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Haji posted:Do any Eastern Bloc countries have large posts? As far as former Soviet states go, Moscow is probably the largest embassy. Due to GWOT and Afghanistan issues, Tashkent also has a very large embassy. The smallest staff right now might be in Minsk, where Belarussian authorities expelled much of the mission several years ago. Not sure if they have re-staffed yet. Jobs throughout the FSU are still reasonably easy to get, though spouses might have a tougher time. Each host country has its own policy on this issue, and there are not always enough jobs -- good or not -- to go around at post for spouses. As was noted earlier, spouses wanting to work within the mission (often the only option for employment) may find themselves with the options of working outside their specialty or not working at all.
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Jul 25, 2009 12:17
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How about pay bonuses for countries no one loves? Admittedly, the pay grade I would enter into is already pretty sweet. But if I can increase it just a bit more, I may be able to sway the boyfriend's opinion on the sugarmamma principle. His main worry is that if we do this, he may not be able to find work and we both have bills that need paying. Of course the local cost of living is a great help.
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Jul 25, 2009 14:49
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TCD posted:Pay bonuses go off hardship differential and danger which apply to anybody at the post(and hard to fill but that's job and slot dependent on that country, and I don't think people on directed tours qualify for it either) it varies all over the world and it can change at any time. Some African countries are 0% pay bonus, others can be 30% hardship and 20% danger so take your base salary and times it by 1.50. In one year later at post, your danger could go away and it be 20% differential. So to answer that question about pay bonuses, yes there are some, and it depends on the country and the time. What it is right now, maybe vastly different in 6 months. Or it could stay the same. It just depends. Also, I'm sure there are plenty of people who want to work in Eastern block countries Also, housing is provided. http://aoprals.state.gov/Web920/location.asp?menu_id=95 That's an danger and hardship pay site. Don't look at COLA. It's a percentage of a percentage of pay and is usually not more than 1-3000 a year even for high COLA percentages. Look at hardship differential and Danger pay of basic compensation. Also, whatever your current pay grade, times it by 1.07. A bill just went through congress to give overseas personnel a flat bump. Danger and differential go on top of that. So, if you were to go to Warsaw, Poland(0% hardship, 0% danger) and you were making a base 50,000. You'd be making 53500 or so. Now if you were to go to Vilnius, Lithuania(20% hardship, 0% danger) and you still made base 50,000. You'd be making 64200 or so. However, don't assume these are the rates are set in stone. They can and do change all the time. Also, while you might be making a sweet 20,000 extra at a danger, hardship country, your next tour might be in a 0% country. Basically, look at your base salary and see if its enough, as you can't count on the extras all the time. TCD fucked around with this message at 16:17 on Jul 25, 2009 |
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Jul 25, 2009 16:04
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I think you can get a really good sense of what different degrees of danger mean by studying this form: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/79967.pdf What makes a post a hardship post? Also, how often do you get stationed with the same people but at different posts? Is there a master list of US embassies/ consulates around the world?
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Jul 25, 2009 20:03
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xanthig posted:I think you can get a really good sense of what different degrees of danger mean by studying this form: Just an opinion and observation of hearing reports from various people. Danger pay doesn't necessarily correlate to what you think is dangerous. For example, there are some posts with 20% danger that haven't had any significant violence either in the city or targeted at USG in the last several years or even recent memory, yet there are some other posts where the degree of random violence that's sometimes directed at Americans because of wealth or other reasons, have 0% danger. For example, many posts in Africa do not have danger pay, yet have very high rate of violent crime in the cities. edit: With that said there are some posts that do have danger pay where it's well justified (Kabul, Baghdad) etc. But, you could easily be going to a post that has some serious crime in the city where you have travel restrictions etc. and be 0% Danger Pay. For hardship, it's just "hardship". I believe it can be medical(bugs and lack of care. I mean if you were to get into a car wreck and you can't trust the local medicine care for even simple treatment, you have to hope you make it until you get medivaced), environmental(pollution, open sewage, lack of good water (you'll have distillers and other water purification systems at USG facilities and residences, , social, political(have travel restrictions either from the US side or host country side), etc. I'm going to a post that has 25% hardship in a few months. I'll be able to tell you more about it, although Vilerat has been to that country. Edit2: Also, for those wanting to go to these countries, keep in mind both Generalists and Specialists have 2 directed tours. They give you a list of countries and you're going to one of those on the list. Sometimes its the country you wanted, othertimes it wont be. Additionally, one of the first 2 tours a FSO does will be Consular. So you again, you might be a Political Officer really wanting to do Eastern Europe, but you could easily go to Mexico doing con for you 2nd tour. A person in my class really wanted a place in Asia, spoke the language, and got sent to Central America. It happens. TCD fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Jul 25, 2009 |
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Jul 25, 2009 20:22
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What is tenure? Why is it required? How do you get it? When moving to a new post, what kind of things do you typically take from post to post, I assume the living quarters are furnished? What about pets? Are you allowed to own pets that are legal in the host country, but not typically allowed in the US (monkeys, wallaby, etc.)?
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Jul 26, 2009 17:25
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xanthig posted:What is tenure? I'm pretty sure you have your two first directed tours to make tenure, otherwise you are kicked out. It's like probation status. Pets, it depends. Some people obviously do pets, but you have quarantine, and other issues some of which I believe are out of pocket. I personally am not taking pets.
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Jul 26, 2009 17:53
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xanthig posted:What is tenure? Getting tenured means that your no longer an entry level employee and you can continue with the FS beyond your Limited Career Appointment. Tenure is non-competitive. So unlike promotion you aren't competeing for a limited number of slots, everybody up for review could get tenured or nobody could get tenured. Most people get it though. Almost all posts with housing are furnished*. You get a shipping allowance based on how people you have in your family and whether or not the post your going to is furnished. If you have too much stuff you can have it sent to storage. Some people take as much as they can, some people carry virtually nothing. The furniture is pretty lousy though. Lots of people have pets but you have to deal with whatever the host country's requirements for bringing in animals are. It may be hard to get pet food and veterinary care too. I'm not aware of any rule against having a monkey or something like that is the host country allows that, but if the landlord objected or it caused some other housing related problem you may be asked to get rid of it. *There are a small handful of posts that don't maintain their own housing pool and give you a housing allowance which you use to obtain your own. I think that's limited to the Embassy and consulates in Canada though.
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Jul 26, 2009 18:29
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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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drat, this thread got good. Way more substantive than the usual "tell me about the test" threads that pop up all the time. I have a few questions myself. I have a couple hesitations about joining the foreign service I'd like to get an FSO's take on. The first one centers around the first job or two that you get directed to take upon finishing A-100. I'm told that they are usually consular positions and largely admin in nature. Does prior skill/experiences come into account? I'm at the position in my career now where doing 2-3 years of admin work would be a serious step backward. Granted, I understand the importance of paying dues, but paying dues gets old after a while. My second concern is the scope of work for a political officer. I'm not entirely comfortable with what I envision the daily work to be. Your portfolio would be whatever domestic issue is going on in the country that the US would care about. For some issues and in some countries this would be compelling, but for others I can see myself caring significantly less. I take it this is what you guys have been talking about when you said that smaller embassy footprints make for better work than larger ones. If I was a political officer in Paris I could see myself being focused on French trade union politics, their arms industry, which party is gaining ground in their rural provinces, etc. But if you were a political officer in a small mission you would have a larger portfolio of comparably higher value items. My third concern is a corollary of the second, but I'm not sure if what State focuses on is what I'm interested in. I'd like to focus more on security related issues - with DoD's gargantuan worldwide footprint established through the CoComs I feel that they are more relevant on these matters than State, even given State's primacy on foreign policy. But, all that said, the foreign service is definitely a compelling career route. I'm especially attracted to the idea of changing jobs on a regular basis - every 1-3 years or so. Seems like a great way to stay fresh and keep learning.
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Jul 26, 2009 21:55
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Anyone with info they want in the OP, please let me know, and I will put it in there.
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Jul 26, 2009 22:11
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For Happydayz, Last I heard, for FSOs, 1 of your first 2 tours will be cons. In talking with a recent A100 class, that was certainly the case. Some got their cone on first tour others got the cons tour. edit: I also ran into 2nd tour officers who were headed off to do their cons tour. I want to say it might be a requirement in getting tenured as a generalist. Could be wrong on that one. Also, happy there are Pol-Mil slots. I'm interested in looking at the generalist route after my initial two tours and hopefully tenured as a specialist specifically as a Pol. Business of Ferrets might have more info on that one. Also at small posts I've heard of one person heading up Pol-Econ. TCD fucked around with this message at 22:35 on Jul 26, 2009 |
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Jul 26, 2009 22:27
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Smeef posted:Just thought I'd chime in on my FSOT experience and gripe about the QEP. The more I hear about the QEP, the more it sounds like a big dose of mysterious subjectivity into an otherwise amazingly objective process. Which career track did you apply for? Also, for you FSOs out there, is there anything against applicants sharing what they wrote on the PN essays with others?
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Jul 26, 2009 23:44
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TCD posted:Last I heard, for FSOs, 1 of your first 2 tours will be cons. In talking with a recent A100 class, that was certainly the case. Some got their cone on first tour others got the cons tour. What's the general gripe against consular work? As a starting FSO doing your first tour, does the consular work consist solely of working the visa section or do you get to do some of the more advanced stuff, like filing marriages, repatriating bodies and visiting prisoners? Consular officers are like god when you need them. Granting or withholding their blessing can really make or ruin someone's year.
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Jul 26, 2009 23:58
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xanthig posted:What's the general gripe against consular work? Instead of writing hard hitting cables detailing some minor political party nobody cares about even in the country you are living in you get to process visa applications and get new passports to dumb college kids who lost theirs in the bar district last night. Also you get to visit US citizens in prison from time to time. You can't be a nerd hiding behind a terminal writing papers, you have to actually work with the public directly, many of who aren't happy for a variety of reasons. For the second part (anecdotal, it really does vary from post to post) consular officers here rotate through the different sections. Non immigrant visa, Immigrant visa, American citizen services.
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Jul 27, 2009 03:06
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I'm one FSO who really, really did not enjoy consular work. I am definitely not alone in this. A few reasons why some folks dislike consular work:
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Jul 27, 2009 05:55
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Happydayz posted:Political officer stuff As you correctly surmised, portfolios depend a lot on the size of the post and the number of officers in the Political Section. In a large embassy, a Political Section could have 15-20 political officers, so portfolios would be correspondingly narrow. At a post with a sole political officer, he or she would cover everything. While a small post can provide opportunities for reporting and activism on a wide range of issues, it does make it difficult to really delve into one or two areas; there is always something else demanding one's attention. Conversely, working in a large section means that one might only have one or two issues to work. You might become the resident USG expert on issues such as Trafficking in Persons or a specific political party, but that is basically all you will be working until the portfolios get reshuffled (usually every year or so). As TCD noted, Pol-Mil work is vital, important work. There is an entire Pol-Mil bureau at the department that focuses largely on relations with DoD and manages foreign military sales programs. There are also opportunities to attend mid-career and senior-level service schools or to serve as a policy advisor (POLAD) to major military commands around the world. Also, if you are the adventurous type, there are great liaison opportunities at Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Jul 27, 2009 06:18
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I will be updating the OP with some of this information. If anyone would like to be listed in the OP, please let me know (PM or in thread) with what your position is (i.e. I'm an FSO in the political cone) and if you are ok with posting it, what countries you have served in. Also, any specific info or FAQs that you would like to see moved in there. I'm going to move the above info on pros/cons to Consular track in there, for instance.
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Jul 27, 2009 07:50
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Maybe we can retitle this 'The U.S. Foreign Service & FSOT Megathread'? It's certainly a lot more useful than the regular monthly threads, as happydayz noted. Business of Ferrets posted:So there is good and bad to consular work. My career consular colleagues almost universally love the work and the lifestyle. It wasn't for me, but don't let me dissuade people from considering a consular career; it could be the perfect fit. Wow, maybe Consular is the cone for me-- the positives are really exciting to read about, and the negatives don't sound all that bad. One negative that I've heard, and that would probably bother me quite a bit, is that there's something of a Cone Hierarchy, with the elite Econ/Political cones on the top, and (the somewhat easier to get into) Consular on the other end of the spectrum. My ego is a fragile, sensitive little creature, and I'd hate to be looked down upon because I enjoy doing the work that everybody else gripes about. Any truth to that? Pol-Mil is another area that I can see myself really enjoying; once somebody enters the political cone, how do they guide themselves into that line of work?
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Jul 27, 2009 09:30
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Suntory BOSS posted:One negative that I've heard, and that would probably bother me quite a bit, is that there's something of a Cone Hierarchy, with the elite Econ/Political cones on the top, and (the somewhat easier to get into) Consular on the other end of the spectrum. My ego is a fragile, sensitive little creature, and I'd hate to be looked down upon because I enjoy doing the work that everybody else gripes about. Any truth to that? You might see some of this, but I think it is overblown. Most people across the board seem very satisfied with their jobs, and realize that others feel the same way. And every career consular officer I know is fully aware of how advantageous that career track can be (covered above). Besides, anyone crazy enough to post on SA probably has a pretty resilient ego. . . . Suntory BOSS posted:Pol-Mil is another area that I can see myself really enjoying; once somebody enters the political cone, how do they guide themselves into that line of work? To work in Pol-Mil you just seek out and bid on Pol-Mil jobs. Larger embassies tend to have several slots within the Political Section, and if one or more is open, you can bid and lobby aggressively. Places like Baghdad have an entire Pol-Mil Section separate from the Political Section. Few officers will make a career exclusively in Pol-Mil work. More common is a variety of Pol-Mil and traditional political reporting jobs, with perhaps a tour or two outside of one's own career track. This is worth highlighting. There is nothing to keep an officer in one career track -- take consular, for example -- from serving multiple tours in other specialties, such as public diplomacy, econ, pol or management. This cross-pollination is another reason why you don't hear too much talking down about other career tracks; your colleagues might just be from the other track. Once one gains a reputation for competence in a job, it is relatively easy to secure multiple jobs outside the home career track. The main drawback is that promotion boards tend not to promote officers who spend significant time out of their track. Once every few tours is considered career enhancing, while multiple back-to-back tours out of track will slow the promotion prospects. So, if consular looks really good to you, but you would also like to try Pol-Mil work, that is very realistic. There is great flexibility in a Foreign Service career.
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Jul 27, 2009 14:48
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So what are the advantages/ disadvantages of the management career track? NPR has a radio program about foreign affairs called America Abroad, and recently they had a show about the future of the State Department. In it they discuss DoS programs run in the field to help host governments solve law enforcement and social issues. "Plan Colombia" was the project they focused on as an example. Which career track puts you most directly in line for participating in that sort of program. Here's a link to the program. http://www.americaabroadmedia.org/programs/view/id/132 Also, how do the DoS Econ offices and Commerce Department overseas offices differ? xanthig fucked around with this message at 15:17 on Jul 27, 2009 |
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Jul 27, 2009 15:09
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xanthig posted:NPR has a radio program about foreign affairs called America Abroad, and recently they had a show about the future of the State Department. In it they discuss DoS programs run in the field to help host governments solve law enforcement and social issues. "Plan Colombia" was the project they focused on as an example. Which career track puts you most directly in line for participating in that sort of program? xanthig posted:Also, how do the DoS Econ offices and Commerce Department overseas offices differ? Econ officers are basically reporting officers. They will meet with knowledgeable experts in banking, trade, finance, regulation, and any number of economics-related topics. Then, they will compile reports to send to Washington. They also work to advance U.S. policy, such as the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or market access issues. Foreign Commercial Service (FCS) FSOs tend to focus on trade and investment promotion. They serve as matchmakers to put businesses in the United States in touch with potential partners or clients in the host country. I'm sure they do a lot more, too, but I'm not intimately familiar with FCS operations.
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Jul 27, 2009 16:09
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Do you have to obtain SLI level 2-3 in the language for every country you serve in? If after your first two tours you have to get hired into your new assignments, and that usually happens on a regional basis, can you end up serving in the same country for several assignments? Does having too many assignments to any one country hurt your ability to advance? xanthig fucked around with this message at 17:40 on Jul 27, 2009 |
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Jul 27, 2009 17:36
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Yeah that's one of the benefits of being a Specialist and not a Generalist. No language requirements, same pay scale, and we get overtime. You really want to type up that econ cable after hours that'll save the world? Hey two hours OT sounds awesome. I'll just play IM tag with friends or watch some hulu.
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Jul 28, 2009 03:30
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xanthig posted:Do you have to obtain SLI level 2-3 in the language for every country you serve in? Each individual job has its own language requirements. Plenty of jobs require no language proficiency. Some will only require a 2 level, or a 3 level (3 is as high as formal requirements go, though officers with higher skill levels are sometime more sought after for specific positions). Some requirements are not necessary intuitive -- there is at least one Russian-designated consular position in Tel Aviv, and there are Farsi-designated jobs scattered around the world acting as Iran-Watchers. Opportunities to serve repeat tours in the same country depend alot on the size of the U.S. diplomatic mission there. Countries with lots of posts or large embassies, such as China, Russia and Japan, tend to have pleny of folks coming back several times in a career (the difficulty of the languages are also a contributing factor; once you are proficient in Chinese, it makes sense to make use of it). Taking too many jobs in a single country might not slow down a career too much as long as plenty of good jobs are available, but at the senior levels one could run into problems -- after all, there is only one ambassador to a country, and plenty of ambassadors are political appointees anyway, not career diplomats.
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Jul 28, 2009 07:11
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Business of Ferrets posted:Taking too many jobs in a single country might not slow down a career too much as long as plenty of good jobs are available, but at the senior levels one could run into problems -- after all, there is only one ambassador to a country, and plenty of ambassadors are political appointees anyway, not career diplomats. Which brings up another question, do you ever get political appointee ambassadors that are completely unfit for the job? I imagine that there have been more than a few political fund raiser types that got ambassadorships after they aggregated several hundred thousand dollars for a presidential campaign. How does the professional staff deal with that sort of situation? What percentage of ambassadorships would you guess are career diplomats? Does that number differ greatly by administration? xanthig fucked around with this message at 15:31 on Jul 28, 2009 |
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Jul 28, 2009 15:27
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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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The relationship between the Ambassador and the Deputy Chief of Mission (The second in command) matters a lot, especially when the Ambassador is a political appointee. Different places call for different skill sets so it's not necessarily a bad thing to draw on outsiders. In Barbados we had a very wealthy Ambassador who paid for two kick-rear end Fourth of July parties. So there's that. And she traveled in her own jet, so it saved the taxpayer some money. edit: I think you mean DCM smeef. Chargé is short for Chargé D’Affaires, the person who's in charge when the Ambassador is away. This would be the DCM unless they're away as well, so the terms get confused sometimes. AKA Pseudonym fucked around with this message at 20:06 on Jul 28, 2009 |
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Jul 28, 2009 20:02
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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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xanthig posted:What percentage of ambassadorships would you guess are career diplomats? Does that number differ greatly by administration? Over the last forty years or so about 70% of ambassadors have been career FSOs, with the balance political appointees. Here is a decent article on the phenomenon.
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Jul 30, 2009 12:57
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Everything I've read refers to ambassadors/consulates general as career diplomats (when they are, of course). What cone are they typically from? Management? Also, what's the burnout rate on FSOs? Obviously there's a limited number of ambassadorships, so not everyone can hope to be one. Do FSOs leave mostly for retirement, or other careers, or another reason?
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Jul 30, 2009 15:39
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In the spirit of my comments on consular work, here is some of the bad/good of political work for the OP. So, what is bad about political work?
Ok, I admit it. That is a pretty weak list. The problem is, I really, really enjoy political work. Here is why:
There is more than just that, but I'm tight on time right now. I'll edit content in or out as it comes to me.
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Jul 30, 2009 16:08
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I would love to see a similar pro/con breakdown of the management track.
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Jul 30, 2009 17:38
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xanthig posted:I would love to see a similar pro/con breakdown of the management track. Heh. Every item on the list would be both a pro and a con. My day's were full of making decisions about consulate tasks and leading around a team of "do'ers" accomplishing catch all things that other sections needed completed. Lots of budgetary crap and Human Resources stuff as well.
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Jul 30, 2009 17:51
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Perhaps a reach, but does anyone here work for USAID? I passed the FSOT and I'm waiting to hear back if I'll be going to the Orals, but in all honesty, I'm much more interested in the work that USAID does. I applied for a Crisis, Stabilization and Governance Officer job (junior) back in March, received an e-mail saying my qualifications were a match, and since then, nothing. I called USAID's HR and got a recorded message saying I *might* get a call for an interview within 2-8 months. Anyone familiar with their hiring process, or what it's like to work for USAID?
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Jul 30, 2009 19:53
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Vilerat posted:Heh. Every item on the list would be both a pro and a con. My day's were full of making decisions about consulate tasks and leading around a team of "do'ers" accomplishing catch all things that other sections needed completed. Lots of budgetary crap and Human Resources stuff as well. Could you be more specific?
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Jul 31, 2009 04:45
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I want to register for the Test but it seems like the website is always down...any idea what's going on?
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Jul 31, 2009 05:58
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Grr8 posted:I want to register for the Test but it seems like the website is always down...any idea what's going on? It's a crap website. It once took me nearly 20 minutes to load the site when I was working on my QEPs. Keep trying, it'll go through eventually.
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Jul 31, 2009 06:07
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I just looked at it (http://www.act.org/fsot/) and it let me get as far as the account registration page before I stopped. Was your problem after that point?
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Jul 31, 2009 06:14
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