Working for department of State

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work for DOS. It's miserable. I'd say State is probably one of the most stressed-out agencies right now. Morale is at an all-time low. People are retiring and leaving in droves. I'm looking elsewhere. Everyone I know is looking elsewhere.

Lowest it’s been in twenty years. Run by SBOs who generally hate the workforce. Mostly a bunch of Heritage - Vought flunkies. They made a ton of domestic Civil Service cuts and plan to make more. Very limited travel and shoddy equipment. Lots of inefficient reviews needed for the most arcane of things. Everyone has turned to the office and most offices feel like a morgue. I guess HST is busy but the politicals are feeling the pressure of the midterms ahead. They know that if the GOO loses the House, things won’t be great for them and a lot more lights will be shined on their doings.

Bitter, eh? Midterm results won't change anything at state. The gravy train is over. And for good reasons. That's why old guard is upset. Like USAID state was doing things they had no business doing.

What was State doing that had no business doing?

This is USAID, but here you go...

https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2025/02/at-usaid-waste-and-abuse-runs-deep/

Lol thanks for confirming you don’t know anything about State then. Please see yourself out.

I work there, sorry.

Sure you do. That’s why you can’t answer a question about what things “State was doing that they had no business doing.” And all you can do is share a White House press release about USAID instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work for DOS. It's miserable. I'd say State is probably one of the most stressed-out agencies right now. Morale is at an all-time low. People are retiring and leaving in droves. I'm looking elsewhere. Everyone I know is looking elsewhere.

Lowest it’s been in twenty years. Run by SBOs who generally hate the workforce. Mostly a bunch of Heritage - Vought flunkies. They made a ton of domestic Civil Service cuts and plan to make more. Very limited travel and shoddy equipment. Lots of inefficient reviews needed for the most arcane of things. Everyone has turned to the office and most offices feel like a morgue. I guess HST is busy but the politicals are feeling the pressure of the midterms ahead. They know that if the GOO loses the House, things won’t be great for them and a lot more lights will be shined on their doings.

Bitter, eh? Midterm results won't change anything at state. The gravy train is over. And for good reasons. That's why old guard is upset. Like USAID state was doing things they had no business doing.

What was State doing that had no business doing?

This is USAID, but here you go...

https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2025/02/at-usaid-waste-and-abuse-runs-deep/

Lol thanks for confirming you don’t know anything about State then. Please see yourself out.

I work there, sorry.

Sure you do. That’s why you can’t answer a question about what things “State was doing that they had no business doing.” And all you can do is share a White House press release about USAID instead.

The PP is probably a BFF.

[Anonymous]

The problem is that there are so many people running things without the necessary experience needed. The person running procurement was never an 1102 and never held a warrant. The person running OBO is neither an architect nor an engineer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the most frustrating thing about working at State right now is that nothing works. So many contracts have been axed, people let go, people retired or found other jobs, etc. The people who kept the lights on, kept the IT going, ran the print shop, managed the logistics, etc. - everything's either gone or so short-staffed that it might as well be gone. So every time you come into work and need to do something routine, figuring out how to do it is like moving a mountain.

I left in 2019 and it was like this, honestly. Can’t imagine what it’s like in worse shape.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure if it’s true for DOS but for lawyers it’s a career ender to join DOJ during Trump. It’s one thing if you’re a career person who stays on. It’s quite another to join now. It’d be viewed as a big negative by major law firms.

You're crazy. With a few exceptions, law firms are about as apolitical as they come. They don't give a f*** whether you signed on at DOJ during Trump, killed babies, or made pacts with the devil. The question is whether they can sell you to clients (associate to counsel) or whether you can sell yourself (partner). I've been at government and am a partner in a v10.

You have three real hot button offices civil side at DOJ: fed prog, appellate, and oil.

No big law firm is hiring from oil, and never has.

Appellate and fed prog still have t14 grads with clerkships who write well and argue cases, even if they are defending heinous shit. Big law has (and still is) gobbling them up as soon as a resume is put out.

Speaking from a civil litigation perspective of course.

[Anonymous]

OP here, Thank you so much for all of this information. I would not know any of this having never been in that department. I really appreciate you taking time to share experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why does State need to be so large? These days, diplomacy can be conducted virtually. Trump should cut State by at least 50% by the end of his term.

Hilarious. Meeting your quota on dumb things to say, I presume?

[Anonymous]

More RIFS are absolutely coming for State’s CS workforce. They want to get it under 6k so that means a cut of 2-3k soon. My guess is July or September.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:More RIFS are absolutely coming for State’s CS workforce. They want to get it under 6k so that means a cut of 2-3k soon. My guess is July or September.

You keep saying this. What is it based on? Stop spreading fear for no reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More RIFS are absolutely coming for State’s CS workforce. They want to get it under 6k so that means a cut of 2-3k soon. My guess is July or September.

You keep saying this. What is it based on? Stop spreading fear for no reason.

It’s in writing - so do your research when they went to Congress. This is not hard.

[Anonymous]

The department’s fiscal 2027 budget justification shows that it plans to keep shrinking its workforce. According to the budget document, the State Department plans to have about 11,000 Foreign Service employees and 6,000 civil service employees next year

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2026/05/amid-hiring-push-state-dept-finalizes-layoffs-for-nearly-250-foreign-service-officers/

[Anonymous]

If you only want to work for administration's you agree with, you should not join the government in any capacity. Admittedly, this administration's....animosity shall we say towards regular civil servants is next level, but if you can deal with toxic management in another work place, I'm not sure I see the difference. If State is where you want to be, go ahead and join while you have the opportunity.

Admittedly, I say this as someone who wanted to join over 20 years ago and while I passed their written exam, I didn't pass the oral, so maybe I'm a little "grass is greener."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The department’s fiscal 2027 budget justification shows that it plans to keep shrinking its workforce. According to the budget document, the State Department plans to have about 11,000 Foreign Service employees and 6,000 civil service employees next year

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2026/05/amid-hiring-push-state-dept-finalizes-layoffs-for-nearly-250-foreign-service-officers/

There are other ways to shrink the workforce besides rifs.

[Anonymous]

My CS office is hiring. Apparently it's gotten quite competitive now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The department’s fiscal 2027 budget justification shows that it plans to keep shrinking its workforce. According to the budget document, the State Department plans to have about 11,000 Foreign Service employees and 6,000 civil service employees next year

https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2026/05/amid-hiring-push-state-dept-finalizes-layoffs-for-nearly-250-foreign-service-officers/

There are other ways to shrink the workforce besides rifs.

Ok, how? DRP is not happening and the workforce isnt exactly filled with boomers anymore. How shall they shrink it down by 2k by September 30th?