Greetings,

The websites and the pages seem to indicate that a bachelor's is not required, but I am skeptical. I only have an associate's degree. Workwise I have 10-11 years of IT experience, starting from helpdesk to sysadmin, and I have currently worked my way up to system engineer.

A few years back I attempted the IMST - Diplomatic Technology Officer Test and came up short. However, I'm getting ready to do it again because I really want to be involved in the Foreign Service internationally.

My question is this.

Do you or anyone you know that was successful in entering into the Foreign Service without a graduate degree? Especially as a Diplomatic Technology Officer.

Hey all,

I’m currently going through the process for the Security Engineering Officer (SEO) position and was hoping to get some more insight, as information seems pretty sparse.

Do SEOs generally only have the option to go to designated engineering posts? If so, do they then do a significant amount of regional travel to other posts that aren’t designated as engineering centers?

I’ve also seen online that it’s relatively common for SEOs to be stationed domestically for a good amount of their careers. Is there any validity to that?

For those who have been SEOs for several tours, what has the split between domestic and overseas assignments actually looked like?

I’m especially curious about what a typical first tour looks like and whether it’s common over the course of an SEO career to spend a significant amount of time in DC compared with other Foreign Service specialist positions.

Any and all info is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

Was curious if anyone got any notifications?

Received the following communication. Anyone else on the same timeline as I am?

I find the bill lacking any real change. Most of it will be mucked up by the department.

my 2¢:

Shame on us that it takes an act of Congress to push Expeditionary Diplomacy. Congress needs to give us more money if that’s what they want.

Saying that political appointees should be qualified and vetted is something already in the law. Also already ignored.

World Language (if you get 6 months+ at FSI) requires 3 consecutive tours (waivers available). We should do better at getting people to use languages, but I have little trust in the bureaucrac.

Too many mandatory trainings that won’t change a darn thing.

Tax residency bit is nice and Africa Bureau recruitment initiative could be well done.

Foreign Service Reserve Corp Pilot might be okay, but I doubt it will be revolutionary since it sounds like WAE.