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I feel sorry for the LES. How'd they ever put up with that poo poo?
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# ? Feb 14, 2013 10:18 |
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# ? Mar 28, 2024 14:06 |
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SOCOM is preparing for a NEO (non-avian evacuation operation). Please inform all EFMs and nonessential personnel to prepare one (1) go bag and to rally at the HLZ.
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# ? Feb 15, 2013 00:06 |
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Non essential staff have departed the country. Prepairing for eservices hazmat team to arrive. Terrorist pigeons remain firmly entrenched and attempts to enter into negotiations were rebuffed with thrown feces.
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# ? Feb 15, 2013 01:44 |
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Negative, RSO reports indicate that was from insurgent group Al-Gorilla?
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# ? Feb 15, 2013 02:47 |
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Sorry to digress from the unfolding Pigeon Gate, but thought this might be interesting for prospective DS agents: The training DS agents undergo for our job has recently been certified by Veteran's Affairs as a valid institution for awarding GI Bill benefits. The training usually measures out to using 7 months of your benefits, so it's a really nice chunk of change. This is the product of a few years of lobbying done by a few of my BSAC buddies. The only drawback to that fact is that this will only cover agents who were in my BSAC class (114) and up. If you have any questions or need some diplopedia links, drop me a PM.
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# ? Feb 15, 2013 04:01 |
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Wait, you have to pay for BSAC?
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# ? Feb 15, 2013 05:17 |
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If it's being covered by the GI Bill that means you can double dip. Collect DC-area BAH (2106/mo) and collect at least 500 dollars for supplies, if not the full 1k. Useful for people who have GI Bill benefits left over (note that this applies to anyone who has at least one day of benefits left). Ends up being a cool 15k or so, for essentially nothing. I'm guessing that State has a tuition assistance program? If so, then there is literally zero reason to not do this if you can. Except that I'm not in DS (yet) and my benefits have been exhausted
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# ? Feb 15, 2013 05:28 |
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Vasudus posted:I'm guessing that State has a tuition assistance program? Yeah, State has the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP, or "slurp" for those in the know). If you're serving at a post meeting the minimum hardship/danger differential, they pay off something like five or six grand per fiscal year.
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# ? Feb 15, 2013 08:00 |
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Zoots posted:Yeah, State has the Student Loan Repayment Program (SLRP, or "slurp" for those in the know). If you're serving at a post meeting the minimum hardship/danger differential, they pay off something like five or six grand per fiscal year. That's the same program as the DoD, actually. Different criteria for being eligible, but otherwise the same. I mean tuition assistance as in 'enroll in classes and have the gov'mint pay x dollars per credit'. DoD wide it's primarily used for undergrad, but since DoS has a vastly higher number of educated employees I would imagine it would be mostly for graduate programs.
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# ? Feb 15, 2013 08:18 |
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Vasudus posted:That's the same program as the DoD, actually. Different criteria for being eligible, but otherwise the same. I mean tuition assistance as in 'enroll in classes and have the gov'mint pay x dollars per credit'. DoD wide it's primarily used for undergrad, but since DoS has a vastly higher number of educated employees I would imagine it would be mostly for graduate programs. I've known a lot of people who used that program to reduce their undergrad loans. It's actually a pretty good deal. At the hardship/danger minimums you can pay more off too...
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# ? Feb 15, 2013 12:01 |
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Vasudus posted:That's the same program as the DoD, actually. Different criteria for being eligible, but otherwise the same. I mean tuition assistance as in 'enroll in classes and have the gov'mint pay x dollars per credit'. DoD wide it's primarily used for undergrad, but since DoS has a vastly higher number of educated employees I would imagine it would be mostly for graduate programs. At state it's purely a repayment program for a degree you already have. It's not structured in a way that would be very help as more of a direct payment program to encourage enrolling in classes like it sounds like the DoD program is.
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# ? Feb 15, 2013 13:18 |
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Sooo... I'm looking at taking the test, I've done some practice tests online as a baseline, about what kind of percentages should I be looking at for 'passing' grades?
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# ? Feb 16, 2013 06:17 |
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the JJ posted:Sooo... I'm looking at taking the test, I've done some practice tests online as a baseline, about what kind of percentages should I be looking at for 'passing' grades? Passing is based upon T-scores, so there's no good standard. However, I was scoring 80-90% and passed the October FSOT with a comfortable margin. I would recommend practicing the hell out of the essay, getting used to working in the limited time available.
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# ? Feb 16, 2013 07:21 |
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Diplomaticus posted:Wait, you have to pay for BSAC? In the form of brain cells, definitely.
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# ? Feb 16, 2013 09:00 |
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TCD posted:I've known a lot of people who used that program to reduce their undergrad loans. Does this apply to grad school loans? Also, if a spouse is the one who has the loan (ie my wife) and I'm employed in the FS can she apply for the reduction or is it only opened to the DoS employee?
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# ? Feb 16, 2013 15:52 |
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Vasudus posted:If it's being covered by the GI Bill that means you can double dip. Collect DC-area BAH (2106/mo) and collect at least 500 dollars for supplies, if not the full 1k. Useful for people who have GI Bill benefits left over (note that this applies to anyone who has at least one day of benefits left). Ends up being a cool 15k or so, for essentially nothing. I'm guessing that State has a tuition assistance program? If so, then there is literally zero reason to not do this if you can. Right, we end up collecting bah, but I think the amount is closer to 7000.
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# ? Feb 16, 2013 17:04 |
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SCRwM posted:Does this apply to grad school loans? Also, if a spouse is the one who has the loan (ie my wife) and I'm employed in the FS can she apply for the reduction or is it only opened to the DoS employee? I think it only applies to the employee's loans. I thought grad school was covered but, I never used the program.
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# ? Feb 16, 2013 17:28 |
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TCD posted:I think it only applies to the employee's loans. I thought grad school was covered but, I never used the program. Only the employee's loans, as far as I can recall. There's a questions email address for when SLRP season rolls around, so you could ask. I think it applies to all federal loans for education, at any level...
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# ? Feb 16, 2013 17:31 |
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Thanks guys. I wasn't sure (my gut was only the employees loan) but at the same time, my wife wouldn't be working so "technically" it would be difficult for her to repay the loan.
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# ? Feb 16, 2013 19:06 |
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SCRwM posted:Thanks guys. I wasn't sure (my gut was only the employees loan) but at the same time, my wife wouldn't be working so "technically" it would be difficult for her to repay the loan. I mean it's worth asking once you're in the system - if you consolidate your loans together it may be a different answer. And while it's a nice incentive, it's by no means a make/break for joining the Department: you only get the SLRP money if you serve at a hardship post (defined here as 25% differential or higher, I believe), and it's taxable.
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# ? Feb 16, 2013 20:35 |
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Zoots posted:Slight addendum: when I started MSA training in 2009, they were offering training in Iraqi dialect due to the need at Embassy Baghdad. YMMV now, but I believe that was an option before. Looks like at least for language points DoS is offering them for "ARABIC (ANY VARIETY)" since that language update in Nov '12. This puts me at ease.
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# ? Feb 17, 2013 01:04 |
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A few random questions on a Sunday morning: 1. I just recently started a positon with the Fed. government (GS not a contractor). Note: this position was accepted after I applied for and was invited to the OA's. If/when I get called to a class, does the DoS HR depart take a look at my current GS pay and step and attempt to match it/come close (even if it is higher than the base salary for IMS? Also, will anything I contribute to TSP and FERS (I'm guessing DoS uses those same retirement plans) be carried forward to DoS? Same with any vacation and sick leave I would have accrued? The salary isn't a deal breaker but the retirement/vacation/sick leave would be something nice to carry forward. 2. I know some of you mentioned taking a tv with you to post. Do you guys plug the tv in to a power inverter in order to change the current, or do you use one of those travel power adapters? 3. For banking, do most people use the DoS Credit Union or do you use your own bank? We utilize USAA and a local bank, but I was reading the DoS CU's site last night, and they seemed to be more geared and prepared for people in the foreign service (ex: they had sections on how to prepare for going overseas, they offered a credit card that had chip and pin on it, etc). 4. I had read somewhere that DoS prefers to use US flagged airlines (United, AA, Delta, USAir) and they will book you on the carrier of choice when issuing travel orders. I have quite a few AA miles so I'd like to fly with them in order to continue to accrue miles (if possible). 5. Back to credit cards, has anyone had problems using a cc overseas? For those in Europe, do you have to use a chip and pin card (other than DoS CU, I've only seen a few banks/cards that offer this technology in the US) or have you been able to use a card that you would normally use stateside?
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# ? Feb 17, 2013 13:10 |
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Can't answer everything, but I'll take on a few.SCRwM posted:3. For banking, do most people use the DoS Credit Union or do you use your own bank? We utilize USAA and a local bank, but I was reading the DoS CU's site last night, and they seemed to be more geared and prepared for people in the foreign service (ex: they had sections on how to prepare for going overseas, they offered a credit card that had chip and pin on it, etc). 3. I think it's a mix of the credit union and USAA. I personally use USAA for all banking and insurance, but YMMV. Either (and both) is available to us. 4. Prefers isn't the right word, it's requires under the provisions of the Fly America Act, which mandates using a US flagged carrier in most situations. For most places I've served (Middle East) I've been able to keep my miles on United/Lufthansa/Star Alliance, so I've been happy. If you're travelling to a smaller destination, such as a tiny country in West Africa, there may only be one airline option that is approved for you to take on USG travel orders. For common routes (especially domestically) there are contract air carriers that you must use unless there are extenuating circumstances. For example, Dallas - National Airport is AA, and the only way I got around it in September was that AA pilots were striking and I had to arrive in DC at a certain time, so I flew United via Houston. 5. Depends on the bank you use and where you're serving. In my previous post, you had to open up a local bank account to process VAT refunds, and through that account you got a chipped credit card that you could use easily. In my current post (Libya), international finance hasn't really adjusted to the lifting of sanctions, so credit cards can be used in literally three places nationwide. If I try to buy something on a US website from a Libyan IP address, oftentimes my order will be refused because the site's banking system hasn't updated to allow credit card purchases from Libya.
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# ? Feb 17, 2013 14:00 |
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SCRwM posted:A few random questions on a Sunday morning: Matching can get tricky. I believe for specialists coming directly from a GS job they will attempt to match it up to the highest step of whatever the entry level grade is for that position. So, for IMS the max you could ever get coming in is grade 5, step 14. TSP and FERS works the same for state, and whatever you've put in will just transfer. I believe it's the same with your sick and vacation leave but I'm not 100% positive on that one. I do know any other government time you have will be counted for purposes of retirement and vacation accrual computations. SCRwM posted:
Most posts provide some step down transformers as part of the housing. If not or they didn't provide enough, you'd likely need something a little more beefy than the travel power adapters. I don't think those guys aren't really designed to constantly convert a load as large as a television.
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# ? Feb 17, 2013 14:54 |
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SCRwM posted:A few random questions on a Sunday morning: 2. You're an IT guy, you should know this question!!! Travel adapters usually do not do step up/down power conversion. You'll want a power transformer. Most USG housing will have a few. I've purchased my own too. We also try to buy a lot of 110-250v products, however, things with heating elements are generally 110 or 220 (hair dryers, coffee pots, mixers, food processors, laser printers, loving XBOX 360 POWERSUPPLY, etc.). Most AC->DC adapters are actually universal and will just need a plug adapter. 3. I use USAA. People generally use USAA or SDFCU. I don't have a credit card with a chip, and have not had a problem here in South America. It will occasionally be blocked for fraud, and then you just call via VOIP and that resolves all problems. In Rwanda, I used my credit card only at major hotels. Otherwise it was cash only. 4. Fly America act and GSA city pairs have a big determination on your travel. However, there will be some places that won't have any of those, and then you just choose your travel.
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# ? Feb 17, 2013 15:27 |
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Saho posted:
Do note that the Foreign Service is on the FSPS, not FERS. There is probably some sort of buy-in process. Don't worry; FSPS is a better deal.
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# ? Feb 17, 2013 15:30 |
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I'll have a go. #2 - depends on post. Some of your living quarters may be adjusted to 110 V. in that case nothing is needed. Basically, once you find out your assignment you will find out more info on what you need to bring. Don't worry about it until you get your list, at least. #5 - I did. Basically, inform the company you're going overseas and your job. if you get an rear end in a top hat security guy (like I did), just write the bank a stern letter and it'll be resolved (usually).
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# ? Feb 17, 2013 15:34 |
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Business of Ferrets posted:Do note that the Foreign Service is on the FSPS, not FERS. There is probably some sort of buy-in process. Don't worry; FSPS is a better deal. How is it a better deal? I noticed its a higher high-3 percentage (1.7% per year of high-3 vs 1.1 in FERS) but that you pay in a higher amount (1.3% of salary in FSPS vs .7). Another big difference is that you can retire at 50 in FSPS vs 60 with FERS. Your probably right but actuarially, I'm curious which one looks better. As for question #2, I'm in the same boat as you (GS) and wanted to add that if you work in the DC metro area under GS they will use your total pay including DC locality for pay conversion factors. Anywhere else it's just base pay. For me, that does make a difference to push out the steps. The only question I've never gotten an answer from State is if (this is you and me) you're being converted from GS to FS, do you get matched to FS base pay, FS w/ DC locality pay or FS w/ overseas locality pay for the purposes of determine grade/step. problematique fucked around with this message at 17:08 on Feb 17, 2013 |
# ? Feb 17, 2013 17:05 |
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problematique posted:
Interesting that if you are not in the DC metro area you won't get your locality pay thrown in. Maybe it's because you don't get per diem for specialist class? TCD posted:
::hangs head in shame:::
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# ? Feb 17, 2013 21:45 |
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problematique posted:The only question I've never gotten an answer from State is if (this is you and me) you're being converted from GS to FS, do you get matched to FS base pay, FS w/ DC locality pay or FS w/ overseas locality pay for the purposes of determine grade/step. Speaking from experience: Local Hires get screwed. Sorry. The oakwood isn't bad and they have reduced rates for you, though. If you're in DC, you'll get matching base (i.e. FS-05, max step 14) and that's all. You only get DC w/ locality if you're stationed in DC. or have further training (i.e. S/AC). As an IMS you probably won't be. Overseas locality will start when you arrive at post, not when you get the assignment. Everyone else (+50 mile radius from DC) will get the base, and then the the oakwood / per diem thrown in (you do get it for specialist classes FYI), and it's rated like 80/60/20% over the months you are there. The free!/reduced!-rent-at-oakwood thing is the main icebreaker because DC rent prices are absurdly high.
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# ? Feb 18, 2013 02:13 |
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Skandiaavity posted:Speaking from experience: Local Hires get screwed. Sorry. The oakwood isn't bad and they have reduced rates for you, though. If you're in DC, you'll get matching base (i.e. FS-05, max step 14) and that's all. You only get DC w/ locality if you're stationed in DC. or have further training (i.e. S/AC). As an IMS you probably won't be. Overseas locality will start when you arrive at post, not when you get the assignment. Just for my own clarification, when you are in Specialist Training (roughly 4 months?) and you are staying at the Oakwood, does the housing per diem start kicking in? So at day 61 would I get a bill from Oakwood for the difference? Or if you stay at the Oakwood during assigned training you are fully covered? I fully get the M/IE per diem gradually being reduced during training.
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# ? Feb 18, 2013 03:00 |
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SCRwM posted:Just for my own clarification, when you are in Specialist Training (roughly 4 months?) and you are staying at the Oakwood, does the housing per diem start kicking in? So at day 61 would I get a bill from Oakwood for the difference? Or if you stay at the Oakwood during assigned training you are fully covered? Oakwood does direct billing with State and adjust your rates down to match your per diem and you pay nothing for the duration of your stay. My orientation & IMS training lasted about 6 months and I never paid anything.
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# ? Feb 18, 2013 04:40 |
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Skandiaavity posted:Speaking from experience: Local Hires get screwed. Sorry. The oakwood isn't bad and they have reduced rates for you, though. If you're in DC, you'll get matching base (i.e. FS-05, max step 14) and that's all. You only get DC w/ locality if you're stationed in DC. or have further training (i.e. S/AC). As an IMS you probably won't be. Overseas locality will start when you arrive at post, not when you get the assignment. Thankfully, I have family/friends in the area so I'll only be "losing" per diem. It still seems to me that DC based GS employees don't have it that bad. I think the whole thing sorta break even and makes sense. For example, as a DC GS-11 I'd transfer over to FP-05/14 which is $20k/year more a year than a FP-05/01. Assuming someone comes in from private sector or a non-DC GS-11 they're making $13-$15k/year less. At six months of per diem ($13k) that's break even difference between the two. Now, someone else not in my position, local to DC, will be paying crazy DC rents for those six months and would end up with a lot less. However, you can then factor in the compounding increase in steps (i.e after 18 months the ex-DC GS employee is something like 2-3 steps higher) and so the entire thing evens out. I've spent WAY to much time writing about this On another note do any of you use talesmag.com? It seems like 90% of the post reviews are FS folk lamenting/lauding where they are. Did any of you write this delightful post about Turkmenistan? quote:
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# ? Feb 18, 2013 06:33 |
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I checked talesmag when bidding just to get some idea of the posts I'm considering. I think you have to take all of them with a grain of salt as some people will complain about anything and others may gloss over and minimize (or omit) what might be a legitimate concern for you.
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# ? Feb 18, 2013 09:05 |
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1of7 posted:I checked talesmag when bidding just to get some idea of the posts I'm considering. I think you have to take all of them with a grain of salt as some people will complain about anything and others may gloss over and minimize (or omit) what might be a legitimate concern for you. That's pretty good advice overall. Also, it's funny the way this lifestyle works is that 1 year in during a 2 year tour, you already know your onward assignment. It's easy to become bitter and only focus on the negatives. There's other post reviews as well, and I read them to get an overall understanding. If you read talesmag and the other post reviews, and housing comes up as a repeated issue, then there might actually be a housing problem. E: Also, my experience has been that every housing pool has a couple of turds (the building, the unit, the location, etc.) and sometimes you get the short straw. Also, conditions in developing countries can drastically change (one way or the other) in short as 1 year - so what somebody may have been saying about getting lovely meat in 2010 may have actually been greatly improved by 2013 (or that FSO didn't shop at the right butcher, etc.) TCD fucked around with this message at 16:02 on Feb 18, 2013 |
# ? Feb 18, 2013 15:28 |
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I also recently started a federal job even though I was on the register. I accepted the federal job back in September but they took forever with clearances. I was still in the clearance process with FS at the time and my medical wasn't looking good. I finally started with the feds in January and BAM last week I get called from the register. I hadn't expected it to happen until fall. I came in at a low salary with the fed job because I was just trying to get any federal job on post near home. When the DOS did my salary they gave me a step for my BA, a step for my MS, then I think a step for every year of related experience so I ended up maxing out at step 14. And we get that overseas addition of 16% which isn't too far from the DC locality pay (which is I thnk 19%?) so not bad at all. Of course I don't have to cope with DC rent since we live in military housing so that makes a huge difference. I had anticipated them just matching my federal salary. So I'm getting a lot more than what I make now. I feel like a total jerk though because I'm gonna have to tell my awesome boss here that I'm leaving so soon. I got my packet yesterday, the big huge folder with all the stuff in it. Was hoping some of the wise folks here could answer a question: I'm a local hire, so I don't need to arrange pack out till I know where I'm going, right? Especially since my husband will be stuck here (and possibly my son depending on where I end up going). So I'd just probably be taking some dishes and kitchen stuff, linens, clothing, DVDs, that kind of stuff. Also I can't seem to find the info but I thought somewhere in here someone had said that as a local hire you don't qualify for the public transportation subsidy, but I thought that was something all federal employees got. Can anyone clarify? I'm gonna be doing Marc then Metro to get to FSI. The packet was kind of funny, there was the letters and pages of policies, a big booklet on moving and one on federal benefits and some handy stuff like the shuttle schedule and pocket metro guide then it was like they just threw a couple random tourist brochures in there, one of the National Aquarium and one for Luray Caverns. Just seemed like such random selections.
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# ? Feb 19, 2013 12:57 |
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Miscreant Fromage posted:Also I can't seem to find the info but I thought somewhere in here someone had said that as a local hire you don't qualify for the public transportation subsidy, but I thought that was something all federal employees got. Can anyone clarify? I'm gonna be doing Marc then Metro to get to FSI. 1st, congratulations! Welcome packet is SOP and not different for local hires. You don't have to worry about packout until you get your bid list (which will be about either a few weeks or a month or so. FWIW as a local hire: if you're more than 50 miles away, bloody take the per diem & oakwood. If you're taking the MARC, it sounds like you're qualified for it. Your schedule is going to be crammed and DC traffic (foot, metro or vehicular) is 99 problems you don't want during orientation. You'll be getting up pretty early already, but if you're taking the MARC then metro, then shuttle, to FSI.... FWIW some stuff requires you to be there by ~0700 sharp or such; the shuttle will not run that early and you're expected to take a cab to 23rd & C or other places. I say that because you won't get any per diem if you don't take the offer. That includes public transportation. (as a matter of fact, even if you take per diem, you still don't get the P.T. - you're expected to take a cab (which they reimburse later) or make the shuttle. If you miss either, it's on you.
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# ? Feb 19, 2013 13:59 |
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I'm like 15 miles shy of qualifying for per diem. The Marc station is right down the street (like 5 minutes) and only a half hour ride to Union station, so time wise, it'll be about the same as driving when traffic is considered and it'll be way cheaper than paying for gas. On days that I have to be there earlier I can drive. It's 45 minutes without traffic, about an hour on MARC/Metro. I hate hate hate driving. 295 is already backed up by like 6:30 am. Edit: know what sucks? My commute right now is 6 minutes if I don't have to drop my kid off at daycare. If it wasn't so drat could I would walk to work. Dropping off the kid adds about 10-15 minutes. I'm gonna miss this commute. Miscreant Fromage fucked around with this message at 14:15 on Feb 19, 2013 |
# ? Feb 19, 2013 14:10 |
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Miscreant Fromage posted:I'm like 15 miles shy of qualifying for per diem. The Marc station is right down the street (like 5 minutes) and only a half hour ride to Union station, so time wise, it'll be about the same as driving when traffic is considered and it'll be way cheaper than paying for gas. On days that I have to be there earlier I can drive. It's 45 minutes without traffic, about an hour on MARC/Metro. I hate hate hate driving. 295 is already backed up by like 6:30 am. My last two posts have both had 5-10 minute commutes.
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# ? Feb 19, 2013 15:01 |
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# ? Mar 28, 2024 14:06 |
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TCD posted:My last two posts have both had 5-10 minute commutes. Honestly that is probably going to be the first thing I look at when bidding. That rocks. I've read on some of the Real Post reports that when you have kids you're sometimes stuck with a long commute because you have to leave near the schools or whatever. Edit: FYI State Dept posted on their forums that flag day for the March A-100 is Friday April 26th and for the specialist class is Tuesday April 9th. Miscreant Fromage fucked around with this message at 18:35 on Feb 19, 2013 |
# ? Feb 19, 2013 18:19 |