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Captain Bravo posted:I hope you guys won't mind me posting here despite not having read much more than the first page, but I've been considering applying as an FSO. I took the practice FSOT, and got a 57 and a 54, so I think I'd have the skills to pass the test at least. I was hoping you guys wouldn't mind answering a few questions for me. Hey dude. Welcome. I can tell you that your educational background and work experience only really matter for the 2nd round of the process--the "personal narratives/qualifications evaluation panel" stage. This is the stage where the QEP (which consists of actual FSOs) looks at your resume and overall application and decide whether to refer you to the third round (the Oral Assessment). Not having any foreign language skills is not an automatic disqualifier, but I would be lying if I told you that being able to speak Chinese or Hindi or Arabic wouldn't be a nice feather in your cap. Honestly, I'd imagine the biggest benefit of knowing a foreign language is being able to take a proficiency test in that language. If you pass it, you will be guaranteed to serve in a country that speaks that language at least once. Your experience in media would make you an obvious fit for the public diplomacy track. I have a journalism/mass communication background also and applied for PD twice, but never was invited to the Oral Assessment. Regarding where you'll be assigned, State says one condition of employment as an FSO is worldwide availability. So you may be in potentially dangerous areas (Bolivia, Egypt), areas where you cannot bring your family (Pakistan, Iraq), areas with inhospitable climates (Mongolia, Nepal), or areas without modern conveniences (Malawi, Laos). I am not an FSO, but from what I've heard, it's rare for a new officer to be assigned to one of these "hardship" locations. But if you end up with a cushy job as your first assignment (France, Australia, Italy), your chances of being sent somewhere considerably less cushy (Laos, Nigeria) are higher. The only advice I can give you is to take each step of the application process seriously. If you fail any stage of the process, you have to start all over again one year after you took the FSOT the first time. (I'll be starting Candidacy #4 this fall.) Good luck!
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Apr 21, 2014 02:17
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] is it's own bag of worms, but I mean just in general what they'll let you take with you. I'm assuming that the department of state handles transportation and housing for you when you're abroad.)
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Your first two tours are directed, meaning you get a list and say "i'd like to go here, or there, but not really this or that place." HR - or specifically, your CDO - then assigns your class. With a class 2, medical restricts your assignment. HR will still lobby you for the posts - but MED will have final say if you can go or not. You get little to no say. You'll need a Class 1 medical clearance to get the job; but you will not get "AIP" - Afghanistan, Iraq, or Pakistan - as your first post; it is rare these days (but doable) for a second posting. I do believe it's possible to see unaccompanied posts on your first tours. I know we had one. it's not a guarantee that because you went to a hardship post first you will get a nice post second; it can be very well the opposite. It is pretty common for new FSO to go to hardship posts; I don't want to promise a number but maybe 60-75% of bid lists have hardship posts. What defines hardship is individual to the post itself; for example, Manila (Philippines) is a hardship posts because of terrible weather and general life inconveniences. You will likely see posts like Tegucigalpa (Honduras), Ulanbataar (Mongolia), Kathmandu (Nepal), Lagos & Abuja (Nigeria), Addis-Abbas (Ethiopia), Beijing or Guangzhou (China); and also "nice" posts like Paris (France), Berlin (Germany), Bern (Swiss), Moscow (Russia), Mexico City, etc on your bid list. "Nice" is in quotes because there's an adage, "people make the Post" or morale at post; you can be assigned to someplace more 'first world' but if morale is poor, you will probably not enjoy your time there. When you apply and before you sign the final acceptance, remember that worldwide means "anywhere in the world (except antarctica)." Make the best with whatever you're given. If you know for sure you are going to have a hard time at any of the abovementioned posts and would have a harder time coming to terms with yourself and "Wow, I'm Really Going To ______ In 3 Months" then seriously reconsider if you want the job or not. But if your attitude/opinion is "aw man, New Dehli?  but hey, at least the food is good.." then you will do fine
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Apr 21, 2014 04:49
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I make my own curry from scratch, so New Delhi would be absolute heaven for me. 
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Apr 21, 2014 08:52
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The Mantis posted:clearance purgatory whyyyyyyyyyyy Been waiting over a year for my DoS TS. They must really be worried about that summer I spent in Spain.
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Apr 21, 2014 14:24
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Well the contractor gig with the office I interned for didn't pan out. But I did just get a conditional offer as an analyst for a federal contractor. And the work is only a degree removed from what I hope to do. So still pretty stoked. Guess I'll just look into pursuing this path again when I have a couple more years under my belt.
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Apr 22, 2014 16:31
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I'm currently a student chewing his way through an International Studies degree with the hope of joining the Foreign Services after graduation. Part of that track has been taking Arabic, which I'm following with all due diligence. That said, gently caress me, this is a hard language! I still can't roll my R's (a problem I had when taking Spanish in HS) worth a drat. If anyone threadside has advice or helpful information on how to best pick up this language, I'm eager to hear. Of course, the be-all-end-all is going to be me going overseas to study in the Middle East for a while, which has driven my mom to panic attacks on more than one occasion. So I'm shopping around for good places to go abroad to learn. I've heard good things about the American University in Cairo, Jordan seems pretty stable, Morocco's awesome (but a little too far away from the action, and speaking a niche dialect), etc. For people who've studied abroad in the Middle East, or served there in the Foreign Service, any good advice on the matter? I've also been reading Moskin's American Statecraft, which covers the whole history of the Foreign Service. If there are any literary recommendations, hell, I'll take 'em too.
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Apr 24, 2014 02:26
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illrepute posted:I'm currently a student chewing his way through an International Studies degree with the hope of joining the Foreign Services after graduation. Part of that track has been taking Arabic, which I'm following with all due diligence. That said, gently caress me, this is a hard language! I still can't roll my R's (a problem I had when taking Spanish in HS) worth a drat. If anyone threadside has advice or helpful information on how to best pick up this language, I'm eager to hear. Of course, the be-all-end-all is going to be me going overseas to study in the Middle East for a while, which has driven my mom to panic attacks on more than one occasion. So I'm shopping around for good places to go abroad to learn. I've heard good things about the American University in Cairo, Jordan seems pretty stable, Morocco's awesome (but a little too far away from the action, and speaking a niche dialect), etc. For people who've studied abroad in the Middle East, or served there in the Foreign Service, any good advice on the matter? Nicholas Kralev - America's Other Army Not super well written, but provides some solid insight.
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Apr 24, 2014 06:24
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Skandiaavity posted:worldwide means "anywhere in the world (except antarctica)." For some reason I feel kind of disappointed that there isn't a consulate down there.
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Apr 24, 2014 07:40
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The Mantis posted:Nicholas Kralev - America's Other Army Agreed. Kopp's "Career Diplomacy" is good too, especially for those considering the career.
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Apr 24, 2014 12:01
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Nutrimentia posted:Agreed. Kopp's "Career Diplomacy" is good too, especially for those considering the career. I'd like to second this recommendation. Although the bulk of the information can be found in various places on the Web, Kopp's book brings it all together without spending a year lurking in various forums (like I did). Edit: this thread also reminded me I got Kissinger's Diplomacy for Christmas.
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Apr 24, 2014 17:27
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Ganguro King posted:For some reason I feel kind of disappointed that there isn't a consulate down there. The US hasn't had official diplomatic contact with Antarctica since Happy Feet 2.
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Apr 24, 2014 18:22
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Gravel Gravy posted:The US hasn't had official diplomatic contact with Antarctica since Happy Feet 2. Relations have been tense ever since. 
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Apr 24, 2014 20:18
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illrepute posted:I'm currently a student chewing his way through an International Studies degree with the hope of joining the Foreign Services after graduation. Part of that track has been taking Arabic, which I'm following with all due diligence. That said, gently caress me, this is a hard language! I still can't roll my R's (a problem I had when taking Spanish in HS) worth a drat. If anyone threadside has advice or helpful information on how to best pick up this language, I'm eager to hear. Of course, the be-all-end-all is going to be me going overseas to study in the Middle East for a while, which has driven my mom to panic attacks on more than one occasion. So I'm shopping around for good places to go abroad to learn. I've heard good things about the American University in Cairo, Jordan seems pretty stable, Morocco's awesome (but a little too far away from the action, and speaking a niche dialect), etc. For people who've studied abroad in the Middle East, or served there in the Foreign Service, any good advice on the matter? Checking in as an Arabic CNL hire and a former Arabic teacher. Don't give up!! How many years in to the language are you? The insanity gets a little more reasonable (or you get more Stockholm'd) by the middle of your third year. Keep in mind that two years of college Arabic is pretty much useless professionally and that you need a lot more to be functional. It will get better! Apply for a CLS to get you in the field - forcing yourself to talk is basically the only way to get comfortable fast, and those are paid-for programs in places the USG considers safe, ish. With that being said, your mother will have to learn to deal if you're going to join the Service, and you shouldn't let that hold you back. I'd recommend Jordan or Oman to learn Arabic - safe (ish), stable (ish), and the accent isn't ridiculous. Egyptian Arabic is awfully hard to use if you're trying to break in to other dialects, but plenty of people have done it, of course. Algeria, actually, is another good place to learn Arabic, but that's probably a bridge too far this time. Israel and Palestinian territories are options too - I've heard of people taking classes in villages up near the Gallilee or in Nablus.
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Apr 25, 2014 00:24
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Ganguro King posted:For some reason I feel kind of disappointed that there isn't a consulate down there. I believe there might be an office that handles inquiries, name escapes me at the moment. and although various countries claim sovereignty in certain regions, they aren't globally recognized (as well as the U.S. hasn't officially staked a claim there, was my understanding)
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Apr 25, 2014 01:14
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Skandiaavity posted:I believe there might be an office that handles inquiries, name escapes me at the moment. and although various countries claim sovereignty in certain regions, they aren't globally recognized (as well as the U.S. hasn't officially staked a claim there, was my understanding) I served in Riyadh with a woman who had worked there for five years... though as IT staff for the research stations, not with State. She said that State could never send her to a more hostile environment.
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Apr 25, 2014 01:16
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illrepute posted:I'm currently a student chewing his way through an International Studies degree with the hope of joining the Foreign Services after graduation. Part of that track has been taking Arabic, which I'm following with all due diligence. That said, gently caress me, this is a hard language! I still can't roll my R's (a problem I had when taking Spanish in HS) worth a drat. If anyone threadside has advice or helpful information on how to best pick up this language, I'm eager to hear. Of course, the be-all-end-all is going to be me going overseas to study in the Middle East for a while, which has driven my mom to panic attacks on more than one occasion. So I'm shopping around for good places to go abroad to learn. I've heard good things about the American University in Cairo, Jordan seems pretty stable, Morocco's awesome (but a little too far away from the action, and speaking a niche dialect), etc. For people who've studied abroad in the Middle East, or served there in the Foreign Service, any good advice on the matter? In addition to the CLS Scholarship someone else said, check out the David Boren Undergraduate Scholarship. They give you 20,000 dollars to study abroad in the Middle East.
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Apr 25, 2014 03:26
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Skandiaavity posted:I believe there might be an office that handles inquiries, name escapes me at the moment. and although various countries claim sovereignty in certain regions, they aren't globally recognized (as well as the U.S. hasn't officially staked a claim there, was my understanding) I seem to remember finding a webpage that had the hardship differentials for all countries listed there. One of the areas was called "Antarctic region posts." So maybe there's a consulate or American interests section in South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, or the South Sandwich Islands? I would be curious about working in such an office. As for Arabic, what about Bahrain or Qatar? The UAE is very safe, but the fact that there are so many internationals there would suggest to me that you'd be speaking English more than you'd be speaking Arabic.
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Apr 25, 2014 04:39
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the_chavi, State sends FS IT to Antarctica? Remind me who not to piss off for that onezzonkmiles posted:I seem to remember finding a webpage that had the hardship differentials for all countries listed there. One of the areas was called "Antarctic region posts." So maybe there's a consulate or American interests section in South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, or the South Sandwich Islands? I would be curious about working in such an office. It's here http://aoprals.state.gov/Web920/location_action.asp?MenuHide=1&CountryCode=1373 "Transfer Zone 1", that needs to be special category 0 or -1 There must be some FS person attached to something there if it's on the allowances page, maybe one of the stations run by the NSF?
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Apr 25, 2014 04:53
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problematique posted:the_chavi, State sends FS IT to Antarctica? Remind me who not to piss off for that one I think she said the person did it in a former career.
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Apr 25, 2014 07:21
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the_chavi posted:Checking in as an Arabic CNL hire and a former Arabic teacher. Don't give up!! How many years in to the language are you? The insanity gets a little more reasonable (or you get more Stockholm'd) by the middle of your third year. Keep in mind that two years of college Arabic is pretty much useless professionally and that you need a lot more to be functional. It will get better! Apply for a CLS to get you in the field - forcing yourself to talk is basically the only way to get comfortable fast, and those are paid-for programs in places the USG considers safe, ish. With that being said, your mother will have to learn to deal if you're going to join the Service, and you shouldn't let that hold you back. I'd recommend Jordan or Oman to learn Arabic - safe (ish), stable (ish), and the accent isn't ridiculous. Egyptian Arabic is awfully hard to use if you're trying to break in to other dialects, but plenty of people have done it, of course. Algeria, actually, is another good place to learn Arabic, but that's probably a bridge too far this time. Israel and Palestinian territories are options too - I've heard of people taking classes in villages up near the Gallilee or in Nablus. I'm still only in my second year. I'm keeping up the faith, though. My professor is this lily-white guy who went to Cairo in the seventies with even less vocab than I have right now, and he managed to pick it up. Of course, he's a professional, but it never hurts to be optimistic.
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Apr 25, 2014 10:15
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So if you took the FSOT in February, and the PNL's in March, when would you find out if you're moving to the next stage. Do you just take silence as an answer, saying that you didn't make it?
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Apr 25, 2014 10:24
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I distantly know the guy who currently handles the Antarctica "desk". He is actually SFS, although I think the job involves just coordinating with international organizations.
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Apr 25, 2014 11:12
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Shageletic posted:So if you took the FSOT in February, and the PNL's in March, when would you find out if you're moving to the next stage. Do you just take silence as an answer, saying that you didn't make it? Mid to late may is the time-line for pnq results. Pearson is the one that will send you the results, not ACT
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Apr 25, 2014 14:23
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Checking in on DS' hiring cycle--beginning to think that if I haven't had a response to my application submitted last September that it means I was declined for an invite to a BEX. Any of you DS goons know if they are instead say, less than halfway through those submitted applications or something that would mean I should not just let it go and give it a shot next go around?
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Apr 25, 2014 15:25
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I know a guy who just got his BEX invite a week or so ago from that cycle so I think they're still chewing through it.
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Apr 25, 2014 16:11
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When I took the BEX in January they said they had over 12,000 applicants and it was going to take them at least nine months to do them all.
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Apr 25, 2014 18:20
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zzonkmiles posted:As for Arabic, what about Bahrain or Qatar? The UAE is very safe, but the fact that there are so many internationals there would suggest to me that you'd be speaking English more than you'd be speaking Arabic. Bing. Same thing goes for Kuwait and the UAE. Terrible places to learn Arabic.
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Apr 26, 2014 01:18
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problematique posted:There must be some FS person attached to something there if it's on the allowances page, maybe one of the stations run by the NSF? Allowances exist for TDYs too, remember. Somebody has to go down and tenprint the penguins for their UNGA visas.
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Apr 26, 2014 01:19
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I hear the Ice Hotel rate just happens to match the per diem lodging.
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Apr 26, 2014 10:44
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Hulu!!!!!!!!!!!
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Apr 28, 2014 09:34
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I remember speaking with someone who was going to Christchurch and I think they have some element of an Antartica portfolio. I imagine there may be a similar position in WHA as well.
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Apr 28, 2014 13:34
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Thanks to this thread I signed up a few months ago and just got an email about the test. I live in Denver and the nearest testing facility is 120 miles away. Is there any audio tapes to study by chance?
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Apr 28, 2014 14:49
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Unknownmass posted:Thanks to this thread I signed up a few months ago and just got an email about the test. I live in Denver and the nearest testing facility is 120 miles away. Is there any audio tapes to study by chance? Thanks for reminding me that Pearsons website should be up today!
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Apr 28, 2014 17:41
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I did it! I took the plunge! Friday, June 20th, I've got an appointment with Pearson VUE to take the FSOT exam in the next town over. Holy poo poo, this is exciting! Now I get to worry about studying/procrastinate at studying/cram session the night before! It's like being in college all over again.
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Apr 28, 2014 20:05
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Captain Bravo posted:I did it! I took the plunge! Friday, June 20th, I've got an appointment with Pearson VUE to take the FSOT exam in the next town over. Holy poo poo, this is exciting! Now I get to worry about studying/procrastinate at studying/cram session the night before! It's like being in college all over again. Did you take the practice test yet?
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Apr 28, 2014 20:43
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Stolennosferatu posted:Did you take the practice test yet? Captain Bravo posted:I took the practice FSOT, and got a 57 and a 54, so I think I'd have the skills to pass the test at least.
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Apr 28, 2014 21:21
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My foreign language skills have deteriorated since the last time I went through the process (gonna work on that), but this time I'll be able to boast about having engaged in American politics and being a candidate for local office. That's got to be worth something, right? Speaking of which, if I'm taking the FSOT this June (which I am), pass again and move on to PNQs, I'll still be getting my results back before November, right? What is the latest point that one can bail out of the process?
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Apr 28, 2014 22:25
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Well, signed up for a June appointment. Feel good about the multiple-choice after taking the practice test, but does anyone know if the format and questions are changing any with the move to Pearson?
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Apr 28, 2014 23:11
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^^^^^ No changes to testing format Oops! I totally forgot to scroll back at least a page
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Apr 29, 2014 00:26
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posted:Thanks to this thread I signed up a few months ago and just got an email about the test. I live in Denver and the nearest testing facility is 120 miles away. Is there any audio tapes to study by chance? I just want to say that if you had to sign up very far away like I did this morning, to check often as I was just able to reschedule for a place only 20 miles away and at a better time. gently caress you 8am
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Apr 29, 2014 03:25
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