The Foreign Service Officers
The Foreign Service is often the first thing that comes to mind when people think of a global career. And unlike many of the other opportunities covered in this book, a Foreign Service career is indeed that -- a career. Joining the Foreign Service means accepting a professional (and personal) life spent overseas, with constant rotations every few years. It can be very rewarding, exciting and occasionally glamorous work.
While the salary generally does not match what you can make in the private sector, generous allowance perks and subsidies help make up the difference. For example, there is a hardship "bonus" for postings in difficult areas of the world, up to 25 percent above your base salary. One Foreign Service Officer commented on the pay: "There's a lot of internal grumbling about the salary, but it's really not that bad. When you look at the remuneration, you have to look at the whole package, including subsidized housing and unlimited access to American military exchanges and the American-priced foodstuffs."
Applicants enter the Foreign Service in one of five career tracks: Management Affairs, Consular Affairs, Economic Affairs, Political Affairs and Public Diplomacy. Which career track you enter as a beginning FSO (Foreign Service Officer) will influence the nature of your assignments and your career, and there is little crossover between the tracks once you have made your decision. FSOs often undergo intensive training before being posted to their first overseas assignment, including, in some cases, up to two years full-time language study. Check out www.state.gov for more information on the application procedure, and also www.afsa.org, the American Foreign Service Organization, for more information on what life is like in the Foreign Service.
Qualifications
While potential FSOs come from all backgrounds, being accepted is extremely competitive -- roughly 40,000 applicants apply for the Foreign Service exam every year, only about 400 are eventually accepted. If you are serious about joining the Foreign Service, be prepared to do your homework!
The exam is offered once a year, and studying for it can be a grueling exercise. Successfully completing the exam (and then the subsequent oral interviews) requires extensive and intensive knowledge of U.S. and world history, international relations and major political issues. Says one foreign service officer who joined in the mid 1990s: "The applicants who do best on the test are those who have literally spent a lifetime preparing for it: They're naturally interested in foreign affairs and world events, have often done their degree in that area, and have followed the news their whole life. This type of background will be invaluable."
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