I have started this blog to document my attempts to become Foreign
Service Officer (FSO) with the State Department. I have passed the first test before, but was
not invited for the oral interview. I am
taking the test again next week. I am
ready and excited. I wanted to start my
blog off with resources for the test.
However, the shutdown is more relevant today. Specially, because the of the government
shutdown, parts of process for becoming an FSO are currently on hold.
Becoming an FSO is a long journey. The first step is registering for the Foreign
Service Officer Test (FSOT). It is an
important step. What you document on the
registration will follow (or haunt) you for the rest of the application
process.
Next, take the test (I will post my resources for this at
another time). Most people fail. It is very wide, but not very deep. It includes questions regarding US Government
and Culture, World History, Mathematics, Communications, English Expression, Management,
ect. In other words, a significant
amount of time studying is probably a good idea (although some disagree).
If you pass the test, next are the personal narratives. These come about a month or so after the
test. These are six essay questions
regarding your experiences. After about
another month you get the results – pass or fail. No explanation as to why. This part of the process is not very
transparent, but it is fairly accepted that they review your registration
materials, your test scores, and your responses to the personal narrative
questions. If it is decided you might
make a good FSO, you are invited to the oral interview a couple of months
later.
So from the time taking the FSOT to the oral interview is
roughly six months. For the lucky few
that pass the oral interview, they are given a conditional offer of
employment. This is where the Top Secret
security background check begins. That
part alone can last from a couple of months to a year. If the background check comes back clean, the
applicant is then placed on the register.
If you are high on the register you are invited to the next training
class. If you are low on the register,
you may sit on the register until your application expires. So it is possible to pass the oral interview
and still not get the job because of the background check or because of a low
score on the register. As a side note,
one way to increase your score immensely is to learn a super-critical foreign
language.
So the entire process is at least eight months and usually
much longer. That does not include the
months of studying. Additionally, if you
fail any part of the process you have to wait a year to start again. Some people spend several years before they
actually become an FSO. It is a long and
stressful process, but according to many that have made it, it is extremely
rewarding.
So what does this have to do with the government
shutdown? First, according to this:
the State Department has no employees furloughed. This does not appear to be the case from what
I have read. While the FSOT will be
carried out as scheduled this month because it is conducted by ACT and not the
government, this is not the case for the oral interviews. For example, the interviews that were to be
conducted in San Francisco next week have been cancelled. So the people that have spent an immense
amount of time to get to the oral interviews are now cancelling their plane
tickets. Who knows if or when they will
be invited for the interview.
Additionally, one great resource for joining the State
Department is their official forums:
If you have a question this is the place to go for an
official answer. One question that was
recently asked was whether or not the interviews would be conducted as scheduled. Two or three days ago it was stated they were
still scheduled. It was also stated to check
back on that post for updates. Unfortunately,
yesterday the forums closed abruptly due to the shutdown.
So what does this all mean?
From what I have written here it would seem that some people are having
their dreams postponed. While that is
sad, it is probably not be as bad as current employees that are not working, or
mothers that can’t obtain WIC, or the intelligence analyst that is at home
instead of investigating potential threats.
However, this shutdown, and the budget issues in general, has
the potential to be especially damaging for the State Department. First, the State Department is already short-staffed. In the past they would hire several hundred
new FSOs each year. Because of the
budget issues/sequester, the number hired for this year may be around 160. I cannot get the exact numbers, because again
the official forums are closed, but I believe it was stated previously that there are
roughly 8000 FSOs. Each year 4% of that
number leaves the State Department for various reasons. Because of the budget issues, they are only
hiring half the number needed to replace that 4%. That would be 160 new FSOs for this year
causing an already short-staffed department to be even more so. And that number is probably high. Considering the recent turn of events that
number may drop. As of today how many
FSOs will be hired before the year ends?
0. There are no new hires during
the shutdown.
To some, the reduction in the number of FSOs may be a good
thing. That want a smaller government,
and they don’t want to be involved in international affairs. In my opinion, that is wrong. FSOs wear many hats. Among their duties is to be our first line of
defense in international affairs.
Personally, I would rather have a few extra FSOs in a country working on
diplomacy instead of the tens of thousands of troops that are required when diplomacy
fails. More diplomats means, at least in
theory, less wars. From an economic
standpoint, that is what everyone, regardless of political party, should
desire.
Well my first blog entry was much longer than expected. I promise to keep them shorter and more
positive in the future!
Today’s Resources:
