Does anyone here work as a Foreign Service Officer?

Question

I'm thinking of taking the exam and considering the job. Any input on the facts of life involved with it beyond the State Dept's info on their website?

Answer 1

I do (but not for the US government).

Learn how to write well.  *Very well*.  Don't even think you are literate in the sense that allows you to communicate with the degree of nuance found in foreign policy circles.

Nobody will care about your PhD on international politics or your command of French if you cannot write a simple briefing paper that can be comprehended in one reading.

If you are over thirty-five years old and therefore probably completed your undergraduate degree without using a word processor (and thus are more likely to be used to writing drafts), you may have an advantage.

Answer 2

Study foreign relations, diplomacy, government, international law, French language and history of nations.