I'm nearing the end of my Security Clearance with DSS, and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for good books for a (hopefully!) soon to be FSS.
I've already read Agents Unknown and America's Other Army, and I'm looking for anything that would be useful for Foreign Service work in general (not just relevant to a DSS member).
Thanks in advance!
Anyone get stomach pain from RSO? Actually, I have been using Full Spectrum Oil which is supposed to be equivalent to RSO. I get that from Surterra on Fridays when have their big discounts. Everything was going well until recently when I started having stomach upset/stabbing pains. I stopped taking it on an empty stomach (which I love to do because it feels more like a bedtime Xanax that way) and that helped greatly but delayed and muted the effects. Thanks for your help!
USAID FSO interviews have been ongoing and there has not been an updated post to discuss interviews, reference checks, offers, and invites.
I will start. I applied for BS-93 in February 2021, interviewed in October 2021 and my references were contacted December 16th. I am now waiting to hear about next steps.
Hi pilots, got a new stick for Christmas and what better way to test it out than with 1999's game of the year?
However, there seems to be an issue with my stick (PXN F16) being recognized. Windows clocks it just fine and I've eventually gotten it working in-game but had to 'downgrade' to wxLauncher v.0.10.1 to do so. I tried every solution I could find on Google (including later wx versions) but an older wx was the only thing that worked.
So, is having an older wxLauncher an issue, or should I just get on with it and blow stuff up? Is there a proven update that will solve things (v.0.12.r3 and/or nightly build DLLs don't work)?
Questions aside, this game is twelve thousand years old and is still just the most wonderful example of arcadey space combat.
Besides one being a specialist and the other a generalist, what is the difference in roles between GSOs and a Management track FSOs?
Would you say that most CFs transition into consular FSO’s or is it pretty equally distributed amongst the tracks? I have accepted an offer for CF and am very excited and grateful but just worry that it will constrain me to consular work when I really want to be a pol track generalist
In the JPAS/ DISS system, how do you know if a clearance is still active? Does the person’s name have the company’s CAGE code associated with them? If they do not have a company CAGE code, does it mean that no one is holding their clearance and that they are inactive? On the other hand, can a person have a CAGE code but their clearance is inactive and thus the 2 year clock starts clicking for them to get it reactivated?
I think my old company forgot to deactivate/ debrief me in the system and so my clearance has been active all this time and the clock hasn’t start ticking towards the 2 years inactivity.
Hello all. I am planning to take the phone interview test to earn the additional language points, in either Mongolian or Russian. My understanding is that while only one language can be used for purposes of obtaining the points, both may be recorded and on file. In any case, does successful completion of the test for a .17 language have any impact on where an FSO is posted, especially given that the .17 languages do not require a commitment to serve in a country/region in which that language is spoken, as is required for the languages offering even higher point boosts. Any insight is appreciated!
My dream career is to be a FSO but I do have cerebral palsy which is rather mild and causes me to walk with crutches and such. Does anyone have any experience with this ? I.e available accommodation, or being in a country that isn’t very accessible
Hello r/SecurityClearance community,
I have found myself in a rather interesting situation.
My company's (100ish employees) previous FSO has left and recommended to our CEO that I be offered the FSO position upon his departure. I am fairly young and have no formal experience in security and am aware that the position of an FSO is generally more of a senior role. I am looking for general advice/tips on how to best transition into this role so that I do not harm the standing of my company with the gov and with contractors looking to partner with us on classified contracts.
Background:
I have been with the company for 1 year as an engineer and quickly gained the trust and praise of our staff. I endeared myself unknowingly to our previous FSO (who was also our VP of Operations which tells you we are a bit of a smaller outfit/startup) during the design and construction of our sponsored classified facility (I designed the facility and layout and have overseen the day-to-day construction of it with outside vendors and contractors). We do have a compliance individual who will be taking over the ITPSO responsibilities and will partner with me in splitting some of the FSO's duties initially so I'm not completely alone. He also doesn't have FSO experience, but has been more intimately involved in daily work with the previous FSO before his departure.
Additional Question:
I am currently taking the CDSE FSO program management course provided by the gov and have been reviewing the NISPOM to better understand how it relates to our facility and security curriculum we must put together to educate our employees. Are there any additional resources available out there (free or otherwise) that would be wise for me to learn from?
Any and all help is greatly appreciated. Thank you
I can’t find any information on that is the difference between Full Spectrum Oil and Full Spectrum Cannabis Oil. Is it just two acronyms for the same thing?
I believe FSO is basically extracting literally everything from the plant apart from the fats, waxes & lipids?
My 10 year mark is this month. I haven't heard a peep about reinvestigation. I know I have been enrolled in Continuous Vetting as I had a buddy who has access check, but I was under the impression I still had to fill out an SF86 at my 10 year mark.
The FSO should be alerted when I am up for reinvestigation if that needs to happen, right? Or will it need to happen since I am in CV already?
I’m curious about the living conditions of other us agencies’ employees when posted overseas.
Do they get the same benefits to include housing provisions, access to community schools, and other foreign post-related benefits same as FSOs ?
Anybody have experience or know any FSOs that have traveled with dogs? Is that a thing? I’m barely going through the interview process, so just gathering as much information for now. Thanks!
I am trying to figure out some of the key differences between these two roles. I am mainly interested in the day-today dynamics of each role: what type of work would be done; the lifestyle; the respective internal culture...
I'm in my late 40's, with a family, and have offers for both.
Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts and insights!
I’m interviewing for a post and would appreciate some insight into what sort of questions I should expect to answer or the kind of knowledge I should have? It would be great if someone could describe how an audit goes for them. I’m an audit senior already but I work in other sectors so any help is appreciated!
As a high schooler interested in foreign affairs, one day becoming an FSO officer is up there as my top career option at this point in life. That being said, as a high schooler there are pretty much zero real opportunities for experience in the field in the form of internships or something similar.
I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of how to gain practical experience related to foreign affairs/IR. I already do the typical stuff (mun, debate, etc)
Edit: I’m also fluent in Russian Thanks!
Accepted an offer for the Tech Consulting Internship at EY in their FSO division. Location: NYC Pay: $38.82/hr Background: MS in Computer Science at a Top 10 state school, undergrad in India, 0 YoE
I’m super excited to be working at EY next summer and had a great interview experience.
Now for my question - Those who have completed this internship or even work as full time tech consultants in EY-FSO, how was/has been your experience in the role? What responsibilities does the job entail and how does an average day-to-day look like in your life?
Also, if anyone could provide information on how the career progression is in this role, I’d be really grateful.
So I have a decision to make, and I’m curious if other DMs have an opinion, as I’m unsure how I want to handle it. One of my players handed me an adopted father character (Sean) who died under mysterious circumstances prior to the game. Specifically he turned to dust, after holding his own funeral. He clearly knew what was going to happen and when, and I want to do something with that. I have a few ideas, but I’m unsure how exactly I want to handle it. I know he is/was in possession of a magical artifact he acquired in his more… rogueish youth, and he feels immense guilt for the damages he caused getting. Scenario 1 Sean knew his time was coming (logical, he was a human who’s life had been extended by various means, he could easily have known how long). He dies leaving the artifact to his other adopted child, the PCs brother, who he trained to be able to use and than return the artifact, without telling him. Scenario 2 Sean isn’t dead, his death was staged so he could try and fix the situation himself. His “death” was him using a powerful teleportation spell, which he didn’t know how it would work. He is currently trapped along with his target, an old accomplice who is equally at fault, in another plane. Scenario 3 He is dead, but he didn’t die of old age. He used the same spell from scenario try and make amends with the person he wronged. At Sean’s own request this person killed him, and this death will be used to cause brief conflict with the killer, before revealing the truth.
Regardless of which I do I plan for Sean to be a major force later in the game, either freed or resurrected, I’m just not sure which I want to use. Thoughts?
I know what you're thinking, but I promise that's not it.
In the animated show Futurama, we see multiple individuals who belong to the Central Bureaucracy. Like the Foreign Service, they have ranks and a higher number equates to a better rank. The lowest ranking member that appears in the show is Warden Vogel at Grade 135 while the highest we see is Number 1.0 (whose title and grade are apparently the same).
The most commonly featured bureaucrat, Hermes Conrad, ends the series at Grade 36. His duties include serving as the head of HR being responsible for the finances of the perennially broke Planet Express Corporation. We often see him performing administrative tasks such as sorting, filing, and collating (and stamping, can't forget stamping).
So my question to you all is, what grade bureaucrat would an FS-01 be in the Futurama universe? Thank you.
A little context: I (25F) want to pursue a career in FS and I don’t have any desire (currently) to settle down / own property / do the traditional things expected of women (get married, have kids, give up my career, you get the idea). My longtime partner (28M) wants to eventually have a place he calls “home” wherever that is so he is slightly more traditional in that sense than me.
We love each other a lot and he has always been supportive of my ambition and direction so I don’t know if this is a fault line in the relationship or a common experience for women in FS. Have any of you dealt with a similar situation and how did you have the conversations with your partner?
Thank you for your insights!
I will be starting as a tax associate at EY starting January in one of the big cities (not NYC) From what I’ve read from the various posts the hours in FSO will be worse than the other tax groups, but I can’t seem to find any detailed information about working in this group besides the general “it’s brutal hours”
If anyone who worked in this group could give more details (hours worked, culture, etc) so I could prep myself mentally prior to my start date, I would really appreciate it! Thanks
I’m deciding between two offers: ey fso audit and pwc core audit
Would appreciate any insights!!
Hey All,
Curious as to how the review process for USDA and USAID FSOs differ from DOS FSOs?
I'm fully aware of the DOS EER/CBAT/360 process, but I was wondering if the review processes within USAID and USDA is similar.
From my current state of ignorance on the subject, I assume their reviews are more simple as they have less officers and positions and those agencies handle bidding and promotions differently than DOS.
