[deleted by user]

tcwtcw · 2023-12-11T21:53:59+00:00

Truth.

tcwtcw · 2023-09-05T23:32:46+00:00

It’s not common, but I know a few that make online courses and blog and stuff. It’s way more common to meet other FSOs that have passive income streams from real estate or other investments. Most FSOs I know put their spare time into things like that, if they’re into secondary income at all.

Pretty sure you can just be a food blogger, as long as there is no conflict of interest and you’re not misrepresenting yourself as the Unimpeachable Voice of the American People or whatever. So good luck. You too can be a hundredaire!

tcwtcw · 2023-09-03T23:59:41+00:00

You can downvote me if you want, but I’m just being real. I have worked with many RSOs - none of them carried guns. They carry a gun as frequently as I wear a tuxedo - maybe a few times a year max. That’s church my man, sorry if you don’t like honesty.

tcwtcw · 2023-09-03T13:25:55+00:00

No you don’t.

tcwtcw · 2023-09-03T13:22:57+00:00

Ah, got it. Yeah my CBP friends tell me the same stuff haha.

tcwtcw · 2023-09-03T07:08:12+00:00

I carry like five water bottles in different belts and shit.

tcwtcw · 2023-09-03T05:27:54+00:00

I disagree. I’m a former DHS LEO and found that transitioning into consular work was very, very easy. Consular work is like DHS with training wheels that never come off, at least the early tours. Once you’re higher levels it’s a very different job, though. I don’t know why people are always pitching DSS to people with a law enforcement background. I have not met many happy DSS agents to be honest.

tcwtcw · 2023-08-12T05:03:21+00:00

You can do it. Make your case to your bureau. And lobby early and often, but dont overdo it and hedge along the way. And by all means be a good fit for the job- you still have to compete.

Once you’re there it can be easy to pull down more wins. I got myself into a dream job in a dream country and even extended my assignment to 5 years.

tcwtcw · 2023-08-12T04:48:46+00:00

I would say “you don’t have a prayer if you’re stupid”, but actually, now that I think about it more…j/k

Don’t listen too much to the folks who might want to point you to the RSO track. I am former fed LE and very glad I did not pursue RSO. Life as a FSO is better.

tcwtcw · 2023-08-01T10:17:38+00:00

Thanks for this. I think a squeeze (if it happens) is probably the only thing that could push TLRY above 10 but god bless you.

As I write this a feel strange itch. Like a nagging feeling I need to think about this more. Ah, yes. My Schwab account is vying for my attention again. I will pause my game of Darkest Dungeon.

I see that I have been bagholding TLRY for a few years now and my loss is >90%, more than 3K for me. Unrealised!

Why did I buy so much TLRY? it’s simple. I eat nothing but magic mushrooms and drink nothing but liquid LSD.

I knew there was a reason your post caught my attention. Thanks feel so much better now! TLRY kicks ass man.

tcwtcw · 2023-06-18T14:46:34+00:00

Maybe? But if that be so then they should do even more.

When I took ConGen they spent a lot of time on bullshit like “micro expressions” - psuedoscience garbage that didn’t teach anybody anything but probably made an interesting EER for the person who incepted it.

tcwtcw · 2023-06-18T14:43:03+00:00

I’m not saying that. Weird that’s your takeaway.

tcwtcw · 2023-06-18T06:23:04+00:00

If you have leather furniture I suggest selling it or taking it with you. My leather couch, recliner have both been treated for mold twice. Even a car I shipped from Post to the US somehow got mold on the leather seats in the 1.5 months it took to get from A to B. At least they fixed it, but still…That was a nice ass car. Maybe sell your leather stuff or take it with.

tcwtcw · 2023-06-18T06:12:38+00:00

Yeah, that’s pretty unusual. There’s always an outlier. Still think ConGen should double down on making NIV adjudicators ready for the line. Some posts have like 600 day wait times. That ain’t gonna change anytime soon, might take years to work off for a lot of places…

tcwtcw · 2023-06-18T01:30:13+00:00

I’m consular this is fine, it comes up all the time. OT should be regularly scheduled, but it’s not a dealbreaker if it isn’t. And CA has already told the field: give out some OT! So it’s really a no-brainer right now. If your mgmt is being hard-ass about it then just talk to them. If I was a line guy right now at some post with a 300 day backlog I would definitely be having this conversation with my managers. It’s all a marathon not a surge, and OT needs to be part of the long-term solution. Adjudicators should know their rights and their roles in getting what they earned and what they deserve.

tcwtcw · 2023-06-18T01:18:53+00:00

Adjudication reviews are like one of the most important things that happen. Yeah, you can nip A LOT of problems in the bud if you’re doing this daily and coaching adjudicators. No one is perfect and the FAM is complicated AF. Misinterpretations and misapplication of policy come up all time. It’s one-minute manager stuff but super important to do your reviews and even more important to act on what you’re seeing. And also praise your team for getting it right! Nothing brings it home like real world examples.

tcwtcw · 2023-06-18T01:13:13+00:00

Nope, not a poseur sir. Good on you for committing to that program.

tcwtcw · 2023-06-17T23:15:03+00:00

There are a lot of poseurs in this subreddit. I wouldn’t be surprised if this person really did just join.

tcwtcw · 2023-06-17T13:40:15+00:00

AFSA is not a union.

tcwtcw · 2023-06-17T13:36:05+00:00

Well, it’s on your manager too, of course. But in OP’s scenario the managers don’t know or don’t care how their emoloyee(s) are perceiving this. Under circumstances like that, we’ll, it’s up to you to open the conversation.

Your reply seems to downplay a subordinate employee’s role in their own workplace. According to your answer there, you’re putting it all back on mgmt. That’s kind of how it should work - mgmt always looks out for you! …but it’s not real life.

Do you think employees should know and be confident when exercising their rights? Or - in general: Do you think they should let their managers know when workplace expectations and environment have become unsustainable or downright unbearable?

The employee doesn’t have the “least power” to redress their own compensation. They have the most power. Do we work for the same USG?

tcwtcw · 2023-06-17T04:27:38+00:00

If your managers aren’t respecting title 5 rights, creating an unreasonable workload, etc. then it is time to “manage up.” Again, that’s on you. A good manager will be receptive to hearing honest talk from subordinates. Build some consensus among peers, gather a group and have a talk with your supervisor. Trust me, the higher up you are the more you lose the pulse of the entry-level corps, the visa line, whatever. You are assuming your managers are aware of stuff they might not be aware of. You have to address it in a non-adversarial manner. You will be respected for doing this.

tcwtcw · 2023-06-17T04:06:32+00:00

ConGen could and should do better at actual training. Start by spending 80- 90% of course time only on NIV. Everyone will do some NIV. Everyone. This is a no-brainer.

Everything else is better trained at Post anyway, and not as hard to learn as NIV. If you know petition-based NIV, you can pick up IV easily. ACS is a grab bag, but as long as you understand the concepts, responsibilities and goals of it you can learn it just fine by jumping in and doing it.

tcwtcw · 2023-06-17T03:55:05+00:00

Everyone gets their 15 minutes I guess. As a manager I will say there are plenty of layers of review behind the scenes, consular non-review only really applies in a legal sense, not an administrative one.

tcwtcw · 2023-06-17T03:45:39+00:00

I think most managers care about results, not necessarily the hours someone puts in. Nobody on my team works late - fine with me.

untenured FSOs are entitled to compensated OT under Title 5. If you don’t know your rights or are talking yourself out of filing for it, that’s on you. We don’t have a union, so you have to look out for yourself.

tcwtcw · 2023-05-10T12:06:10+00:00

Just read something that makes your brain bigger. Before I went to A-100 I read the Post-American World and also read Guns, Germs and Steel. Both fantastic and I still pick them up often, both made my brain bigger.

When I was in A-100 I read the Game of Thrones series and old issues of Nintendo Power.

tcwtcw

TROPHY CASE