My Background: Part 5, Onward!

What happens next? I passed the Foreign Service Officer Test in December of last year, and the Foreign Service Oral Assessment in April with a score of 5.5 out of 7 (the passing mark is 5.25). But I haven't quite gotten my dream job yet.

In order to be hired as a diplomat, you need to be medically cleared for worldwide availability (that is, you must be free of any medical conditions that require access to first-world health care facilities). You also need to obtain Top Secret security clearance from the federal government. Candidates who complete both clearances are then reviewed by a panel of State Department officials for "Final Suitability"; this panel looks at the clearance investigations, resume and any other pertinent information, and has the final say on who is suitable to become a U.S. diplomat.

Once I pass the Final Suitability Review, I will be put on a register of candidates who selected the Political career track (the other tracks are Public Diplomacy, Economic, Consular, and Management).

They recruit FSOs in classes of between 50 and 100 people (around 10-20 from each of the five registers). There are typically four classes in a year. The registers are sorted first by score and then by the date of joining the registry. So I'll be recruited ahead of anyone already on the list with a 5.3 or 5.4, while anyone who reaches the list after me with a higher score than mine would be offered a place before me. If you haven't been recruited after 18 months on the register, or if you turn down two offers, you drop off and have to start all over again.

My plan is to start all over again anyway as soon as I'm eligible (one year after the first FSOT), trying to get a higher score in a different career track (Public Diplomacy). You are allowed to be on two registers at once, which makes it more likely that the recruiters will get down to your name on one of them. I also plan to try to improve my score by passing a foreign-language test, which would bump my current score up to a 5.67, which would be in a pretty good position on the Political list.

So that's how it came to pass that I'm hopeful for a new job, as much as I love where I am now. I'll be sorry to leave ASHA if I get onto the register and receive an offer, but the skills I've learned here in terms of managing bureaucratic processes and working toward a larger goal, not to mention what I've brought with me from my previous career in teaching English, will serve me well in the future, whatever that future may bring.