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AKA Pseudonym posted:Mostly very boring stuff we don't want anybody tampering with or planting listening devices on. Stuff you could find in an ordinary office anywhere. Speaking of diplomatic pouches, still no further word on that courier job I applied for. In October. 
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Feb 10, 2010 13:53
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TCD posted:A few things. Thx for the corrections, seems like I was a bit off. So what defines a hardship post, I think he was asking. (i.e. why is most of africa a hardship)
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Feb 10, 2010 22:26
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Skandiaavity posted:Thx for the corrections, seems like I was a bit off. So what defines a hardship post, I think he was asking. (i.e. why is most of africa a hardship) quote:512 Scope
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Feb 10, 2010 22:39
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Medical care is often a big factor in hardship pay. If you're healthy and reasonably sure you won't get squashed by a bus there's some pretty good deals out there.
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Feb 10, 2010 23:00
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A question about test dates. I'm intending to apply as someone who will graduate from a Master's program in June 2011. As it stands, I feel confident about my level of Russian to get the language bonus, but I am also studying Farsi, though I will probably not be in a position to get the super-critical bonus if I take the test this June. I'll probably be spending the summer in Tajikistan to work on some scholarly/humanitarian projects, which should improve both. As people who have gone through the process of applying for this, does it make sense to take the June test without the Persian bonus or wait until October 2010? It sounds as if it the whole process takes some time, so I'm thinking it may be wise to take the FSOT earlier (about a year before graduation) rather than later. Thoughts?
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Feb 12, 2010 20:07
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TunanFish posted:A question about test dates. IIRC you get the same points (.4) for Critical Needs as Super Critical needs, excluding Arabic which is .5 points. The difference, I think, is that you get the points for a Super Critical Needs added on after passing the written test, whereas with the Critical Needs you only take after passing the Oral exam. So basically, I think it's worth waiting if you're not confident on passing the written exam and QEP panel, otherwise I don't think it makes a difference unless you have a preference for serving in Tajikistan over Russia. I got the info from this page. BTW, way off topic of the thread but could you please show me how to write "I am the walrus" in Cyrillic?
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Feb 12, 2010 23:05
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Pompous Rhombus posted:IIRC you get the same points (.4) for Critical Needs as Super Critical needs, excluding Arabic which is .5 points. The difference, I think, is that you get the points for a Super Critical Needs added on after passing the written test, whereas with the Critical Needs you only take after passing the Oral exam. So basically, I think it's worth waiting if you're not confident on passing the written exam and QEP panel, otherwise I don't think it makes a difference unless you have a preference for serving in Tajikistan over Russia. I got the info from this page. Something like "ыь ам тй валврус" maybe. There's no "Th" sound so I'm substituting a hard "T" sound and no "W" so I'm substituting a "V" sound. I'm not too sure about "I" either since vowels are confusing. So you have something like "I am Tee Valvrus." I mostly eat at places that have English menus obviously.
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Feb 12, 2010 23:33
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AKA Pseudonym posted:Something like "ыь ам тй валврус" maybe. There's no "Th" sound so I'm substituting a hard "T" sound and no "W" so I'm substituting a "V" sound. I'm not too sure about "I" either since vowels are confusing. Oh, sorry I meant a literal translation of the phrase, written in Cyrillic rather than phonetically in Western script.
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Feb 12, 2010 23:51
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Oh, sorry I meant a literal translation of the phrase, written in Cyrillic rather than phonetically in Western script. Ah, in that case "Я морж." You didn't ask for it but people might be wondering what that's only two words and I'm in an explaining mood. It's pronounced "Ya Morj," literally "I Walrus." Russian doesn't really have a definite article or a present tense for "To be" so you get to walk around talking like Tarzan. edit: I'm assuming you mean Russian. Other languages use Cyrillic or variants of it. But Russian is the most prominent. AKA Pseudonym fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Feb 13, 2010 |
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Feb 13, 2010 00:09
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AKA Pseudonym posted:Ah, in that case "Я морж." Awesome, thank you (and I probably would have asked).
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Feb 13, 2010 00:14
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TunanFish posted:A question about test dates. It's not worth waiting. It's six to nine months between written and orals. During that time you get to test for your supercritical needs language. If you fail, you get to test again after you pass the orals, and then I believe every six months after that until you either pass the language test, make it to the A100 or get booted off the roster at 18 months.
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Feb 13, 2010 02:56
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Does anyone know what is a reasonable passing score that would get me an offer in Political cone?
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Feb 13, 2010 07:05
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SWATJester posted:Does anyone know what is a reasonable passing score that would get me an offer in Political cone? A 5.7 would have won you an offer in any class since the beginning of 2009. Lowest score offered for the most recent class was 5.6, and there were probably some people with that score who did not receive an offer. Do you speak any foreign languages? If you do, it would lower the required FSOA score by 0.5, 0.4 or 0.17 points, depending on the language. The way things have been going, if you speak Arabic or a critical needs language you will get an offer if you pass the FSOA (passing score is 5.25 IIRC).
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Feb 13, 2010 10:15
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No, but I have the .17 veterans pref. So presumably if I had something in the range of 5.6-5.7 plus the .17 veterans bonus I'd be good?
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Feb 14, 2010 00:43
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With the veterans preference, even a 5.5 might do. But a 5.6 would seem a safe bet.
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Feb 14, 2010 01:15
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Business of Ferrets posted:With the veterans preference, even a 5.5 might do. But a 5.6 would seem a safe bet. Any idea how those numbers look for the management track?
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Feb 14, 2010 02:04
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For management, you're probably looking at a score of 5.4 or so to be safe.
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Feb 14, 2010 05:32
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I noticed a lot of the practice hypothetical questions for the OA relate to enforcement of the rules. What is the culture at State like in this regard. An example: quote:As Administrative Officer, your responsibility is to see to it that all Embassy confidential materials are reduced so that they may be destroyed within 5 minutes in the event of an emergency. The embassy is not currently meeting this requirement. How do you prepare? Other examples include suspected drinking during lunch by FSN's, suspected drug use by junior officers, etc. My instinct with these types of questions is that nobody likes a hard-rear end or a tattle-tail and that before one goes running to a higher authority, everyone's interests are best served by discretely addressing the problem and giving it a chance before escalating. I'll call this my "discreetly if possible, forceful when necessary" policy. Of course there are a lot of depends in there, and rooting those out is part of how I would react to a situation. Am I completely wrong about this? Should I be standing in the Ambassadors office telling how my boss lied to DC about security readiness, asking for drug testing on my underlings and threatening my FSNs with firing if they have another beer at lunch?
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Feb 15, 2010 05:58
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xanthig posted:I noticed a lot of the practice hypothetical questions for the OA relate to enforcement of the rules. What is the culture at State like in this regard. Hahahhahahaha, that's good.
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Feb 15, 2010 10:14
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TCD posted:Hahaha 5 minutes.. Welcome to the practice materials available in the yahoo group.
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Feb 15, 2010 15:20
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My answer would be that the FAH/FAM cover all of these situations including how to properly implement a Emergency Destruction Plan and I would refer to them for guidance and instructions. Also it's a dumb loving question because my answer is right and you have no chance of knowing that.
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Feb 16, 2010 15:45
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So, is it just Miss Fats and Cunninghizzizam in this thread who will be taking the FSOT next Saturday? Anyone else? Also, for SWATJester and anyone else getting ready for the FSOA, have you decided yet when and where to take it?
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Feb 20, 2010 15:33
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BOF, I'm taking it in two weeks, but not this Saturday. Not sure why I got the invite, either, but I'm assuming it has to do with a recent application?
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Feb 20, 2010 16:05
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Wednesday 2/24, annex 44. Wish me luck.
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Feb 21, 2010 03:40
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Business of Ferrets posted:So, is it just Miss Fats and Cunninghizzizam in this thread who will be taking the FSOT next Saturday? Anyone else? I'm taking my FSOA first week of April. I wanted to beat the post-graduation rush of those people, and I'm away at conferences most of March. But during the times that I'm here, I have very little to do other than study. -e- Annex 1; Foggy Bottom is convenient to me.
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Feb 21, 2010 03:48
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I've said it before, but the structured interview is the easiest part to prepare for. You don't have to pass all three sections - you just need to get above a 5.25. So the SI is when you should rake up as many points as possible. Just get a list of the 13 dimensions and then come up with 2-3 life experiences apiece that demonstrate how you met the dimensions. Or at the very least sit down and write out some of your major life experiences/jobs/examples so you are able to confidently reference them during the interview.
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Feb 21, 2010 04:44
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xanthig posted:Wednesday 2/24, annex 44. Wish me luck. Missing you by a day. Annex 44 on 2/25. Good luck.
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Feb 22, 2010 15:07
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Good luck you guys! I just heard back about the other "government job" I applied to, so I'll be taking yet another proficiency test in the near future. Written this time, thank god.
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Feb 22, 2010 20:24
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Bizob posted:Missing you by a day. Annex 44 on 2/25. Good luck. Good luck with your test as well. Have you had a chance to scope out annex 44 yet?
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Feb 22, 2010 21:37
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xanthig posted:Good luck with your test as well. Have you had a chance to scope out annex 44 yet? Nope. All I know about it is what google maps tells me. I'm flying into DC Wednesday night, so I'm going to cab it over rear end-early on Thursday and try not to get stabbed by any vagrants while I try to find it. Maybe I can use "finding the location of the FSOA" as an example of my demonstrating one of the 13 Ds?
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Feb 22, 2010 22:21
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Bizob posted:Nope. All I know about it is what google maps tells me. I'm flying into DC Wednesday night, so I'm going to cab it over rear end-early on Thursday and try not to get stabbed by any vagrants while I try to find it. Maybe I can use "finding the location of the FSOA" as an example of my demonstrating one of the 13 Ds? Actually, you're quite unlikely to get stabbed near annex 44. It's two blocks off from the national mall, surrounded by shopping and government office buildings. There's a McDonald's in the lobby and a deli around the corner so if you aren't able to get breakfast at the hotel that morning...
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Feb 22, 2010 23:39
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Yeah Annex 44 is in SouthWest DC, which is not too bad. It's East DC that is hood.
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Feb 22, 2010 23:52
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SWATJester posted:Yeah Annex 44 is in SouthWest DC, which is not too bad. It's East DC that is hood. This is more helpful information than anything I'd been able to glean from lurking on the yahoo message boards for months. I should have known there would be an actually useful thread here.
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Feb 22, 2010 23:56
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If you have DC questions, holler at me.
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Feb 23, 2010 00:06
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SWATJester posted:If you have DC questions, holler at me. Any recommendations for breakfast places in the SW side?
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Feb 23, 2010 14:44
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So do most people seem to enjoy (or even love) their career? Are there people who are totally miserable? I ask because I work in an office and a lot of people seem like their souls have been sucked out from sitting in a cubical all day. This is something I want to escape and I wanted to make sure that a career in the Foreign Service isn't just cubical work in another country.
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Feb 23, 2010 16:39
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Omits-Bagels posted:So do most people seem to enjoy (or even love) their career? Are there people who are totally miserable? 3 years ago I was in Pretoria enjoying amazing S. African food and going on safari's. A year and a half ago I was in Baghdad dodging rockets but doing some of the most incredible work of my professional life. Now I'm in Montreal freezing my rear end off but doing things like working with protocol to import wine for special events and managing million dollar leases. The job is just fun. There is a ton of variety and every 3 years you move to another country and experience poo poo you see on the discovery channel (good and bad). you can resign at any time so the people who are miserable just leave and do something else, it's not like this the military where you're stuck.
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Feb 23, 2010 21:59
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Bizob posted:Any recommendations for breakfast places in the SW side? Hmm, not really, it's not much of a foodie area. Where are you staying, your best bet might be to just order from your hotel.
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Feb 23, 2010 22:09
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SWATJester posted:Hmm, not really, it's not much of a foodie area. Where are you staying, your best bet might be to just order from your hotel. Staying at this place http://www.thequincy.com/ on 1823 L Street Northwest. My wife is coming out thursday night and we are staying in DC for the weekend, so really any food related recommendations would be appreciated. Other than a few random day trips when I lived in NYC, my first hand knowledge of DC is limited to playing Fallout 3.
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Feb 23, 2010 22:19
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Taking the FSOT on Monday, but due to a scheduling conflict I am busy all weekend. Any tips on how/what to cram on/last minute study tips? I assume I could probably reschedule the test but my schedule is packed. Wish me luck!
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Feb 24, 2010 00:27
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