What is the actual work of a person who works at a US Embassy?

Question

I am really considering changing my major to International Studies, and minoring in french, and apply to work at a US Embassy. What types of jobs can a foreign service officer do, and what is the actual work that they do? Is it fun and rewarding? How difficult is the job? Just curious, what is the salary?

Answer 1

Like the Colonel says, there is no one job or one track to getting a job in the Foreign Service. The Service divides the work into 5 groups, known as cones in dipspeak; political, economic, public diplomacy, consular and administrative. However, most everyone does consular work in one or both of the first 2 tours abroad, and at least in theory, anyone can work in any of the 5 cones at some point. The politicals deal primarily with political issues, etc., etc. etc, however things happen and anyone can find themeselves doing any number of things from one day to the next. Most of the Americans who work for the Foreign Service are officers and considered generalists, for good reason. They're expected to do whatever needs to be done whenever it needs to be done. And not all of the work is done inside an embassy by any means. At the moment, there are literally scores of officers working in the field in Iraq and Afghanistan, trying to convince folks in both places to support the local government, and US policy of course. Many of them work along side Army and Marine units. Usually, wherever some crisis is in progress, you'll find Foreign Service officers working at some level, more than occasionally in harm's way without the benefit of military training or arms.

Many officers worked in Kosovo during the war there as diplomatic observers, while fighting was ongoing. Same for Bosnia, and Northern Iraq after the first Gulf War (officers were lost in both locations). Various embassies and consulates have been attacked as well, resulting sometimes in losses to officers and staff, like Jeddah, Tashkent, Damascus, Athens, Casablanca  and others. Other officers have found themselves in countries suddenly thrust into war and then worked to protect and evacuate Americans out of the war zone, like Beirut summer before last.  Diplomacy is not a non-contact sport anymore. So, when you ask about difficulty, keep that sort of thing in mind as well.

Just remember you can't apply directly, you have to pass the competitive exam which has 2 parts, and 2 cuts. Then, they'll consider you. Is it fun and rewarding? Some days more than others, I'd imagine, but it varies from day to day and location to location. If you'd like a job where you're doing visas one day and listening to incoming the next, then there's nothing else like it.

Answer 2

All the answers to your questions are available at: careers.state.gov

The jobs vary with both ones career track and where they are working. It is a tremendously variable career.

Answer 3

It usually amounts to no more than him or her extending his/her hand for a paycheck every two weeks.