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Just thought I'd chime in on my FSOT experience and gripe about the QEP. I took it last Fall and killed the written, practically aced it. A few months later, I got a letter saying that I didn't pass the QEP and wouldn't be invited to the FSOA. The worst part about the QEP is that they don't tell you where you failed. With the FSOT, you have the scores at least. For all I know, I could have failed because the format of my résumé was hosed up. Anyway, I'm planning to take it again this Fall.  Funny anecdote: My godfather was a career FSO and eventually made his way to the top ranks. While he was chargé in a nice country, he was "asked" (i.e., politely told) to be ambassador to Chad. He'd been in chargé in this nice country for a long time and wanted to finish out his career there, though, and not get shoeboxed in Chad, so he responded with a cable, "I am flattered by the offer, but unfortunately I do not know very much about Latin America." And he never heard another word about it. Smeef fucked around with this message at 20:30 on Jul 26, 2009 |
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Jul 26, 2009 20:17
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I can't comment on the numbers, etc., but in the case of unqualified political appointees, the chargé runs the show.
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Jul 28, 2009 18:29
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Yeah, you're correct. I just misused the term.
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Jul 28, 2009 20:08
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FYI, the Fall test this year is in early October, not in November.
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Jul 29, 2009 18:35
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I completed the entire registration form without problems, but I also got confirmation of receipt before I'd even finished registering. Subsequently got no e-mails after full completion.
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Jul 31, 2009 17:27
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Has anyone received scheduling information back yet? Considering how buggy the initial sign-up was, I'm wondering if it got hosed up.
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Aug 24, 2009 18:24
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I had a long chat with a recent FS retiree today and got tons of good information. I don't remember everything off the top of my head, but here are a few things: When it comes to languages, State values grammatical correctness in speech more than accent and fluency of command. If in an hour-long conversation you have more than 10 grammatical errors in a foreign language, you need to practice your grammar more. Pick up one of the hard languages as early as possible even if you don't plan on staying in that region. You continue to get the additional pay for knowing the language even if you aren't using it, and over a career this will add up to a few hundred thousand dollars. Apparently a lot of FSOs have trouble leading moderate lives when they aren't getting the official luxury treatment, and consequently they retire pretty much broke. If you're smart with your expenses, savings, and investments, though, you can retire with a few million dollars in the bank. State is a very conservative organization, so do not go in thinking that you are going to shake things up. Being outspoken will get you nailed as being a hotshot. Your reputation is everything and should be protected carefully. It's a very small and insular community, and pretty much everyone will at least know your name if you're in the community for long. Getting that sweet post in a nice country may come down to someone recognizing your name and recalling something that a colleague said about you. Certain regions are known for certain styles. The work in Europe is boring, but life is nice. Latin America is like Latin America... a little but there's still action. The Far East is serious business. Africa is a dead-end shithole both professionally and personally.
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Sep 10, 2009 04:37
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pragan4 posted:Just got word that I didn't make it past the QEP. I'm not sure what that means, but I guess I'll wait until next June/July and take the test again. This is what really sucks about the QEP. There is no feedback whatsoever. FSOT has score breakdowns. With the FSOA you at least have a feeling for how you've performed in each section. With the QEP it could be because your roommate put an ASCII cock at the bottom of your personal essay, and you'd never know.
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Sep 14, 2009 16:49
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I have to applaud you for your ability to remain positive about the QEP. I've talked to a lot of career FSOs about it, and even they are perplexed about it. The general consensus is a mix between  and 
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Sep 15, 2009 04:04
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I highly recommend not hitting control-z to undo a spelling mistake on the essay portion, because it will permanently undo the entire essay. Luckily I only had to rewrite ten minutes worth.
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Oct 6, 2009 21:38
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Passed, but got news today that I failed my security clearance for another job, so I guess that kinda scraps my career in U.S. government. 
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Oct 29, 2009 22:56
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Yeah, it was just interim clearance. I'm sure I'd pass if I went through the whole shebang, but now I've got the additional "Yes" check next to any apps that ask if I've ever failed a security clearance application.
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Oct 29, 2009 23:54
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Pompous Rhombus posted:There's usually a little space where you write something in (in my limited experience so far anyways), so you might have a chance to explain it in future applications. I have very extensive international travel experiences to strange places, and not surprisingly have a large group of international friends as well. The catch-22 of course is that these are traits that were important for getting the initial offer.
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Oct 30, 2009 03:05
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Mask posted:I have to ask this and apologies if the question itself may be remedial. I would encourage aspiring FSOs to not even bother studying IR unless they would be happy doing something with IR outside of the Foreign Service. There's nothing in the FSOT that requires knowledge of international relations beyond general interest. Even if the Foreign Service is your one and only dream job, it's smarter to be capable of doing something else while you wait out the long and uncertain Foreign Service process. Otherwise you'll spend years scrapping with other unpaid, over-educated interns in DC while waiting on your results.
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Nov 3, 2009 16:27
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