LF Advice: my boss posted a FT perm position, and has started interviewing, should I ask to be considered as a candidate?

I'm on a 1.5 yr contract and have started this job <5 months ago. My boss recently told us she would be posting FT perm position on our team. She never spoke to me about progression within the org yet and did not encourage me to apply for it.

The position doesn't require as much analysis as my current one and therefore pays less as well. The deadline has passed and my boss has now selected candidates for the position and will start interviewing them soon. I've been told that it's exceedingly rare for these positions to come around. (My colleague roasted me for not applying--I said that my current position would allow me to progress and learn more, but they said you gotta start somewhere).

I want to ask my boss about being considered but I'm not sure how to approach this? Or if I should do it at all...I feel like I'll be missing out if I don't? Is this worth pursuing for the sake of trying to figure out what to do in the future?

PS Sorry for poor formatting...

usa jobs
usa jobs resume
usa hotel jobs
usajobs
usa jobs federal government
usa job in ksa
usa jobs
usa jobs login
usa jobs gov
usajobs.gov
www.usajobs.gov
usajobs.com
usajobs
usajobs.gov official