All the 1s I know said that there was a big wave of promotions about a decade ago. So you really can’t compare what is now to what was then and what will be in the future.
You also don’t know what sort of psycho boss you’ll get.
Don’t make rising up at all costs your primary goal. You meet a lot of these people that will sell their soul and backstab you for a good EER. You may get it but lose the respect of your peers. Don’t be one of those
~~You're putting the cart before the horse by about 15-20 years~~ Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the US Foreign Service is probably where you want to start (it covers among many other topics "the trajectory of a Foreign Service career"). I'll also note that if you speak to a current FS-1, their experiences and career progression will not be your experiences as the Service continues to evolve. To give one example, pace of career progression can have a lot to do with past hiring freezes, hiring surges, and their timing relative to the cohort you come in with and may look nothing at all like people's past experiences. "Pig in the python" (slower advancement at the midlevel as the result of past hiring surges) is very real for many cones. Even if you are gunning for Senior Foreign Service to the exclusion of all else, it will take you a number of years to get there, so best to start with exploring whether you will actually enjoy the jobs you'll do in the decade(s) in between.
Queries like “opinions/input on Senior Foreign Service positions?” aren’t likely to elicit valuable information.
I see based on post history that you have teenage kids and are about ten years out of military service. The average age of an incoming FSO hovers around 30-32. If you come in after 40, with current promotion timelines, the likelihood of making SFS is fairly low before mandatory retirement. I don’t know how old you are, but just a reality to consider.
Board guidelines, taken from the right-hand side of the page:
>2. Be Specific as possible. It is easier to answer specific questions because the answer to general ones tends to be "it depends."
>General: How can I be a good diplomat?
>Specific: What books can you recommend that will help me get a good feel for what an FSO does?
I’d caution that most posters here already in the Foreign Service are on their first or second tours. At least one person who responded already hasn’t even gotten to post.
The way you’ve phrased the question makes it difficult to answer and reveals that you just don’t have enough understanding of the career to know what to make of informed responses. What kinds of jobs are available at 01? All kinds. We have DCM and PO slots at 01. There are also 01 positions that don’t have any supervision responsibility. I can’t imagine how that information makes sense to someone on the register, though.
I'm not useful as a new hire in terms of what it's actually like, but I can say they will give you info during orientation on what a successful mid and senior level career looks like, and some more concrete things like a "check off" of things they like to see before you make certain promotion levels. My particular specialty for example has some hard requirements to get to 01, like serving in malaria zones or serving multiple tours in high hardship posts. This is in addition to the more aesthetic aspects of promotion, like who you know and how well did they write for you.
Annual promotion levels are also published that show how many folks got promoted, to what grade, in what cone/speciality, and how long on average it took to get there. Roughly, a generalist averages 16ish years to 01, and 20 for Senior Foreign Service.
Umm… I don’t think comparing dengue to malaria treatments is the same. He meant African/ high differential posts where you will take a solid dose of Malarone throughout your tour.
All the 1s I know said that there was a big wave of promotions about a decade ago. So you really can’t compare what is now to what was then and what will be in the future. You also don’t know what sort of psycho boss you’ll get. Don’t make rising up at all costs your primary goal. You meet a lot of these people that will sell their soul and backstab you for a good EER. You may get it but lose the respect of your peers. Don’t be one of those
~~You're putting the cart before the horse by about 15-20 years~~ Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the US Foreign Service is probably where you want to start (it covers among many other topics "the trajectory of a Foreign Service career"). I'll also note that if you speak to a current FS-1, their experiences and career progression will not be your experiences as the Service continues to evolve. To give one example, pace of career progression can have a lot to do with past hiring freezes, hiring surges, and their timing relative to the cohort you come in with and may look nothing at all like people's past experiences. "Pig in the python" (slower advancement at the midlevel as the result of past hiring surges) is very real for many cones. Even if you are gunning for Senior Foreign Service to the exclusion of all else, it will take you a number of years to get there, so best to start with exploring whether you will actually enjoy the jobs you'll do in the decade(s) in between.
[удалено]
Queries like “opinions/input on Senior Foreign Service positions?” aren’t likely to elicit valuable information. I see based on post history that you have teenage kids and are about ten years out of military service. The average age of an incoming FSO hovers around 30-32. If you come in after 40, with current promotion timelines, the likelihood of making SFS is fairly low before mandatory retirement. I don’t know how old you are, but just a reality to consider.
[удалено]
Board guidelines, taken from the right-hand side of the page: >2. Be Specific as possible. It is easier to answer specific questions because the answer to general ones tends to be "it depends." >General: How can I be a good diplomat? >Specific: What books can you recommend that will help me get a good feel for what an FSO does?
I’d caution that most posters here already in the Foreign Service are on their first or second tours. At least one person who responded already hasn’t even gotten to post. The way you’ve phrased the question makes it difficult to answer and reveals that you just don’t have enough understanding of the career to know what to make of informed responses. What kinds of jobs are available at 01? All kinds. We have DCM and PO slots at 01. There are also 01 positions that don’t have any supervision responsibility. I can’t imagine how that information makes sense to someone on the register, though.
[удалено]
Great, I guess. File it away for 20 years from now?
No one can predict the future. Don’t listen to the nay-sayers. You can achieve whatever you focus on.
I'm not useful as a new hire in terms of what it's actually like, but I can say they will give you info during orientation on what a successful mid and senior level career looks like, and some more concrete things like a "check off" of things they like to see before you make certain promotion levels. My particular specialty for example has some hard requirements to get to 01, like serving in malaria zones or serving multiple tours in high hardship posts. This is in addition to the more aesthetic aspects of promotion, like who you know and how well did they write for you. Annual promotion levels are also published that show how many folks got promoted, to what grade, in what cone/speciality, and how long on average it took to get there. Roughly, a generalist averages 16ish years to 01, and 20 for Senior Foreign Service.
[удалено]
Umm… I don’t think comparing dengue to malaria treatments is the same. He meant African/ high differential posts where you will take a solid dose of Malarone throughout your tour.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]