billeted to be filled by someone in a target grade or band of grades. You can "stretch" up 1 level in certain circumstances but not down. For example some recent openings in Western Europe didn't fill super quickly because I think they were set at FS 2 or 3, and a bunch of senior guys who would've loved to snatch them up weren't allowed to "step down" to fill the positions, even though they were at really nice posts. I've heard complaints from DS folks about difficulty getting overseas, since there aren't as many opportunities for it. On the flip side, a good friend of mine is about to head to a very nice post, but it was a handshake deal coming from AIP. Tyro fucked around with this message at 03:28 on Dec 27, 2012 |
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2012 03:17
|
|
|
Diplomaticus posted:Yes; VPNs are of questionable legality here, or rather, they are legal under statute but are occasionally blocked/filtered. How does that work with the implementations the embassies run? Are they exempt under diplomatic regulations?
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2012 03:22
|
|
|
HiroProtagonist posted:What qualifies as "bidding over your level?" Each position has it's own rank as well as each person. If you are a 4 bidding on a 3 position then you are bidding over your level. HiroProtagonist posted:Do you know what's available at a given post before bidding (and thus by necessity incorporate that into the bids given to the CDO), or is it just say, "here's X countries; pick your top three?" For your first post you will likely be giving your preference based almost solely on location. By the time you bid for your second you will have probably found out how to see the position description and will know better what job you are bidding on. As an example, one of my friends is DS and is doing his first competitive bid (3rd tour) and has a list of the open positions when he will be transferring. He can see the position: RSO, ARSO, ARSO-I, etc...; grade and language requirements and use that to decide if he wants to bid for that job and how likely he will be to get it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2012 03:27
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 24, 2024 23:57 |
|
|
HiroProtagonist posted:What qualifies as "bidding over your level?" Does this apply to overseas billets, i.e. are AIP bids for your first overseas posting is seen as having "promotion potential?" I didn't know that it was possible to bid for specific positions, rather than just specific posts (and then being placed in a "best fit" billet, or something). Do you know what's available at a given post before bidding (and thus by necessity incorporate that into the bids given to the CDO), or is it just say, "here's X countries; pick your top three?" Some clarification; You won't get AIP for your first post (not for a while). AIP for your second post is a maybe, but also not guaranteed. If you go in with the mindset of "i want to get promoted/be a higher up as fast as possible" you might want to rethink as after all, it is a federal job. DS may be seperate but there are a lot of branches under DS, so it's likely but I'd defer the question to someone with more experience in the field. For DS, your first tour (or two tours?) are mandatory domestic U.S. assignment. If you want AIP i think they are a mid-level or higher career move for special agents. At least, the only DS Agents I have spoken to that served there. For bidding, each post has a detailed profile and you network to find out what life's like there. When you get your list, if there's anything that catches your eye and you're unsure of, you can always ask co-workers, your CDO, or the current management-level-officer (say, RSO for you) on what kind of position or expectation they would have for someone coming over. The slot may say A-RSO, but if it's a big post, you might just be regulated to focusing on a specific thing. (for IMS; will you be in a box, pouch, IT helpdesk, ISO? ISSO?, etc) From there you can do additional research for bidding. The general gist I've gotten in orientation was to become comfortable with doing all aspects of the job, that way you can simplify it as "here's 30 countries; pick your top ten?"
|
|
#
?
Dec 27, 2012 03:35
|
|