Also finished my registration for the Foreign Service Officer test today. I ended up choosing the Economic cone because Public Diplomacy is very competitive. Registration for a specific date and testing location will open up beginning in September. So I have 3 months to study. To that end, I ordered three books to start:
- The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know
- Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the US Foreign Service
- Inside a US Embassy: How the Foreign Service Works for America
I also ordered the official FSOT Study Guide, written by the Department of State. I'll take the practice exam first so I know my weak points and can prioritize my studying in the relatively short time I have. I'm also going to start practicing my Chinese again because it is a Super Critical Needs Language. This means [assuming I get past the FSOT, QEP, OA, etc etc etc] I get an extra 0.4 on my Oral Assessment score if I pass a speaking test. The scale is out of 7. That's the difference between 1xx/xxx on the register to 4x or 5x/xxx (where your number indicates your place in line). For reference: above a 6 is quite rare.
As I said before, my pursuit of the Foreign Service is a side project, something I'd like to do but realistically don't have various qualifications for it. Many of the applicants seem to be late-20s through 40s so I could be pursuing this for a while....
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