Foreign Service Officer offer-- does anyone have experience?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am currently a GS 14 remote worker for a nonstate dept agency. I did apply to be a foreign service officer and went through the exams, interviews, etc. Now, I received an offer to officially undergo orientation and training for the foreign service. My understanding is that I wont know where I am assigned until after the orientation training. Does anybody know what it is like to relocate a family for the orientation training part? If the country I am assigned to is not viable for us as a family (my spouse has a job that can be remote for certain countries), what next? Is there a set of choices of countries, or an appeals process? Is it possible to then go back to my old agency or am I forced to leave federal service and then have to reapply as an outsider?

Thanks so much for any info you may have!

Firstly, be prepared that your offer may be revoked due to potential impending hiring freezes so try to avoid making any permanent/financially costly decisions such as quitting jobs or breaking leases until the last minute possible….many would be hires have been burned by this.

Assuming that the offer does actually come to fruition, as long as you are of a sufficient geographic distance from the dc metro area then the state department will in theory pay for your relocation expenses and for a housing stipend during your training period in dc (which could range from 8 weeks to a year plus depending on your follow on assignment). However, you will need to be prepared to pay many of the costs upfront, with long lag times for reimbursement, and to end up paying at least a portion out of pocket. Depending on the time of year/your family composition, etc you may also struggle to find adequate housing to meet your needs within the per diem allowance.

For your first and second tours you will have an opportunity to rank your preferences among the countries/positions available but at the end of the day it’s very much luck of the draw and no, your non state spouse’s job prospects will not factor heavily in the assignment process nor will it be considered grounds for a compassionate curtailment or reassignment.

All that being said, there are many high points and benefits of being an FSO, especially as you progress up the chain and have more of a say in your career path, but you should be prepared that the first few years especially for those with familial considerations can be very tough.

You should try to join the trailing houses facebook group for more effective crowdsourcing.

There is a legion of trailing spouses at State. The dept is pretty known for family member hiring.

Np are they actually good jobs? My GS14 friend was offered a part time GS5 job as a cia spouse.

No, in general they are not good jobs. They are low-level jobs that pay a fraction of what a professional in their field is currently making. There are opportunities to work up to better jobs (or compete and become an FSO) over time, but no one should go into the foreign service with the notion that it's easy for trailing spouses to find a comparable job with State or to work remotely. Both are possible, but not easy.

[Anonymous]

So a majority of this world is not a great place to live. Your are not going to get a good location for your first assignment or next assignment.

[Anonymous]

I think FSOs are career conditional for several years until they are formally commissioned. I think that means they don't have the protections that civil service employees have. Likely not an issue for good performers, but you should be aware. Also, it's an up or out system - you have to be promoted every x years (I think 7?) or you are out. And your tours in DC are limited.

[Anonymous]

OP, congrats!

I’m hoping to find myself in a (maybe) somewhat similar position one day. I am a mid-career, 41 year old, married with 2 kids, highly compensated private sector employee with overseas experience and prior government experience.

I’m increasingly interested in dropping my private sector job and getting back into public service and I would ideally want to work in the natsec/foreign affairs realm. I do not have any specific government policy experience or academic credentials in this space but also don’t mind essentially “starting over” if it means a rewarding public service career. I do have significant experience in international affairs from a private sector vantage point.

I don’t mean to hijack this thread, but I’m curious if OP or others following this thread have perspective.

(And by all means, please answer OPs question)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think FSOs are career conditional for several years until they are formally commissioned. I think that means they don't have the protections that civil service employees have. Likely not an issue for good performers, but you should be aware. Also, it's an up or out system - you have to be promoted every x years (I think 7?) or you are out. And your tours in DC are limited.

This is interesting. Does this mean you are required to show progress to higher degrees of responsibility, or you get removed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think FSOs are career conditional for several years until they are formally commissioned. I think that means they don't have the protections that civil service employees have. Likely not an issue for good performers, but you should be aware. Also, it's an up or out system - you have to be promoted every x years (I think 7?) or you are out. And your tours in DC are limited.

This is interesting. Does this mean you are required to show progress to higher degrees of responsibility, or you get removed?

Yes. Not everyone who wants to move from Junior FSO to Senior FSO does so and you can't linger at the lower level unlike some other government jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think FSOs are career conditional for several years until they are formally commissioned. I think that means they don't have the protections that civil service employees have. Likely not an issue for good performers, but you should be aware. Also, it's an up or out system - you have to be promoted every x years (I think 7?) or you are out. And your tours in DC are limited.

This is interesting. Does this mean you are required to show progress to higher degrees of responsibility, or you get removed?

Yes. Not everyone who wants to move from Junior FSO to Senior FSO does so and you can't linger at the lower level unlike some other government jobs.

Do they effectuate this through term appointment or do they actually give notice of removal after a certain period is exceeded?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think FSOs are career conditional for several years until they are formally commissioned. I think that means they don't have the protections that civil service employees have. Likely not an issue for good performers, but you should be aware. Also, it's an up or out system - you have to be promoted every x years (I think 7?) or you are out. And your tours in DC are limited.

This is interesting. Does this mean you are required to show progress to higher degrees of responsibility, or you get removed?

Yes. Not everyone who wants to move from Junior FSO to Senior FSO does so and you can't linger at the lower level unlike some other government jobs.

Is it common to not move up? Like what’s the percentage? If you don’t move up is it “shameful” or more like not making partner at a law firm (very common so not an embarrassment) and what do those people go on to do professionally? (Not OP - have a kid considering FS if it’s not a total mess 5-6 years from now)

[Anonymous]

I don't know what the numbers are, but I think low. It's pretty quiet when it happens - folks just move on. Some folks try to switch to civil service. It happens when it's not a good fit, so looking from afar, it's not a bad thing. For those going through it, it can be very uncomfortable, but usually a relief. Think about the bottom 5% of performers at your workplace. If kid wants to do FS, they should do FS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, congrats!

I’m hoping to find myself in a (maybe) somewhat similar position one day. I am a mid-career, 41 year old, married with 2 kids, highly compensated private sector employee with overseas experience and prior government experience.

I’m increasingly interested in dropping my private sector job and getting back into public service and I would ideally want to work in the natsec/foreign affairs realm. I do not have any specific government policy experience or academic credentials in this space but also don’t mind essentially “starting over” if it means a rewarding public service career. I do have significant experience in international affairs from a private sector vantage point.

I don’t mean to hijack this thread, but I’m curious if OP or others following this thread have perspective.

(And by all means, please answer OPs question)

FS has. a mandatory retirement age (I think 60 or 65) so it's not ideal as a second career. If you want to do it, do it soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am currently a GS 14 remote worker for a nonstate dept agency. I did apply to be a foreign service officer and went through the exams, interviews, etc. Now, I received an offer to officially undergo orientation and training for the foreign service. My understanding is that I wont know where I am assigned until after the orientation training. Does anybody know what it is like to relocate a family for the orientation training part? If the country I am assigned to is not viable for us as a family (my spouse has a job that can be remote for certain countries), what next? Is there a set of choices of countries, or an appeals process? Is it possible to then go back to my old agency or am I forced to leave federal service and then have to reapply as an outsider?

Thanks so much for any info you may have!

Firstly, be prepared that your offer may be revoked due to potential impending hiring freezes so try to avoid making any permanent/financially costly decisions such as quitting jobs or breaking leases until the last minute possible….many would be hires have been burned by this.

Assuming that the offer does actually come to fruition, as long as you are of a sufficient geographic distance from the dc metro area then the state department will in theory pay for your relocation expenses and for a housing stipend during your training period in dc (which could range from 8 weeks to a year plus depending on your follow on assignment). However, you will need to be prepared to pay many of the costs upfront, with long lag times for reimbursement, and to end up paying at least a portion out of pocket. Depending on the time of year/your family composition, etc you may also struggle to find adequate housing to meet your needs within the per diem allowance.

For your first and second tours you will have an opportunity to rank your preferences among the countries/positions available but at the end of the day it’s very much luck of the draw and no, your non state spouse’s job prospects will not factor heavily in the assignment process nor will it be considered grounds for a compassionate curtailment or reassignment.

All that being said, there are many high points and benefits of being an FSO, especially as you progress up the chain and have more of a say in your career path, but you should be prepared that the first few years especially for those with familial considerations can be very tough.

You should try to join the trailing houses facebook group for more effective crowdsourcing.

There is a legion of trailing spouses at State. The dept is pretty known for family member hiring.

Np are they actually good jobs? My GS14 friend was offered a part time GS5 job as a cia spouse.

You tend to take what you can get.

I'm a FS spouse.. It depends if you have skills the department could use overseas in an EPAP position or maybe a DETO. Those are paid somewhat decent. In my case though my previous career didn't transfer so I took a GS7 job doing something totally unrelated at the Embassy. I then used what I learned there to get a 7/9/11 ladder job upon arriving back in DC instead of returning to my former career. Depending on the post though, spouse employment can really be hit or miss, and the liklihood of a hiring freeze with the upcoming administration is high.

DETO won’t survive RTO

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have kids OP? My experience with foreign service is my dad was in the foreign service and I was a trailing kid. It was not easy. Have tons of feedback on that.

Can you share? We have two in elementary

[Anonymous]

I’m not the PP but also a foreign service “brat”. In my experience it was mostly good. The bad, which varies, is based largely on where you’re posted and the schools available. I went to some great schools and some just ok. Moving as a child was fine but teen years were much more difficult. The good news was that kids abroad were largely very warm and welcoming. Moving back to US during teen years sucked. Your kids personalities, specific needs and how you prepare them will go a long way to making transitions easier

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am currently a GS 14 remote worker for a nonstate dept agency. I did apply to be a foreign service officer and went through the exams, interviews, etc. Now, I received an offer to officially undergo orientation and training for the foreign service. My understanding is that I wont know where I am assigned until after the orientation training. Does anybody know what it is like to relocate a family for the orientation training part? If the country I am assigned to is not viable for us as a family (my spouse has a job that can be remote for certain countries), what next? Is there a set of choices of countries, or an appeals process? Is it possible to then go back to my old agency or am I forced to leave federal service and then have to reapply as an outsider?

Thanks so much for any info you may have!

Firstly, be prepared that your offer may be revoked due to potential impending hiring freezes so try to avoid making any permanent/financially costly decisions such as quitting jobs or breaking leases until the last minute possible….many would be hires have been burned by this.

Assuming that the offer does actually come to fruition, as long as you are of a sufficient geographic distance from the dc metro area then the state department will in theory pay for your relocation expenses and for a housing stipend during your training period in dc (which could range from 8 weeks to a year plus depending on your follow on assignment). However, you will need to be prepared to pay many of the costs upfront, with long lag times for reimbursement, and to end up paying at least a portion out of pocket. Depending on the time of year/your family composition, etc you may also struggle to find adequate housing to meet your needs within the per diem allowance.

For your first and second tours you will have an opportunity to rank your preferences among the countries/positions available but at the end of the day it’s very much luck of the draw and no, your non state spouse’s job prospects will not factor heavily in the assignment process nor will it be considered grounds for a compassionate curtailment or reassignment.

All that being said, there are many high points and benefits of being an FSO, especially as you progress up the chain and have more of a say in your career path, but you should be prepared that the first few years especially for those with familial considerations can be very tough.

You should try to join the trailing houses facebook group for more effective crowdsourcing.

There is a legion of trailing spouses at State. The dept is pretty known for family member hiring.

Np are they actually good jobs? My GS14 friend was offered a part time GS5 job as a cia spouse.

You tend to take what you can get.

I'm a FS spouse.. It depends if you have skills the department could use overseas in an EPAP position or maybe a DETO. Those are paid somewhat decent. In my case though my previous career didn't transfer so I took a GS7 job doing something totally unrelated at the Embassy. I then used what I learned there to get a 7/9/11 ladder job upon arriving back in DC instead of returning to my former career. Depending on the post though, spouse employment can really be hit or miss, and the liklihood of a hiring freeze with the upcoming administration is high.

DETO won’t survive RTO

Yup. Word is that current employees MAY be allowed to finish out the remainder of their agreement, but no new ones.

This will be pretty rough on many foreign service and military families. But a good way to get more people to quit, which is what they want.