The Process

The State Department has a vast amount of information about becoming a Foreign Service Officer (FSO) on their website.  If you are very interested, check it out, but let me explain it briefly and give you a time line with how it impacts us.

First, what is a Foreign Service Officer?  At the State Department, this person is called a Diplomat.  They represent US policy, business interests, and citizens abroad.  Diplomats can fall into one of five “cones,” and each serves a different role at an embassy or consulate.  The cones are:

• Consular: Consular Officers protect Americans abroad and strengthen U.S. border security.

• Economic: Economic Officers work on economic partnerships and development, support U.S. businesses abroad, and cover environmental, science, technology, and health issues. 

• Management: Management Officers run our embassies and make American diplomacy work.  

• Political: Political Officers analyze political events.  

• Public Diplomacy: Public Diplomacy Officers explain American values and policies.

I am in the management cone.

The process to become a FSO starts with a written test called the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT).  The FSOT is offered three times per year and consists of multiple choice questions and an essay.  The questions range from US History, to computer usage and everything in between.  A passing score on the multiple choice section gets your essay graded, and a passing essay moves a candidate to the next step in the process.  I passed the FSOT in October, 2009.

After passing the FSOT, I was asked to submit five essays.  This section of the process is called the Personal Narrative (PN).  The PN along with work history, education, background, and FSOT scores are then sent to the Qualifications Evaluation Panel (QEP).  How someone passes the QEP is really a mystery, but I found out that I passed in late January.

Tomorrow, I schedule the last step in process, the Oral Assessment (OA).  The OA is basically a full day interview in Washington, DC made up of three parts.  There is a group exercise, case management, and a structured interview.  A passing score is 5.25 and you score is given to you before you leave for the day.  I will update when I know I am going to Washington.

Once passing the OA (hopefully), I will have to pass medical and security clearance.  From there I would go to Washington, DC for “orientation” called the A-100 along with any additional training and language school necessary for my first post.  We would be in DC anywhere from 3 – 12 months, but likely somewhere on the longer end since I don’t speak a second language fluently.  We would find out the location of our first post at the end of the A-100, about our third month in DC.

That’s all for now, I’ll update tomorrow.