WinterIsSlumming

One more - language assessments require a score of 3 (or 2, for critical languages). I'm haphazardly trying to time my language assessment to maximize the length of time I've been studying. What's your rough estimate of the number of semesters we'd probably need in a particular language (let's say middle of the road in terms of difficulty, easier than Mandarin but a bit tougher than French) to hit a two or a three? Additionally, roughly how far into the process does this language exam occur?

Thanks for the impressively fast reply! Additionally, your candor about hazardous postings was really appreciated. Is the point scale 1-10 for a new hire? If that's the case, a critical language bonus seems like it would be pretty helpful. It seems so strange that they don't jump on that sort of prior work. Would asking what languages you came in with break some of the anonymity? I'm curious about the role of consulates in the economic track. In areas with more diplomatic manpower, would economic officers have opportunities to work in consulates in commercial and industrial centers - extending my old example even further, Karachi or Mumbai - as well as embassies in political centers like Islamabad or New Delhi?

This thread has been incredibly helpful, and I really appreciate your fielding so many questions! I've got a few more - I'm working on a dual degree program between SIPA and Mailman, and the latter has had a pretty heavy focus on health and human capital in the developing world. Part of what attracted me to the economic track is the State Dept website's brief mention of economic FSOs addressing 'scientific, environmental and health issues.' For some reason I'm picturing day-to-day economic track work coming straight out of the Economist's dismal finance section, which is a little less appealing. Have you or your colleagues had much of a chance to work on peripheral issues like health or education without having to hitch rides with USAID? By the time I graduate I'll have four or five semesters of two 'highly critical languages' - Hindi and Urdu, plus a regional focus on South Asia. I can see the logic of sending a new FSO with a background in French or Spanish to a relatively diverse collection of embassies, but would having a background in more uncommon niche languages have much of an impact on selection or placement? This may be well outside your regional focus, but is there a more consistent demand for FSOs in embassies and consulates in India or Pakistan? Piggybacking on that question about Pakistan, have you spent much time in countries with uh substantial danger allowances? While preserving your anonymity, can you tell me a bit about it? Has PTSD been a common problem among FSOs? How much opportunity is there for economic officers to work on following a country's political scene without elbowing their way into a tour in the political cone? Is there very much crossover work with political officers? As far as quant backgrounds go, I doubt I'll have anything beyond intermediate micro and macro and some mid-level statistics classes. Maybe calculus, econometrics, or game theory if I'm feeling pretty masochistic. Have any particular econ classes been really helpful? Finally: I get the appeal of the political track, but the economic track seems so interesting! Is it really the least competitive?