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I don't know how many civil servants post in this thread, but if anyone is ever curious about doing State Department work in DC I'd be happy to answer as best as I can.
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Sep 17, 2012 04:17
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My job is technically called a Foreign Affairs Officer, although the job description for that title is very broad and could fit in just about anything. I work for INL, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, developing and managing programs as part of our rule of law support for Afghanistan. It's kind of a weird job within State and not really similar to what many other people do in the Department. I love it. I really thought that I wanted to work in the intelligence community as an analyst when I entered grad school, but I'm very happy that life sent me in this direction. I'm a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) and have worked at State for a little over a year. After making it through the PMF selection process, I sent my resume and cover letter to the PMF coordinator at State and asked her to send it on to my current office in INL. I was lucky enough to get an interview and to really hit it off with the folks from my office. My academic and work experience were very good, but only tangentially related to my current job. Fortunately, they weren't really looking for someone who was already an expert on the Afghan prison system. I do not speak Dari or Pashto. Almost all of my coworkers have a Master's or a JD. Many are PMFs. If you want to work at the State Department as a civil servant Foreign Affairs Officer, be a PMF, intern, or do one of the other pathways programs. I'm sure that there are folks out there who have joined State through other means, but almost all of the young people I meet are coming through one of those programs. A final note on civil service versus foreign service - I love the idea of the Foreign Service, and I have tremendous respect for my colleagues who serve overseas. I did a rotation as a Pol/Econ officer this summer at an overseas post and loved the experience. But I know that I don't want that lifestyle. I don't want to move every few years, and I love living in DC, which is my hometown. My girlfriend does not have a career that would let her follow me around the world. Being in the civil service is a tremendous way to be involved in U.S. foreign policy without having to handle what would be, for me, the serious downsides of being in the foreign service. However, the Department of State is dominated by the Foreign Service, and career advancement can be tricky as a civil servant. There is that to think about. Giodo! fucked around with this message at 06:04 on Sep 17, 2012 |
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Sep 17, 2012 05:49
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I also want to share my condolences with the FSOs here. It's a small community, and the loss of your fellow officers is devastating. I didn't know Vilerat beyond his posts in TFF, and I only met Ambassador Stevens briefly at an FSI class, but they both seemed like class acts. Stay safe out there.
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Sep 17, 2012 06:08
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Beria posted:I asked earler in the thread, but i guess it got lost in the shuffle. I was wondering if anyone coud offer any advice about other opportunities at the State Department, such as the Civil Service, or other Jobs like Foreign Affairs Officers? I'll be attending grad school next spring for Conflict Resolution, and think the State Dept would be a good fit for me, I'd just like a little more info, first hand if possible, about what other opportunities are offered. I'm finishing my PMF and am a Foreign Affairs Officer. Feel free to PM me or ask specific questions. Here is an outline of the basic ways into the civil service; there's some stuff that's pretty easy to find on the State Department website, as well. It seems to me that it's very difficult to break in through other means - I don't think I know any young civil servants who just applied to a USAJobs posting. Hopefully OPM unfucks the PMF program soon, because it seems like it turned into a total crapshoot the last time around. Giodo! fucked around with this message at 19:21 on Apr 19, 2013 |
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Apr 19, 2013 19:15
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I have friends who are doing it in the civil service, so I imagine it would be possible during a 3-year DC tour depending on the program. It seems kind of miserable to me, so you'd have to really know that it's going to enhance your career and that you want to do it. I am so happy to be done with school.
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May 6, 2013 19:58
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I'm just glad they didn't capture his Little Orphan Annie Secret Society Decoder Ring!
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May 14, 2013 17:29
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Requiring a certain clearance doesn't have anything to do with the salary a position pays or even the amount of responsibility involved. If you have to handle and look at classified info, you need that clearance. There's nothing incongruous about an entry level OMS needing TS.
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May 27, 2013 15:50
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Maybe, but there are tons of jobs in the IC and throughout the government in DC that require TS and are not particularly high-paying. My office requires TS and most people come in as a GS-9 ($51,000 in DC).
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May 28, 2013 13:56
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I seriously doubt it, getting a clearance is a different process from getting selected for the Foreign Service. And, to be clear, you shouldn't neglect to disclose things like foreign friends during your clearance process. Far better to have it take a while to get cleared than to get rejected for lying, and those investigators can be very thorough.
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Jun 4, 2013 16:32
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Rule of thumb when doing anything State Department related - never hurts to be overdressed. I think my PDAS's pajamas probably have suspenders and a tie.
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Jun 10, 2013 13:35
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Oh no, the second piece of advice was to refrain from using the passive voice 
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Jun 12, 2013 00:56
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tismondo posted:I'll be doing a DoS student internship this Fall in DC. I've been reading this thread since the beginning, but I'm wondering if there's anything you'd all prefer interns to know or be prepared for when they start. Things that would make your lives easier. Dress professionally, be willing and eager to do any assignment that is given to you, be methodical and demonstrate attention to detail in completing your assignments. Remember that the State Department is, as a general rule, a very hiearchical organization that values protocol and decorum more than many private (or other public) sector jobs. It can be disorienting at first if you're used to flatter organizations. Let folks know when you don't have any work to do and, as you get more comfortable and gain a better understanding about your subject area, be proactive in thinking about how you can contribute and what you could be working on. My best intern never complained when she got tedious assignments, did great on them, and then during a lull in work for her identified how she could use one of her skills - powerpoint and visual design - to make all of our program fact sheets better. I ended up taking her on a TDY with me and giving her tons of substantive work. Congrats and good luck!
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Jun 13, 2013 14:58
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Consider civil service pathways programs if living in DC is at all of interest. These include both internships, post-undergrad full time employment, and post-grad school full time employment programs: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/students-recent-graduates/#url=Program-Fact-Sheets These programs also aren't easy to get into, but it's another option.
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Jun 14, 2013 12:41
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And the FSI cafeteria is so poorly laid out!
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Jun 18, 2013 00:41
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I'm always in DC unless I'm on TDY somewhere, so I'd love to drop by and say hi.
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Jul 2, 2013 14:03
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Just not rocket bar.
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Jul 5, 2013 12:52
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I think that you would really, really be rolling the dice, and that those dice are not weighted in your favor. You may get someone who understands gaming and/or values that kind of alternative leadership and social interaction, but I think that it's way more likely that your reviewer won't value or be able to relate to that experience at all. I'm no expert, though.
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Jul 8, 2013 22:41
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d1rtbag posted:Yep -- it's officially Oakwood Arlington, but it seems like everyone calls it "Rosslyn". Are you planning to go to the Sunday evening happy hour at the Rock Bottom Brewery? My wife and I will be there. Arlington is a county and is not descriptive as an actual way to find something, so people will generally be more descriptive and name the neighborhood/metro stop, like Rosslyn or Clarendon. I would just take a cab. The main state building is about a half mile from the metro. It's not a hard walk at all, but its loving hot even in the morning and I wouldn't want to be sweaty in a suit on my first day.
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Jul 11, 2013 12:49
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When I was in Chennai last year during the hottest part of the south Indian summer people kept on asking me how bad I thought the heat was. It was very hot, no doubt, but none of the Indians believed me that DC really isn't that much better.
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Jul 16, 2013 12:21
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Bah, slammed at work today. My boss getting promoted was the worst thing that ever happened. I'll try to make the next one.
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Jul 18, 2013 22:31
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Also I don't know that knowing how to drive in a normal U.S. suburb or small town would even remotely prepare you for driving in a place like New Delhi.
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Jul 23, 2013 12:58
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hitension posted:Man, I would be pissed if I was an FSO and my first assignment was Canada. Not exciting from a tourism perspective nor a hotbed of political action and intrigue. Canada is an incredibly important strategic and trade partner for the U.S. No, the relationship isn't necessarily high profile, but the breadth of relations between the two countries is considerable. Additionally, most officers aren't political cone and the amount of political action and intrigue isn't necessarily relevant to their jobs. Many first tour officers are doing consular work and a position in Toronto or Montreal might be more interesting and varied than plugging away in a visa mill in India, China, or Brazil. Many officers have families or medical conditions that would make Canada a desirable place to be based based on the quality of education and health care. You may work for a particularly great section chief or ambassador, providing you with mentoring and career development opportunities that you might not get in a more "exciting" post. My point isn't that you're wrong - there's nothign wrong with Canada seeming like a terrible post to you - it's just that people have all kinds of different interests in the foreign service and are doing all kinds of different jobs. I guarantee you that if you poll any officer about their ideal posting, the same posting will be someone else's nightmare. Giodo! fucked around with this message at 15:39 on Jul 25, 2013 |
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Jul 25, 2013 15:36
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psydude posted:I'm doing some work on the wireless network after lunch, so if it mysteriously stops working at some point do your best to convince everyone it's sun spots. It was only because of your posts here that I even knew there was wireless in the cafeteria, and I greatly appreciated it the last time I was out at FSI.
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Jul 25, 2013 17:59
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TCD posted:SA megathread, doing more for DoS than any internal messageboards. The Sounding Board does have that legendary discussion on female urinals.
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Jul 25, 2013 18:19
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Nobody has ever questioned my GiodoDepartmentofStateNoReally@aol.com address.
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Aug 13, 2013 14:46
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You could consider the civil service, as well, as some CS jobs (like mine) let you travel overseas quite a bit. However, again, it's not necessarily easy to go that route, and applying to the CS through anything other than the Pathways programs (for undergrad/grad school recent graduates) seems like it would be pretty Byzantine to me.
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Aug 23, 2013 16:38
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Aw, I have a thing on Wednesday night I have to go to, but maybe I can come before or after if there's a get together.
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Sep 7, 2013 16:26
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Very few furloughs from State right now, though. If this lasts a month it will be an issue.
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Oct 1, 2013 15:22
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I'm the guy in the suit in the HST cafeteria with a green notebook if anyone ever wants to say hi.
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Nov 20, 2013 03:56
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the_chavi posted:Ohhhhhh it was at FSI. Didn't S have a round table last week or something for direct hires? It's all blending together... Yeah there was an S town hall earlier in the month. I couldn't make it/forgot about it as well.
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Nov 21, 2013 15:22
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I am a civil servant based in DC, just completed a Presidential Management Fellowship and converted to career civil service. It's a totally different ballgame for the PMF path from the FSO, and OPM is always changing the program. I'm not sure what it's like now. Once I had made it through the PMF selection process, I sent an email/cover letter/resume to the department PMF coordinator asking her to forward to the bureau and office I was interested (I had some prior intel that they were hiring). I got an email back about a month later to set up an interview, which went incredibly well. Then I had a final interview with the deputy director at the PMF job fair, got my offer about a month after that. Currently reside: DC Undergrad: William and Mary, BA History, International Relations Grad: Georgetown, MA Security Studies Work: had been a legal assistant and had worked at a domestic, non-IR related non-profit. Internships: NYPD, some homeland security organization in DC Grants & Awards: lots of academic stuff, I was good at school International travel: just a couple of vacations to Europe, wasn't relevant International region personal/policy interest: South Asia, wasn't relevant Cone: N/A
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Dec 3, 2013 12:51
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Ramms+ein posted:Did anyone else apply for a summer internship back in Nov. with the State Dept. and hear anything back yet? I applied for Morocco and still haven't heard anything. My office had to make our summer internship decisions by mid-December. I don't know if that applies across the entire Department. Just a tip to future intern applicants, and something I wish someone had really drilled in to me when I was applying to be an intern - select the offices/posts that you're applying for intelligently, read the instructions(that means you have to pref regional bureaus if you want an overseas internship - I can't send you overseas from my office), and if you're applying to a functional bureau (like Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor or Econ or whatever), put some time into researching what the bureau actually does. Sell your work and academic experience to fit the bureau's mission as much as possible in both your resume and your little cover letter/personal statement thing. A ton of people preffed my bureau and then their applications didn't have anything to do with our work. I'm busy with tons of other poo poo and trying to look over a 100 intern applications; the only ones that are making the short list are the ones that break away from just a pro forma "I am confident that I will be a good fit in your office because of my strong work ethic, academic history, and work experience." Bonus points if you figure out that my bureau doesn't just do CN.
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Jan 5, 2014 20:52
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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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I don't think there's a general policy, it seems like it's dependent on the laws of the country. If you're already working for the Department, I think there's often info on local laws in Post Reports. I do not have first-hand experience with this, though.
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Jan 27, 2014 15:53
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Gravel Gravy posted:Finally got through. Start the internship program in a couple of weeks. Congrats! You should be in a suit on your first day to be safe. See how the rest of your office dresses from there. You won't go wrong with shirt/tie/slacks every day, and keep a jacket on hand in case you have to meet with someone important. The State Department is pretty formal compared to most offices.
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Jan 28, 2014 21:57
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Gravel Gravy posted:^^^ Yup, always be nice to truckers, otherwise they can coordinate with other truckers and make your trip suck. Yeah https://www.opm.gov. We don't really get emailed, just have to check to see what OPM says.
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Feb 14, 2014 05:00
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Radio Talmudist posted:Anyone here a member of the Civil Service? I hear they don't have to take the FSOT, which intrigues me as the FSOT seems grueling. I am, you're right that you don't take the FSOT. But it's also pretty hard to get hired into a foreign affairs-focused job as a civil servant. I'm not sure what the hiring is like for specialist jobs like IT, but most civil servants I know entered the Department through PMF or the old Career Entry Program, both of which are very competitive. I'm sure that there are people out there, but I don't know a single civil servant who came in by, for example, just applying to an open USA Jobs post. As a civil servant you can, through the Mustang program, skip the FSOT after three years of service when applying for the FS. But really the test itself is not the big barrier, and you still have to do all the really hard parts - the orals and the QEPs and everything. If you have a path into the civil service set up, it's a nice option to be working in foreign affairs while applying to the FS. But I would not recommend putting your hopes into the CS route if you want to be a FS but are afraid of the test for two main reasons - (1) if you weren't going to make the FS, it is not really substantially easier to get a foreign affairs-focused job in the CS, and (2) they are very different careers. Look to the civil service if you want to be a civil servant (be primarily based in DC, change roles less often, have more limited career advancement prospects, no ultimate up or out pressure). You can do cool stuff and get overseas jobs as a CS, but the CS is not FS lite and it's not a funnel into the FS.
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Feb 20, 2014 03:55
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Womacks-JP-23 posted:
Probably not! My experience isn't universal, and PMFs basically are just civil servants who do a couple of rotations. So it doesn't matter at all functionally. If you're already in I don't think it makes sense to go through the PMF process. The rotations and quick promotions are nice, but at the end of the day it's really just a foot in the door and if your job already has a ladder to a GS-13 you're fine. I could definitely be off on the details of the Mustang process, I've never looked at it that closely. I should have qualified that more heavily. Giodo! fucked around with this message at 07:31 on Feb 20, 2014 |
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Feb 20, 2014 07:26
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zzonkmiles posted:In the wake of the (probable) crash of the Malaysian airliner, it got me thinking. Which airlines do FSOs typically use to hop from country to country? Could any FSOs have been on that doomed flight? News reports say 4 Americans (including an infant) were on the plane. Flying Safi Airways into Kabul is always fun.
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Mar 8, 2014 20:55
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I fly so much on United that I always get upgraded to at least economy plus, and have gotten the upgrade to business on rare circumstances. But I would never pay for business on my own. It's like an extra $1500 when I'm flying to Dubai and I'm certainly not well paid enough that I can drop that much for a flight. Business class is lovely though. That ice cream cart.
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Mar 10, 2014 15:28
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