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The Mantis posted:Can anyone provide insight on language training for FSO generalists? I know it depends heavily on schedules and what's available. Does anyone receive training prior to their first or second tours? I believe that generalists have to do a language tour in their first two tours to get off language probation. E:vvvvvvvvvvv Thanks! TCD fucked around with this message at 21:20 on Jan 10, 2014 |
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Jan 10, 2014 20:24
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TCD posted:I believe that generalists have to do a language tour in their first two tours to get off language probation. If you don't already have a language that's up to par, that is typically the case. You need a 3/3 to get off probation, but the scores expire and need re-testing unless you test at a 4/4 or higher.
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Jan 10, 2014 21:16
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The Mantis posted:Can anyone provide insight on language training for FSO generalists? I know it depends heavily on schedules and what's available. Does anyone receive training prior to their first or second tours? You're right that it depends on where you're assigned, but generalists absolutely can and do receive language training in their first two tours. TCD posted:I believe that generalists have to do a language tour in their first two tours to get off language probation. It's more that you have to speak another language at a certain level to get tenured. If you don't come into the FS with a foreign language, in at least one of your first two tours you'll be assigned to a post where you'll have to learn one.
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Jan 10, 2014 21:18
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How easy for it a married couple to both serve as FSOs? My girlfriend and I are both in the peace corps right now and have our sights set on the FS a few years down the road. Is it possible to get the same country assignments throughout a career? What sort of professional opportunities are there for spouses with graduate degrees (MPP)? I read on the state department website that some posts have a program where qualified spouses can serve as a temporary FSO without going through the normal application process. I know it has been touched on earlier in this thread, wanted to see if there was any new insight or policy changes on this topic. The charge d' affaire for our country of service recently ordered some study books for us. Looks like a fun test/process!
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Jan 10, 2014 23:23
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laxbro posted:How easy for it a married couple to both serve as FSOs? My girlfriend and I are both in the peace corps right now and have our sights set on the FS a few years down the road. Is it possible to get the same country assignments throughout a career? What sort of professional opportunities are there for spouses with graduate degrees (MPP)? I read on the state department website that some posts have a program where qualified spouses can serve as a temporary FSO without going through the normal application process. I know it has been touched on earlier in this thread, wanted to see if there was any new insight or policy changes on this topic. Good luck! I'm not in the FS, but from what I've read, they'll generally try to keep you together. It'll be easier if you're not in the same cone as your spouse, and you may find it harder to get posted to the more desirable countries. This is just what I've heard from various sources, so if any goons have other experiences, please feel free to contradict me.
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Jan 10, 2014 23:42
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laxbro posted:How easy for it a married couple to both serve as FSOs? My girlfriend and I are both in the peace corps right now and have our sights set on the FS a few years down the road. Is it possible to get the same country assignments throughout a career? What sort of professional opportunities are there for spouses with graduate degrees (MPP)? I read on the state department website that some posts have a program where qualified spouses can serve as a temporary FSO without going through the normal application process. I know it has been touched on earlier in this thread, wanted to see if there was any new insight or policy changes on this topic. The EPAP program is what you are referring to. They are probably the most sought after jobs in the EFM community, and even in a large post, probably only have a a few - as such they are pretty competitive. My wife was fortunate enough to land one at our previous post. As far as serving together over a career, it really depends. Some cones/specialists pair better together than others. It's possible to put in a career spent together but you also have a decent chance of spending one or more tours apart over a long career (or have one partner on leave without pay). Remember, after your first two tours, you are both competitively competing for jobs. TCD fucked around with this message at 23:51 on Jan 10, 2014 |
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Jan 10, 2014 23:46
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Vasudus posted:Welp, didn't pass the BEX. Nobody apparently did from my group either, despite one of them being ex-SF and another being a grad from the London School of Economics. I'm starting to think this just isn't the career for me. Oh well. Sorry to hear that it didn't work out this go around but as Alfred taught us, falling is just an opportunity to get up. Keep at it! The Mantis posted:Can anyone provide insight on language training for FSO generalists? I know it depends heavily on schedules and what's available. Does anyone receive training prior to their first or second tours? As has been mentioned, you'll be required to learn a language for tenure, either one you bring to the FS or one you get after. I know people who've had language training for both of their first tours as well as people who didn't get any (but they came in with qualified language skills). Your first assignment is almost entirely up to chance and the second one will be limited by scheduling and your equity (equity = hardship and danger bonuses; those with more get assigned first). You will be able to exert some influence on the second assignment, depending on your obligations. Everyone is obligated to do at least one year of consular work by the end of the second tour and demonstrate language proficiency by the start of the second tour and there's an unwritten rule/convention about serving in a hardship post early on. In my case I came in with Japanese and was off language probation from the start and did consular work in Nigeria (high equity with 25% hardship and 10% danger). I thus had no specific obligations (language, consular) and was early in the process which meant that I was free to choose any available positions that fit my timing. Other people could only bid on consular jobs or language training jobs though. TCD posted:The EPAP program is what you are referring to. They are probably the most sought after jobs in the EFM community, and even in a large post, probably only have a a few - as such they are pretty competitive. My wife was fortunate enough to land one at our previous post. I would add that in a post like Nigeria that is hard to fill (I think that's even an official designation), there are regular vacancies in the Political and Economic sections that EFMs and MOHs have filled. Of course there's no guarantee but that can be one of the thin silver linings of an otherwise undesirable post. Success (or at least happiness) in the Foreign Service, at least based on my minimal experience after 1 tour in West Africa and a few months of training in DC, depends on one's ability to make yourself happy regardless of circumstances. People who depend on their environment entirely for their well-being are going to struggle in some if not many environments where we work. Others are able to made do; Lemons & lemonade, yadda yadda yadda and sometimes you just have to settle for lemon water, but at least its better than just water, right? (the really cool people, though, ferment the lemon juice and party!)
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Jan 11, 2014 04:19
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Vasudus posted:Welp, didn't pass the BEX. Nobody apparently did from my group either, despite one of them being ex-SF and another being a grad from the London School of Economics. I'm starting to think this just isn't the career for me. Oh well. Sorry to hear it man, but I say keep at it. Third times the charm!
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Jan 11, 2014 08:35
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Nutrimentia posted:
Aspiring applicants should really read this one over and have it be applicable to everybody in the family.
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Jan 11, 2014 11:28
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Nutrimentia, where are you going next after your 35% equity ELO assignment? It sounds like you had some good options.
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Jan 11, 2014 18:12
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Nutrimentia posted:Success (or at least happiness) in the Foreign Service, at least based on my minimal experience after 1 tour in West Africa and a few months of training in DC, depends on one's ability to make yourself happy regardless of circumstances. People who depend on their environment entirely for their well-being are going to struggle in some if not many environments where we work. Others are able to made do; Lemons & lemonade, yadda yadda yadda and sometimes you just have to settle for lemon water, but at least its better than just water, right? (the really cool people, though, ferment the lemon juice and party!) Don't squeeze the lemon into your water distiller though!
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Jan 12, 2014 00:07
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Nutrimentia posted:Success (or at least happiness) in the Foreign Service, at least based on my minimal experience after 1 tour in West Africa and a few months of training in DC, depends on one's ability to make yourself happy regardless of circumstances. People who depend on their environment entirely for their well-being are going to struggle in some if not many environments where we work. Others are able to made do; Lemons & lemonade, yadda yadda yadda and sometimes you just have to settle for lemon water, but at least its better than just water, right? (the really cool people, though, ferment the lemon juice and party!) Great! I think most peace corps volunteers that complete their service have this covered. Thanks for the great thread guys. Will continue to follow along and hopefully begin contributing when I start the application process in a year or two. My goal is to get a job as a refugee or asylum officer with the USCIS right out of peace corps. I plan to start the application process for the FS once I am well settled. I know it is a different agency, but does anyone have any insight into those two positions with USCIS? Particularly the refugee officer position.
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Jan 12, 2014 00:24
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There was just a NY Times (I think?) article about tandem couples and the struggles they face, though it focused more on some unique situations where one spouse is senior enough to another spouse in the same cone that it's unavoidable to avoid a supervisory conflict. -e- Wow, I can't find it, but while googling for it, I found a nearly identical article from 1986. http://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/03/us/state-department-till-reassignment-do-us-part.html
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Jan 12, 2014 03:55
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problematique posted:Nutrimentia, where are you going next after your 35% equity ELO assignment? It sounds like you had some good options. Seoul.  It was technically #15 on my bid list but it was #3 in-cone. Seoul is a CON-POL rotation (and I'm grateful for it after getting a CON-ECON rotation in Abuja) and the other two picks were 2 year POL assignments. I'd loaded my bid list with European consular assignments figuring that if I was going to do consular work, I'd rather do it in Italy). I was pretty stoked to get Seoul even though it seems low on my preferences list. Talk of tandem couples and conflicts of interests reminds me that I ran into a friend from training recently. His wife is going to be DCM in Florence and he's an RSO in Naples, or something similar. I also know of a MGMT/Finance Specialist tandem couple that got assigned to Sidney and Mexico City. He has been in for far longer and she is recently tenured. They opted to follow him with their 2 kids and then she was able to get an assignment there as well, so it worked out after a fair amount of wrangling and stress. I've heard that tandem couple are entirely common and quite doable if you're flexible and willing to go where you can (as well as willing to split up when unavoidable). I've also heard the advice that it can be easier if one of the partners is designated as the "main" officer from the beginning to avoid later conflicts regarding who's career takes precedence, but I think that really is going to depend on each couple and their personal circumstances.
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Jan 12, 2014 04:23
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Nutrimentia posted:
Yup. There are a lot of benefits from being a tandem, but, there are certain additional stresses. This is compounded if a partner is working in another Foreign Affairs agency (USAID, FCS, etc.). Tandems, much like everything else in the FS, just need to manage expectations and understand that spending a tour apart is a real possibility.
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Jan 12, 2014 12:25
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Don't we have a goon in consular in London?
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Jan 17, 2014 11:24
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Leif. posted:Don't we have a goon in consular in London? FB'd you.
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Jan 17, 2014 11:33
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Leif. posted:Don't we have a goon in consular in London? I've got former neighbors in the PAO.
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Jan 17, 2014 18:37
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Adjudication has been put on hold again for another week. I wish I could start this internship sooner so that I can better understand what you guys talk about in this thread.
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Jan 17, 2014 19:38
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Still waiting for my PNQ results from the October test, but I decided to apply for a civil service position back in November. I just got an offer and started the background check but I don't think I'll start before orals (if I get to them). Either way, hello Dept of State.
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Jan 18, 2014 02:34
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Congrats!
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Jan 19, 2014 14:13
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Womacks-JP-23 posted:Still waiting for my PNQ results from the October test, but I decided to apply for a civil service position back in November. I just got an offer and started the background check but I don't think I'll start before orals (if I get to them). Awesome! One of my A-100 class mates made the jump from Civil Service to Generalist, and her experience really helped her get through the process. By the time she joined A-100, she had quite a few DC contacts, and a great deal of knowledge about several of the posts on our bid list. Welcome aboard!
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Jan 21, 2014 16:10
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Government closed today in advance of IMPENDING DOOMSNOW. Hard not to roll eyes when they call a snow day before the first flake falls.
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Jan 21, 2014 16:24
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Nutrimentia posted:Government closed today in advance of IMPENDING DOOMSNOW. Hard not to roll eyes when they call a snow day before the first flake falls. OPM seems to be completely arbitrary. We've had work when the streets are icy and snow is on the ground, and now we got a snow day before anything happened. To be fair, it's coming down pretty well now, and I'm glad I won't be unrestrained in a shuttle trying to get back to the Oakwood after class.
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Jan 21, 2014 19:17
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QEP results from October in...didn't make it through for the second time 
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Jan 21, 2014 20:01
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Gold and a Pager posted:QEP results from October in...didn't make it through for the second time Same here, two years running. Aw well.
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Jan 21, 2014 20:46
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I got a QEP rejection too.
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Jan 21, 2014 20:46
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My sister also got a QEP rejection letter - does anyone have good news for this round?
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Jan 21, 2014 23:13
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Sounding off on the QEP rejection train! Seems I'm in good company
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Jan 21, 2014 23:20
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Brutal... sorry folks.
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Jan 22, 2014 00:07
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TCD posted:Brutal... sorry folks. Speaking of brutal, your friend from Brazil managed to break his toe during his first couple of months in Manilla. That's 2 post household injuries from my A-100 classmates.
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Jan 22, 2014 01:57
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Got my QEP rejection letter as well. Well I guess it's grad school for me in the fall. Going to shoot for an internship with State next summer.
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Jan 22, 2014 03:15
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I suppose I'll break the streak of bad news. I got rejected last year, but this time, I made it through to the FSOA! Would appreciate any advice I could get (that's not already in the official sources)!
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Jan 22, 2014 04:31
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Sorry to those that didn't make it through the QEP -- looks like it was unforgiving this year.qwertyman posted:I suppose I'll break the streak of bad news. I got rejected last year, but this time, I made it through to the FSOA! Would appreciate any advice I could get (that's not already in the official sources)! That's huge congratulations! I would suggest trying to get a study group to prepare for the Group Exercise. It helped me get a feel for how the whole thing should flow, and I picked up a few useful little tricks for organizing all the information that you're bombarded with during the exercise Good luck!
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Jan 22, 2014 04:54
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d1rtbag posted:Speaking of brutal, your friend from Brazil managed to break his toe during his first couple of months in Manilla. That's 2 post household injuries from my A-100 classmates. Ha, I saw that on FB.
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Jan 22, 2014 09:55
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That's too bad for all the folks who didn't make it, but keep at it! D1rtbag, I live in A building, Oakwood. qwertyman, congrats! Read the official advice for the FSOA for sure. Some of the study group stuff can be good, especially for OA. Remember that the Groupe Exercise isn't about getting your project funded, it's about following directions and working well with others. I used the yahoo boards written exercise materials and practiced on those with a 60 minute limit. ALWAYS FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. Make sure you're doing all of what they want in the way they want it (and maybe I'd even go so far as to say "and no more"). Consider reviewing the 13D's and maybe coming up with a few examples (overlap amongst them is fine) of each of them in your life. Having those at the ready can help out when writing the Statement of Interest and in the Personal Interview section. Get a good night's sleep and a good breakfast. Have fun and enjoy the day. Being relaxed is the biggest advantage one can have, I believe. I've still got my FSOA prep file that has a practice files, the advice files I felt were the best, and so on. I'd be happy to zip it up and send it to you if you want.
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Jan 23, 2014 13:34
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Continuous posted:Sorry to those that didn't make it through the QEP -- looks like it was unforgiving this year. Don't worry, it's unforgiving every year. Study groups are great, because if nothing else they help simulate the environment of the test. And that's a big deal, actually. It's not the SATs, the format is really important (especially on the GE portion.) The yahoo group I have been less active in recently, but my OA "crunch guide" probably is still up there in the files, and I found the practice OA materials really helpful.
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Jan 24, 2014 07:45
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Sorry if this question gets asked a lot/has been answered before/was in the OP and I missed it, but what kind of ages are there in the Foreign Service? Is there an age limit? I live in Japan and I've got a good job lined up for when I graduate in a couple months, but it's in an industry that has its ups and downs, so I'm kicking around in my head things that I might want to do if I get downsized or decide I don't like my job or just want a change, and the FS interest me. Are there people that start out in the FS at 30? Also how much does what's on your resume count? I read in the OP about how various universities were represented, so does backgound not count for much?
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Jan 24, 2014 10:20
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LimburgLimbo posted:Sorry if this question gets asked a lot/has been answered before/was in the OP and I missed it, but what kind of ages are there in the Foreign Service? Is there an age limit? Ages are all over the place between 21-65. Given how brutal the QEP is right now, if you have an interest in doing this, I'd start taking the FSOT to see if you can make it to the FSOA.
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Jan 24, 2014 11:24
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A little over a month at post and I'm finding myself wearing more shirts and ties than I have my entire professional career.
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Jan 24, 2014 18:10
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