Common Questions

I have tried to tell everyone about my new career but as much as I feel I've been shouting it from the rooftops, still people that I consider very important to me tell me they had no idea!
But once they soak it in, there are a few commom questions to which I now have some answers:

1) When do you start?
Training starts January 5. January 5 and 6 are at the State Department Main Building in Foggy Bottom...yup right by the Watergate Hotel. Most of the rest of the first 7 week training class, called A-100, will be at the Foreign Service Institute(FSI) in Arlington.

2) Where are you going? Do you get to choose?
Alas, I have no idea yet. I am available for worldwide assignment. The first week I will get a list of available posts and I will rank all the posts on the list either high, medium, low. I will also meet with people from State to discuss why I've ranked the way I have and what I want. I've heard that most people do get a posting that they ranked as high.

3) When will you know where you are going?
Flag Day is February 13th, yup Friday the 13th! This is a ceremony at FSI where all the flags for the potential posts are up front. Each flag is taken up and the officers identify the country. Then the officer assigned to that country is called and goes up to accept their flag and their info about their new post.

4) How long will you be training? When do you leave?
Most officers train from 4 months to 1 year before going to their first post. I will know when I'm leaving after flag day. Everyone does A-100, which is the 7 weeks just about State's mission and being a diplomat in general. Then, depending on the type of post, additional training about the specific job will occur. Then, again depending on the post, language training may be needed.

5) Are you crazy?
Maybe. I definitely go against the norm sometimes and get geeked out about constantly being uprooted and having new challenges. Some people call me brave, but really I'm just very restless. Probably for me, being really brave would be staying put in one place since that is what scares me.

6) Where do you want to go? What is your dream post?
I know that I should have a number one spot that I am hoping for but I don't. I am just super excited to get this job and really enthused about serving wherever I am needed. I used to think I've been a fair number of places, although as I find out about my future co-classmates I realize how limited my travels have been. However, I've enjoyed to some degree everywhere I've been and know that attitude trumps environment every time. I think that if I go into the class with my hopes pinned on one spot then I set myself up for disappointment. So I really don't have my preferred post.

7) That sounds like bs. Where do you want to go?
Alright, all else being equal I would love to go to South America or Southeast Asia or a Pacific island country or Eastern Europe. Probably about a third of the postings would get me smiling like an idiot for weeks.

8) Where don't you want to go?
I'm willing to go anywhere but there are some places I'd rather visit than live. Mostly, I'd prefer not to go to a country where as a woman my social options would be limited. Beyond that, I'd prefer not to go to a danger posting although I am willing to do so if the need is there.

9) How about money?
I am taking about a 20% pay cut to take the job. Since I'm only training in DC I don't get locality pay. But since I live in DC I don't get the per diem that others get (which is VERY generous). So essentially I am taking a hit in the beginning, mostly because I am locked into an expensive lease. However, once my lease here is up I will end up ahead. When I live abroad, my housing will be paid for. So even though I get less dollars, my largest expense will be gone. Also, when serving abroad I get local holidays off as well as U.S. government holidays!!!! Of course, I've heard that working in an embassy is not exactly a 9-5 kind of thing but that is fine!!!

10) So what will you be doing?
We shall see! I'll tell you on the blog (well depending on if I get internets or not)! One of my first two tours will be a consular post. I am actually excited about this - it involves processing visas and helping out Americans abroad who have gotten themselves in a jam. After that, I will be an economic cone, meaning that my jobs will focus more on economic issues - helping U.S. businesses export to the country, gathering data, helping set up development/aid programs.

Okay, these are the most common questions I've gotten so far. But....any others I'll tackle if I can...send 'em in!