ALJ Written Exam

[trace]

Where is the ALJ written exam given? I thought I read that it was given in the Washington DC area. Is there a way to take it locally?

[lawandorder]

As far as I know, that's how it was last time. Everybody had to sit in DC.

[chinook]

The written exam and the structured interview are both given at OPM headquarters in DC. They are not on the same day and for some might require two trips to DC.

[belgrade]

I can speak only for myself and for a very few other people I knew, WD (always taken before the SI) and SI were given/taken on two separate dates, so, yes, it required two trips to DC. Not a cheap endeavor if one travels from the West Coast or Southwest, for example, besides flights you need to book a hotel (at least once, if not both times) and spend money on meals and cabs or rent a car.

[morgullord]

I posted this on the other thread, too: I stayed at the State Plaza Hotel the night before the WD and the night before the SI. It was a very comfortable, very convenient location. The walk to the Teddy Roosevelt Building was 5-6 minutes. One caveat: instead of eating at the hotel buffet, consider the snack bar on the ground floor of the TR Building. You can get a danish, coffee, etc., for a lot less money.

[carjack]

I got almost no notice for the test and interview, but used Priceline to get a decent airfare to DC. Because of time constraints and money, I stayed in hotels (two trips 3 days apart) that weren't as close to OPM, but I parked at the GW Hospital garage, had a good breakfast nearby, and felt pretty good about the test and interview. The Metro stops right by the GW Hospital also, if you don't want to drive.

I have come to believe that the application was actually weighted more than I would have thought, which of course I had no idea about last May, because I really felt good about the written part of the exam and I didn't mind the interview portion either. I thought the SSA interview was much worse. Maybe that's why I'm still a wannabe instead of an am.

[batboy]

Carjack, don't be disillusioned by your interview experience. When I was first interviewed by SSA after making cert (this is four years ago), I was interviewed by two SSA ALJs who were disgraceful. The woman was nasty, arrogant and singularly unimpressive, and the guy was a complete turd. They alternated reading questions like robots from a pre-printed list, and the woman actually rolled her eyes at some of my answers. This is after scoring very high on the test and waiting for a long time. I am certain neither of these two jerks had anything close to my experience level in court or in law practice. It was enough to make me re-think my desire to be an ALJ, especially with SSA. The good news is that I was also interviewed by another agency, which went well; I received an offer and I went with them. The ALJ Corps in SSA has its share of jerks, so don't take the interview to heart.

[mango]

On the last exam, the WD and SI were both in DC at OPM HQ. The WD has to be taken before the SI and there is a mandatory waiting period between the two ( don't remember how many days but know one girl that did it in the same week). Most people I talked to took them two or three weeks apart. I tried to move them to the same week, but that would have required me to go much sooner than I was prepared to go. Had to fly back to DC twice. If you get by the AR part and are invited to take the WD and the SI and want to try to move them, make the request quickly. I was told if there is some compelling reason to move them, they would consider it.