The Department of State has approximately 270 diplomatic missions around the world.  One of the terms of the contract into which I entered with the DoS is my agreement to worldwide availability.  They mean that quite literally: my first two tours will be directed, meaning they will tell me which of those 270 missions I will serve in.  Today was an exciting day for us, as we received our “bid list,” the list of specific job openings which we are likely to be directed into.  We now get to spend the next 12 days researching those posts and jobs, and ultimately submit our feedback on which of those we would prefer, and why.  I am not permitted to disclose the exact composition of our bid list, however I was very pleasantly surprised to see some of the options.  The list is subject to change up through our Flag Day, but I can safely say that the members of the 190th A-100 will be working in some amazing places, doing some amazing jobs.   Within the limits of my permitted disclosure, I wanted to share some of our excitement.

Our bid list includes jobs on 6 continents.

Roughly 60% of us will be using a language other than English in our work.

We will be doing work in 13 languages other than English.

As we delve into the substantive training for our work as Foreign Service Officers, I get more and more excited.  I am proud to be part of this group of dedicated, driven individuals, who have all chosen to serve our country, and I look forward to the rest of our training journey and to my new career.