Is it difficult to get a posting in Iraq with the US State Dept as a civillian?

Question

I am studying and prepping to take my FSO exam, but am considering applying with State Dept. as a civilian employee for a temporary assignment in Iraq.....question is, should I try for a temporary post now and take the test later, or should I wait to take the test?.....any advice appreciated.

Answer 1

Is there any reason you can't take the exam and then take the temporary assignment? First of all, of course, it does take a bit to score the exam, and the there's the oral. While that has to be taken in the US, you are eligible for several R n R's out of Iraq and could do the oral on one of those. Then there's the security clearance, but that should go a bit faster if you already have a clearance. Even after getting through all that, you'll likely wind up on a list for some time, so if you took the exam and passed it before going, and passed everything afterwards, you very likely still wouldn't get in, in less than a year. Plus, of course, there's no  guarantee you'll actually pass any given year, so don't let these opportunities go by.

Answer 2

As George L said, by all means take the temp position if it is available (BTW, all State Dept. positions are civilian except for the very few military officers on special detail).  You can take the written FSO exam at the embassy in Baghdad and the oral exam any time up to a about a year afterward when it suits your schedule.  And even if you were first in line to take the oral and had a great score, you could not reasonably expect to get a call to join an incoming FSO training class for at least 6 to 9 months because of the physical exam and security clearance processes.

And finally, and most discouragingly, only a very few of the thousands who take the written exam actually end up hired.  In past years the pass rate for the written has been about 7-8%. Of the written exam passers invited to the oral stage only about one in four gets put on the appointment list, and about half of those listed actually get an appointment.  Maybe the odds are better now, but it's still a long shot. You might find that a State Dept. foreign service specialist position suits you better in the long run than an officer position.