US Department of State hiring again

Always a good morning when I wake up to the email

Announcement No: IMS-2015-0002
Position Title: Foreign Service Information Management Specialist
Open Period: 04/09/2105 – 05/07/2015
Series/Grade: FP – 2880 - 05
Salary: $43,812 - $64,339
Promotion Potential: Senior Foreign Service
Duty Locations: MANY Vacancies Throughout the World, WW
For More Information: HR/REE, 202-203-5160, IMSVacancyInfo@state.gov

Information Management Specialist - U.S. Department of State

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Comments

typfromdaco

How do you determine what step you will start at?

MrAgent

I believe its determined by experience, degrees, and certifications.

This is listed on the post itself.

Initial Salary, Salary Increases, and Tenure:

Initial salaries are determined in accordance with paragraph 1 or 2 below:

Initial salary for new employees is at the FP-05 level, depending on such factors as education, certificates, and specialized experience. Salaries are determined at the time employment offers are made.

Entry-level salary for current or former federal civilian employees will be set at the rate, within the Foreign Service grade to which they are appointed, that is nearest to the base salary rate of their previous federal assignment, provided the work performed in the previous position is relevant to information management activities.

typfromdaco

Yeah I saw that, but I can't live on 48,000! I am going to do some more research, I am finally able to apply!

typfromdaco

typfromdaco wrote: »

Yeah I saw that, but I can't live on 48,000! I am going to do some more research, I am finally able to apply!

43...even worse

da_vato

typfromdaco wrote: »

43...even worse

That's just a base salary which means it is the only thing that can be taxed. You get supplemental pays like locality, hardship, hazardous duty etc., and they differ based on your assignment. These pays may not boost your pay whole lot but they will help.

wolfinsheepsclothing

Nyblizzard wrote: »

Always a good morning when I wake up to the email

Salary: $43,812 - $64,339

Do not want!

MrAgent

If it weren't such a massive pay cut, I would do it. I have several friends who are IMS folk and love it. I also was a contractor and worked with the IMS people for 4 years, had a great time.

dou2ble

da_vato wrote: »

That's just a base salary which means it is the only thing that can be taxed. You get supplemental pays like locality, hardship, hazardous duty etc., and they differ based on your assignment. These pays may not boost your pay whole lot but they will help.

Is there a percentage for that? For example would calculating 25% of the base salary be an accurate representation of all that additional pay?

the_Grinch

Also remember they pay for your housing once you get assigned. So yeah 43 to 48k starting isn't great, but when you don't have to pay rent that isn't too bad. As for what the additional pay would be depends on where you are. Some places, it costs a lot to live there thus you get a bigger boost, others not so much.

wolfinsheepsclothing

MrAgent wrote: »

If it weren't such a massive pay cut, I would do it. I have several friends who are IMS folk and love it. I also was a contractor and worked with the IMS people for 4 years, had a great time.

Likewise. Just can't do that at this point in my career.

nster

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/240454.pdf

28% for the NY or Houston areas for example, that makes the pay something like 60-80K already

da_vato

Its not for everyone I can tell you that, living abroad and moving every couple of years is rough on families. Admittedly, the pay is less than you can potentially unmask in the private sector and if that is an important factor than this is not a job for you. There are far better options for someone who wishes to make a lot of money in our field.

I am taking a pretty massive pay cut to pursue this job but there are things that I am after which are far more important to me.

For those of you who apply this go around, good luck to you and to the ones who are on the fence try reading some of foreign service blogs out there (they are very informative), but I warn you, I highly recommend making this decision as a family. And for those who are against this job because of the pay I wish all the luck, I know you will find what you seek elsewhere.

Nyblizzard

For anyone even remotely considering ever pursuing this, check out the link below for a variety of blogs written by current and former IMS and/or their spouses. Over the past 2 and a half years I've gone through at least 100 of them and it has provided a large amount of insight on the various aspects of the lifestyle and application process.

Foreign Service Blogs

I've been trying to be extremely patient while working on myself to make sure I am the best candidate possible the first time I apply. This is as close to a realistic dream job as I can think of (for me), to the point where I find myself day dreaming about it on an almost daily basis

. Nothing like a new announcement to get me reflecting on how far I've come since the previous one.

typfromdaco

Well, I decided to apply for the position. I have researched this job in depth over the past few years and it sounds absolutely amazing! I believe that once I sell the house and drop one of the cars, that our expenditures will be minimal. I worry that my wife will not be able to find work, but we would be able to make it regardless. Thanks for the advice, now to contemplate how to respond to the application questions.

Nyblizzard

Good luck typfromdaco! Here's another list of blogs

Foreign Service Blog List | SubjectVerbObject

rwmidl

For those that may be interested, I'm about 6 months or so from wrapping up my first overseas tour with the Dept. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

For those concerned about the salary, yes it can be perceived as low compared to the private sector. However the "advertised" salary is not the true picture. Your final salary is based on the Overseas Comparability Pay table. Once you take that, and any hardship, COLA the post you are assigned to has, it can jump quite a bit. Factor in housing and bills are covered (you only have to pay for internet, etc), if you have kids K-12 is covered, and depending on your lifestyle, you can do ok. Plus if you speak a foreign language you can test and potentially get a bonus for that. Once you are in and you get a particular IT certification, there are bonuses for that as well.

Your initial step is based on a few factors; education, certifications, experience and if you are a current federal employee. The more of those "things" you have, the higher step you can come in as. If you are a current Fed. employee, you will get matched to the step that is closest to your current salary (not to exceed FP05 Step 14).

As for spouses, yes finding employment can be tough. However there are usually openings in the Embassy for spouses that they can apply for.

My family and I are extremely happy I took the position. We have been able to travel to places we could not have afforded to go to if I had not taken this job. We are able to put away some money each month as well as I'm able to put a bit more in to my retirement account since we don't have a mortgage payment, car payment, bills, etc.

Again, if you have any questions I'll be happy to answer as best I can.

goldenlight

wrote:

If IT or IT-related degree was earned more than two (2) years before the opening date of the announcement, you must have a minimum of two (2) years of professional IT experience within the past three (3) years.

I earned my last degree in 2008 .CCNA Cert in 2012. Don't think Tier 3 support at the cable company counts as experience.

I might apply anyway just for the fun of it. Last Government application I completed had about 20 pages and this was back before computer applications.

Jasiono

da_vato wrote: »

Its not for everyone I can tell you that, living abroad and moving every couple of years is rough on families. Admittedly, the pay is less than you can potentially unmask in the private sector and if that is an important factor than this is not a job for you. There are far better options for someone who wishes to make a lot of money in our field.

I am taking a pretty massive pay cut to pursue this job but there are things that I am after which are far more important to me.

For those of you who apply this go around, good luck to you and to the ones who are on the fence try reading some of foreign service blogs out there (they are very informative), but I warn you, I highly recommend making this decision as a family. And for those who are against this job because of the pay I wish all the luck, I know you will find what you seek elsewhere.

I agree completely here. I grew up moving every 2 years and it's hard as a child/family. I wanted to join the military as well but my wife was severely against it, and we didn't even have a child at that point. Now we do and I wouldn't think twice about it. If I were single though, I would do it in a heartbeat because I would like to move around and see the world. When I was a child, I just wanted to have friends and live a normal life. Had to make friends every 2 years and that really sucked.

da_vato

goldenlight wrote: »

I might apply anyway just for the fun of it. Last Government application I completed had about 20 pages and this was back before computer applications.

I would highly suggest it, simply because the process can take a long time (very long in some cases), and who really knows what any of our situations will be in a year or two.

goldenlight

Wow nothing has changed. Same long application process.. after 100 questions you kind of grow tired..

. First actuall employer that asked for transcripts.. debating to have some ship to me. $7.25 Wow ??

7lowe

Just to chime in, I'm wrapping up my 2nd assignment. When you look at the salaries, keep in mind that while overseas you can have almost no bills and may be living in a country with a much lower cost of living.

Within a year of coming on board, I had paid all of my non-student loan debt while also maxing out TSP for myself, IRA's for both my wife & myself, and my wife's TSP when she happened to be working.

The only reason I wasn't paying off my student loans was that I was getting SLRP. So, after 2 years of that I had them completely paid off and was completely debt free by my 3rd year.

Even though my salary is lower than some of my private sector friends, I have a much higher standard of living and savings rate than they do.

Pretty much my only regular expenses are:
Cable/phone/internet, food, and personal travel.

But, as stated by someone else, definitely make sure your whole family is on board as it can be difficult.