Holy moly, has it really been a year? April 11th marks my 1 year anniversary of officially being sworn as a Medical Provider in the Foreign Service. Remember this photo I posted after I got sworn in? Oh you sweet prince, if only you knew then how much camel meat you’d be eating….

It’s funny because I feel like it barely just happened yet somehow was a lifetime ago. I guess contending with camels and donkey carts in West Africa mentally distances you from the comforts of the Courthouse neighborhood I was living at in Arlington. Some of my closest orientation friends are still there in language training, while I’m knocking on a year at post and will learn my next assignment in 2 months. I guess that’s the life of the Med Provider.

Although I feel like my anniversary from the time I arrived to Nouakchott is a little more meaningful, each hiring date anniversary is incredibly important in the Federal government. For example:

A) I now have one accredited year in the FS pension system. In four years I will qualify for a small pension if I separate from the service. If I make it 19 more years (which is the plan), I’ll retire with a full pension and benefits. Truth be told, the pension is one of the sweetest parts of the job. In addition to a matched 401k like system, the pension is basically a relic of a bygone age and doesn’t exist in the private sector. A comfortable retirement is a very nice reward for government service abroad.

B) In two years I will be eligible for tenure. Tenure means I will get to stick around and is probably the most important thing to me. Employees not granted tenure after 5 years are separated out of the service, so obviously getting this and keeping my job is very important to me. The reality is most officers are granted tenure and it takes an incredibly inept or toxic officer to not get tenure, but I still am focused on making sure I get this without any hiccups.

C) In two years I will be eligible for promotion. Promotion doesn’t mean much for Medical Providers the same way it does for other positions, since all our jobs are grade blind, but it does mean more $$$. How much you are making at retirement determines how much money you’ll get from your pension, so still important.

D) In two years the amount of leave I accrue with every paycheck will increase by 50%. This is a really big deal. When you first join the government, you accrue enough leave to get a little over 2.5 weeks off per year. At the 3 year mark this jumps to 4 weeks. In a job where travel is often a driving motivator, more time off to travel is a biggie.

I guess when looking at it all, hitting 3 years is an important milestone for a variety of reasons. Either way, I am really happy I have gotten that first year under my belt. Looking forward to many more years and many more adventures! –Nick