They are the same in terms of pay and benefits. The main difference is that the FS has rank in person while the CS has rank in job. As is the case with military officers, foreign service officers have an up or out system. You can only serve so many years at one grade, i.e., time in class. In Civil Service, you can serve in a job without any age or time limit. Fauci has served in the same job since 1984. He has 52 years of service and counting. He is 79 and will turn 80 in December.
Would you have mingled and got to know lots of SES people or only SFS members how does it work.
I directed an inter-agency project among the 17 foreign affairs agencies. I dealt frequently with my SES counterparts in other agencies.
SES is just a repackaging of the old civil service super-grades. At one time, there were three GS "supergrades" (GS-16, GS-17 and GS-18); these were eliminated under the Senior Executive Service. Other changes were made including performance pay.
Here is a rundown in detail about how the SES functions. There is really nothing sinister or nefarious about the SES. One issue to be concerned about is having political appointee jobs converted to SES positions and then having the political appointees remaining in the position when the former President leaves. The IGs of the various agencies monitor it fairly closely. The career bureaucrats do not want political appointees taking SES positions.
From the link;
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The Senior Executive Service (SES) lead America’s workforce. As the keystone of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, the SES was established to “...ensure that the executive management of the Government of the United States is responsive to the needs, policies, and goals of the Nation and otherwise is of the highest quality.” These leaders possess well-honed executive skills and share a broad perspective on government and a public service commitment that is grounded in the Constitution.
Members of the SES serve in the key positions just below the top Presidential appointees. SES members are the major link between these appointees and the rest of the Federal workforce. They operate and oversee nearly every government activity in approximately 75 Federal agencies.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) manages the overall Federal executive personnel program, providing the day-to-day oversight and assistance to agencies as they develop, select, and manage their Federal executives.
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You are one brilliant guy to have been a part of that group!!