This week marked the end of orientation, and boy was it a productive one. As mentioned in the previous post, I learned my first assignment will be taking me to Nouakchott, Mauritania. I remain incredibly excited about the assignment, and perhaps more importantly, my family is too. My eldest daughter couldn’t be happier to be
Well, after 6 weeks of orientation, the day our class has been anxiously awaiting finally arrived, and in a whirlwind of information, nearly 200 individuals learned exactly where they will be going across this globe of ours. I am happy to announce that my first post with be in….. If you’re seeing that flag and
Not much to update. Another week has gone by, and at this point the general orientation is halfway over. I’ve really been enjoying getting to know my classmates better, and all of our instructors/speakers have been wonderful. It’s somewhat daunting when you join such a large bureaucracy, but it is so comforting knowing that the
After a hectic last week of work and a really fast move to Arlington (all within the last 72 hours), I can officially say that I am an employee of the US Department of State. This morning, I took the Oath of Office, which is the last step of the hiring process. Once that’s over,
It still feels surreal that exactly one month from today I’ll be sitting at orientation in the DC area. Sure it might be virtual to start, all done remotely (but we still have to be physically in the DC Metro), and I might have shorts on below my suit and tie that the camera can’t
This will be the last AMA post for a bit unless I get some more that trickle in. I am thinking of applying for the Foreign Service, but I’m worried about what that might mean for my husband and his job. Would he be able to work abroad or is he relegated to stay at
What is your ideal post/country if you got to choose anywhere in the world? Tough question, but a fun one. Ask my wife and she is going to tell you Spain or Italy. Broadly, the ideal post is a place I am happy in my job, enjoy my coworkers, has good local and regional travel,
How much does an MP in the Foreign Service usually make? It seems the government salaries are usually much lower than the private sector. Arguably one of the more important things to consider when starting the application process, is the salary. The Foreign Service uses a rank ordered salary schedule, and if you are familiar
“It’s a fire hose”. That is how a Regional Medical Officer that I befriended a couple years ago described the tidal wave of information and stuff you have to do once you finally get an offer from State. The past few days have been a whirlwind of information, planning, and telling family/friends about our plans.
Well, I spent a whopping 12 whole days on The Register before getting my invitation to the April Orientation (now combined Generalist and Specialist). I was sitting at work yesterday (01/24/22) checking my email when a State Department email loaded with my invite. I probably had to slow myself down and reread it a dozen
