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

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.