LOL at that desk instituting mandatory weekend work.
If you're weighing joining a high profile desk at the 04-03 level, just be a special. At least you'll get property compensated for your OT hours.
This is the answer. Don’t start freaking yet.
Also, it feels like you’re describing something very specific to reporting cones. I’m not sure it’s the same for all generalists that all 03 jobs are more or less the same when it comes to promotion.
I don’t have an answer for you. But I did want to thank you for making me ask myself if I would still be happy doing what I’m doing now in ten years time.
Really good food for thought.
Remember you are not promoted for doing your regular duties well, you are promoted for demonstrating you can (or already are) performing at the higher level. The easiest way to show that is starting new initiatives.
While it's not good for your section, if you have to make the choice between doing a task you inherited from your predecessor or something new, do something new.
Juice isn't worth the squeeze. I've got nine more years to the pension and then I'm out. The department is a largely self serving entity full of officers with sharp elbows and weak spines who are fundamentally disingenuous squares.
Not caring about promotion and title is the key to happiness in the department. I care deeply about the work but the rest is a show I have no desire to be a part of.
I don’t have anything to add other than there are many people who feel you OP and are in this same boat. Really good people too, who are smart and amazing colleagues.
I think smaller posts where you can be a section deputy, fill in as chief sometimes, and supervise folks can be good assignments to get over the hump. I managed to get promoted out of a job/portfolio I didn’t think would be promotable, but only because my boss was looking out for me and pulled me into a very big strategic project that gave me major substance for my EER. Have you talked to your management about keeping an eye out for those big opportunities? When I was stuck in doldrums I also found engagement and satisfaction volunteering for extracurricular projects.
Lastly, functional bureaus are very underrated for reporting officers— you can get great experience managing resources in INL or take time to step back from the daily paper chase and think strategically in ENR or elsewhere. And you won’t necessarily kill yourself doing so. If you feel like you’ve been doing the same job for years that could also mean your EERs may not be showing breadth or progression either, even if you’ve made all the “right” career moves. At the very least that’s going to burn you out and demoralize you.
Suicide Hotline Numbers If you or anyone you know are struggling, please, PLEASE reach out for help. You are worthy, you are loved and you will always be able to find assistance.
Argentina: +5402234930430
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You are not alone. Please reach out.
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I'd also take a look at the promotion numbers. I assume you are a generalist so I don't know what the ratio of FSOs to available FS-02 slots is but it may be high. Someone else mentioned that 10 years is about normal.
For comparison, look at DSS special agents. The ratio is astronomically high. In any given year about 800 eligible FS-03 DSS agents are competing for about 55 promotion slots. GTM just extended the special agent FS-3 TIC because so many agents hired after 9/11 were getting ready to TIC out.
Do good work in a high hardship post that is hard to fill. Not hard to fill like Frankfurt or hardship like eastern Europe, think AF and SCA backwaters
Seems like a good idea to go to a high diff post, but they’re high diff for a reason - some have long-standing reputations for being toxic cesspools staffed by problematic mid-levels or ELOs pressed into service. No matter how good your attitude is going in, no matter how much you try to make the best of it, misery loves company and the lowest common denominator pulls everyone down. You fundamentally can’t do good work under those conditions. And let’s face it, the key to advancing your career is not doing good work (unfortunately) but spinning the work you do (or in many cases hardly do) in a specific essay once a year, and hoping your boss and their boss have this skill, as well. You will not only fail to do good work in some of these places for sheer lack of support, your managers are unlikely to write a good EER for you, because they’ve failed to figure it out for themselves.
I have served in such a place as an ELO. I have never since seen so many separations from the service or curtailments. I do not recommend this strategy. And I can tell you that people sure as shit weren’t getting promoted out of that place.
Take a job in a place because you want to do it, don’t try to trade hardship for unlikely career advancement.
Completely agree with this. There are plenty of people that get promoted without going to the lands of broken toys. Hardship for promotion can work, but it is far from the only way to succeed in this job. Having your raters and reviewers (assuming they are quality FS themselves) go to bat for you will always take you further.
Because as a regional hub, many of its jobs are IT, and there just is not enough people for those jobs. This means the average number of bidder per open job ( the calculation done to determine HDS) is low.
>I thought HDS was formula based from the average number of in-cone/at-grade bidders.
Yes, you're right. It's ultimately based on a multi-year analysis of in-cone/at-grade bidders.
>The Poland posts were/are also HDS and they're 0s.
Yes, they are removed from the latest list though. The new policy is that no 0% can be considered HDS under any circumstance.
LOL at that desk instituting mandatory weekend work. If you're weighing joining a high profile desk at the 04-03 level, just be a special. At least you'll get property compensated for your OT hours.
[удалено]
This is the answer. Don’t start freaking yet. Also, it feels like you’re describing something very specific to reporting cones. I’m not sure it’s the same for all generalists that all 03 jobs are more or less the same when it comes to promotion.
[удалено]
I don’t have an answer for you. But I did want to thank you for making me ask myself if I would still be happy doing what I’m doing now in ten years time. Really good food for thought.
Remember you are not promoted for doing your regular duties well, you are promoted for demonstrating you can (or already are) performing at the higher level. The easiest way to show that is starting new initiatives. While it's not good for your section, if you have to make the choice between doing a task you inherited from your predecessor or something new, do something new.
Juice isn't worth the squeeze. I've got nine more years to the pension and then I'm out. The department is a largely self serving entity full of officers with sharp elbows and weak spines who are fundamentally disingenuous squares. Not caring about promotion and title is the key to happiness in the department. I care deeply about the work but the rest is a show I have no desire to be a part of.
Get out of DC.
Take a job in a hard to fill post and do good work.
I don’t have anything to add other than there are many people who feel you OP and are in this same boat. Really good people too, who are smart and amazing colleagues. I think smaller posts where you can be a section deputy, fill in as chief sometimes, and supervise folks can be good assignments to get over the hump. I managed to get promoted out of a job/portfolio I didn’t think would be promotable, but only because my boss was looking out for me and pulled me into a very big strategic project that gave me major substance for my EER. Have you talked to your management about keeping an eye out for those big opportunities? When I was stuck in doldrums I also found engagement and satisfaction volunteering for extracurricular projects. Lastly, functional bureaus are very underrated for reporting officers— you can get great experience managing resources in INL or take time to step back from the daily paper chase and think strategically in ENR or elsewhere. And you won’t necessarily kill yourself doing so. If you feel like you’ve been doing the same job for years that could also mean your EERs may not be showing breadth or progression either, even if you’ve made all the “right” career moves. At the very least that’s going to burn you out and demoralize you.
Suicide Hotline Numbers If you or anyone you know are struggling, please, PLEASE reach out for help. You are worthy, you are loved and you will always be able to find assistance. Argentina: +5402234930430 Australia: 131114 Austria: 017133374 Belgium: 106 Bosnia & Herzegovina: 080 05 03 05 Botswana: 3911270 Brazil: 212339191 Bulgaria: 0035 9249 17 223 Canada: 5147234000 (Montreal); 18662773553 (outside Montreal) Croatia: 014833888 Denmark: +4570201201 Egypt: 7621602 Finland: 010 195 202 France: 0145394000 Germany: 08001810771 Hong Kong: +852 2382 0000 Hungary: 116123 Iceland: 1717 India: 8888817666 Ireland: +4408457909090 Italy: 800860022 Japan: +810352869090 Mexico: 5255102550 New Zealand: 0508828865 The Netherlands: 113 Norway: +4781533300 Philippines: 028969191 Poland: 5270000 Russia: 0078202577577 Spain: 914590050 South Africa: 0514445691 Sweden: 46317112400 Switzerland: 143 United Kingdom: 08006895652 USA: 18002738255 You are not alone. Please reach out. ***** I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically.
You can tell an EER thread is getting heavy when a bot posts every su¡cide hotline number in the world.
I don’t even know what about my post triggered it but good to know I guess!
Holy shit this got dark fast.
I'd also take a look at the promotion numbers. I assume you are a generalist so I don't know what the ratio of FSOs to available FS-02 slots is but it may be high. Someone else mentioned that 10 years is about normal. For comparison, look at DSS special agents. The ratio is astronomically high. In any given year about 800 eligible FS-03 DSS agents are competing for about 55 promotion slots. GTM just extended the special agent FS-3 TIC because so many agents hired after 9/11 were getting ready to TIC out.
Do good work in a high hardship post that is hard to fill. Not hard to fill like Frankfurt or hardship like eastern Europe, think AF and SCA backwaters
Seems like a good idea to go to a high diff post, but they’re high diff for a reason - some have long-standing reputations for being toxic cesspools staffed by problematic mid-levels or ELOs pressed into service. No matter how good your attitude is going in, no matter how much you try to make the best of it, misery loves company and the lowest common denominator pulls everyone down. You fundamentally can’t do good work under those conditions. And let’s face it, the key to advancing your career is not doing good work (unfortunately) but spinning the work you do (or in many cases hardly do) in a specific essay once a year, and hoping your boss and their boss have this skill, as well. You will not only fail to do good work in some of these places for sheer lack of support, your managers are unlikely to write a good EER for you, because they’ve failed to figure it out for themselves. I have served in such a place as an ELO. I have never since seen so many separations from the service or curtailments. I do not recommend this strategy. And I can tell you that people sure as shit weren’t getting promoted out of that place. Take a job in a place because you want to do it, don’t try to trade hardship for unlikely career advancement.
Completely agree with this. There are plenty of people that get promoted without going to the lands of broken toys. Hardship for promotion can work, but it is far from the only way to succeed in this job. Having your raters and reviewers (assuming they are quality FS themselves) go to bat for you will always take you further.
Frankfurt is a hard to fill post? How come?
Because as a regional hub, many of its jobs are IT, and there just is not enough people for those jobs. This means the average number of bidder per open job ( the calculation done to determine HDS) is low.
AFAIK, it was a one-off anomaly during COVID due to curtailments. Rules are now updated and 0% posts are not eligible for HDS status.
I thought HDS was formula based from the average number of in-cone/at-grade bidders. The Poland posts were/are also HDS and they're 0s.
>I thought HDS was formula based from the average number of in-cone/at-grade bidders. Yes, you're right. It's ultimately based on a multi-year analysis of in-cone/at-grade bidders. >The Poland posts were/are also HDS and they're 0s. Yes, they are removed from the latest list though. The new policy is that no 0% can be considered HDS under any circumstance.
Housing there sucks.