The Foreign Service Journal, September 2003

in the employ of the Department of State, as well as much smaller numbers in the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Foreign Agricultural Service. Wherever they work, Foreign Service specialists do a great variety of jobs — some highly professional, like doc- tors and psychiatrists, and others more technical and administrative (like the many who keep computers and communications equipment running). By far the largest categories of State Department specialists are Diplomatic Security, Information Management, and Office Management Specialists. (See the table on p. 26 for a full count of State’s specialist categories and num- bers.) USAID Foreign Service specialists include econo- mists, contracting officers and lawyers, while those employed by the Foreign Agricultural Service are veteri- narians. As part of its Diplomatic Readiness Initiative, the State Department for the past two years has emphasized recruiting, of both Foreign Service specialists and gener- alists, above attrition levels to make up for severe hiring shortfalls in the 1990s. Thanks to the clout of Secretary Colin Powell with the administration and Congress, the number of new-hire FS specialists has increased by around 600 since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2001, with more continuing to be hired. In earlier years, the department often suffered from shortfalls in key personnel categories, but that’s no longer true. Director General Ruth Davis, who responded via e-mail to questions from the Journal , said the department “had basically completed our specialist hiring for Fiscal Year 2003 by May, five months before the year ended.” One Information Management Specialist who has been at State since 1990 says that information technolo- gy hiring has drastically improved, partially because of “very dynamic” leadership within the IT sector at State. “This is the first time the IMS group has been fully staffed,” he says. In the accounting field, the downturn in corporate America has helped State hire highly quali- fied and experienced FMOs. Foreign Service Rules Unlike generalists, candidates seeking to join the Foreign Service as specialists do not take a standardized written exam. Rather, their qualifications are scored by an evaluation panel, and acceptable candidates are brought in for an oral examination geared to the particu- lar specialization. The Foreign Service grades of entering specialists have steadily increased over the years. One IMS recalls that in 1990, IMSs generally entered the service at FP- 8 or 9; now they enter at the 05 level, “a vast differ- ence.” Susan Struble, director of the assignments divi- sion at HR, says that HR’s analysis of the job content “determines the maximum grade for a given skill code.” Specialists are in most cases subject to the same prac- tices that govern Foreign Service officers. Specialists have rank in person, are subject to worldwide availability, and are governed by “up or out” rules. Each specializa- tion functions more or less as its own “cone.” After 20 years of service, specialists age 50 or older may leave. “You can cash in and take your annuity,” says Gloria Junge of State’s Human Resources Bureau, the career develop- ment chief for entry-level specialists. Time-in-class and time-in-service rules also apply, though Junge says the TIC period is longer for specialists than for FSOs. Many specialists stay with State for 25 or 30 years, or even longer. Specialists may join the Service from ages 21 to 59, and must retire at 65 (57 for DS agents). Over the past three years, the retention rates for both specialists and generalists have averaged 95 to 96 percent. The voluntary retirement rates for that period averaged 2.9 percent for specialists and 2.1 percent for generalists. While most specialists join and stay within a given specialization throughout their careers, the service also provides several ways in which specialists can change career paths. One is the Functional Specialist Program, which permits specialists within certain areas to achieve upward mobility within the specialist ranks. In this sought-after program, Office Management Specialists, Information Management Specialists and Diplomatic Couriers train for one year and then move into a new specialization such as Human Resources or Financial Management. In addition, specialists may do excursion tours over- seas in hard-to-fill FSO skill groups, which can be a step toward specialist-to-generalist conversion. Moreover, since the early 1970s, the Mustang program has permit- ted specialists to compete for appointments as junior Foreign Service officer career candidates. Plus, as the 22 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 3 F O C U S Bob Guldin, a former Journal editor, is now a free-lance writer and editor in the Washington, D.C. area.