State dept

[Anonymous]

How is the state dept on the civilian side?

What are the best bureaus/offices if you’re living in dc? Attitude towards telework? How is morale?

I’d be coming from TSA

[Anonymous]

i recently jumped ship from CBP to another agency. ANYTHING is better than DHS. i'm not at State, however, so cannot answer those specific questions.

[Anonymous]

DHS has great telework. They had 3 days/week pre pandemic and great promotions in cyber and TSA

[Anonymous]

It sounds like you're in IT, HR, or something else not specific to foreign affairs. If you do not want to work specifically on foreign affairs, do not go to State. It is bureaucratic and poorly managed with low morale and high turnover.

[Anonymous]

If you want to maximize telework try to find an office with a minimal amount of classified work. I’d also avoid Passport Services; you’re just a cog in a machine. Other other parts of Consular Affairs may be okay, but Passports is really detached from the core diplomatic work of the Department.

As a civil service employee (as opposed to foreign service) you may find it hard to move internally/get promoted even in DC based jobs. There are less and less jobs for civil service folks the more senior you get, and that can make it less appealing to spend a career there. There are very few SES positions compared to other agencies; most senior career jobs go to senior foreign service folks.

If you want to make a career in the field of foreign affairs, strongly consider the FSO route early on. It certainly has its drawbacks, but you may find after a few years as a civil service employee that the “cool” jobs always go to FSOs. It can be frustrating when your a subject matter expert and a every 3 years a new FSO comes in to be your boss and you know their job better than they do.

[Anonymous]

OBOis alright, DS sucks, and CA is a dumpster fire…IRM is stuck in 2014.

[Anonymous]

I work at State and I love it.

If you're looking to get in on the foreign affairs side, it's very difficult unless you are a PMF or a veteran.

If you're looking to do more admin-type work, it's easier to get in.

Telework depends on the office and your duties.

Morale varies by bureau and office. In general, the regional bureaus are considered sexier than the functionals, but the functionals have most of the civil service folks.