I work in a data hive: cube after cube, row after row, of people moving information from pieces of paper to computer programs, and from one program to another. This is the new factory job, dull repetitive work that will be obsoleted by China or technology any day now, just like all those jobs in Detroit. It's mind-numbing. My mind is not ( Read more... )

Tonight I am working on the SF-86, the form for the security clearance I will need for the Foreign Service, and which I am supposed to bring with me to the exam just in case I pass. It wasn't so bad, since a lot of my background info was already in there from my last clearance. I thought I was pretty much done until I got to the last section, which ( Read more... )

That's how many foreign service officers they're hiring this year. I got an email from the State Department for some reason, encouraging me to look into taking the exam. They're a bit late. 700 may not sound like a lot, but in previous years it's been closer to the 400-500 range. Now is a good time to be in the race ( Read more... )

It took me a while, but I finally found a study group for the FSOA. I've been twice now, and it's already done so much for me. The first week we did a practice group exercise, which taught me that I'll be fine if I can keep from panicking and be a little more assertive. This week a retired member of the examining board came to run another group ( Read more... )

I don't know what other women my age think about when they daydream about their futures. No matter where my daydreams start, they all end up coming around to The Choice. It goes like this ( Read more... )

Some two or three weeks earlier than expected, I got a letter from the Foreign Service Exam review board. Yes, I qualify for the privilege of taking the oral exam. Registration is next month; I'll take the test in May or June. The test itself is a day-long event including an interview, a group exercise and a case management writing exercise, all ( Read more... )

...I passed ( Read more... )

The foreign service exam was...well, it was what it was. I think I got most of the general knowledge questions right. There were maybe 3 or 4 I wasn't sure of. I rocked the grammar section, of course, and I think I did well on the essay too. You only get 30 minutes, but it was a topic I had a definite opinion on so I didn't have to use my time ( Read more... )

Thursday I take the Foreign Service Exam. Again. The most frustrating thing about the test is trying to figure out how to study for it. Sure, a basic grasp of US and world history and geography is essential. Economics is handy to know, and they always ask some management theory questions. They want to make sure you know how to use a computer. But ( Read more... )

Dear Meredith,

NO!

Hugs and kisses,
The Foreign Service