Working as a Foreign Service Officer?

Question

I'm in high school and I'm currently wondering how hard is it to be a foreign service offcer and what classes should I take.

Answer 1

As others have said, the process of getting hired into the foreign service is pretty rigorous, and on a statistical basis a very long shot.  I couldn't recommend any particular area of study to prepare you either for the selection process or for service overseas, except to note that proficiency in "hard" languages is always highly valued whether you end up in the diplomatic service, an NGO, or a private company.

I can't agree, however, with the comment that foreign service life is less well-suited for families than singles. My three children look back very favorably on their experiences even though we served almost entirely in what were generally considered undesirable posts. I think the fact that they had friends and playmates of every color, religion and ethnic persuasion has made them comfortable, open and accepting in their adult relationships today.

Answer 2

It's plenty hard taking the exam.

The process includes the written test, the oral test and scoring high enough to get an offer.  Getting past the test can be challenging.  Check your library for sample exams.  

English is half the exam. You have to be able to know grammar, punctuation and complex construction. Beyond that, a bit of everything is in the exam- American History, Math, Economics, PoliSci, etc.  It won't do you much good to think that a PoliSci major is sufficient because it isn't. If I were going to suggest a bit of extra cramming, I'd say learn the Founding Fathers part of history.

You can sign up for the entrance exam. It's a good experience. Don't be discouraged if you, an otherwise excellent student, get something like 50%. The exam is designed to discourage people from trying.

The second part is the oral exam. Several very capable, very senior people will be in the room with you and other applicants. They'll look for good things from you in this part of the process.

If you score somewhere around 90%, you have a good chance of getting a job offer. A lot depends on the number of hires they have that year.

Being in the Foreign Service can be good and bad.  You won't serve only in Rome, Oslo and Paris. You will be urged (read "squeezed") to take Tashkent,  Ouagadougou or Quito or any other places where life can be full of basic challenges. Weather, isolation, disease and lack of infrastructure are just a few of the challenges.

The Foreign Service isn't such a good place to raise a family. Oh, there will always be the Big Event for the Fourth of July, but your children may grow up thinking they're better than everyone (because mostly they are) and they may get into dangerous activities (like drugs) because the $10 you give them buys a lot of illegal stuff. But if you're single or your children are grown, it's a great life. If you get promoted a bit before you have children, you may have the choice of living in DC or on bidding on jobs where the bad stuff isn't so bad.

Answer 3

Are you asking how hard the job is? Or how hard it is to get the job?

Getting the job is very competitive, as the poster above explained.

Doing the job can be hard depending upon your expectations. You must be prepared to serve worldwide at the discretion of the U.S. government, to move every few years and uproot yourself and your family, and to learn foreign languages.

Answer 4

Foreign Service Office is an easy job if the person has a working knowledge of international relations which means that Politics, Government, Geography and Foreign Diplomacy are right courses to be studied.