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What Does a Foreign Service Officer Do?
Rollover the Photos to find out
what active Foreign Service Officers have to say.
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"In Manila, I helped arrange the extradition to the U.S. of one of the prime suspects in the 1993 car bombing of the World Trade Center. I've also worked with our European allies to secure funds in order to establish a state border service in Bosnia, and helped advance official trips for the Secretary to almost 25 countries in four different continents."
- Political Officer
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"When a volcano in Armero, Colombia erupted and buried the city, I was sent to be the coordinator of all United States Government relief efforts on the scene. Both from a hotel room and by flying with volcanologists in a U.S. military helicopter, I directed operations that searched for survivors."
- Consular Officer
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"I helped negotiate a new "Open Skies" civil aviation treaty with Italy that brought millions of dollars of new business to U.S. airlines every week, lower prices for passengers, and more flights to choose from."
- Economic Officer
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"In every country or region, in addition to my assigned duties, I made an effort to come to a personal understanding of some major issue -- in Saudi Arabia it was the role of oil in driving geopolitics, in Jordan I sought a more profound understanding of Islam and its relationship to the West."
- Public Diplomacy Officer
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"I persuaded the leading television station to overcome fear stemming from 19 years of government censorship and to sponsor, with my technical advice, the first ever televised U.S.-style presidential debate in all of Latin America. The night of the live program, viewership was 91%."
- Public Diplomacy Officer
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"I directed the evacuation of hundreds of American women and children during the Gulf War while under scud missile attack and the threat of gas attack. Military officers expressed amazement that such a relatively junior officer (the equivalent of a new Major) had so much responsibility."
- Consular Officer
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"In Africa, I overcame logistical challenges arranging a presidential visit, managed human resources, developed budgets, and served as a contractual officer. I've also flown observer missions over Sinai, Egypt; tracked human rights abuses; and followed political, economic, and humanitarian issues for two African countries."
- Management Officer
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"I negotiated for more than a year with fifteen governments to close down the post-war Tripartitite Gold Commission, which had been restoring bank gold looted by the Nazis and convert its remaining holdings into a $60 million international relief fund for aging Holocaust survivors."
- Economic Officer
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For text version of quotes, click here.
Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) advocate American foreign policy, protect American citizens, and promote American business interests throughout the world. They staff our Embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions devoted to strengthening peace, stability, and prosperity. Their perceptiveness, dedication, and creativity drive the formulation and achievement of American foreign policy objectives.
Many FSOs have liberal arts or business degrees; some have advanced degrees in specialized areas ranging from law to the social and hard sciences. Knowledge of a foreign language is not a requirement to join the Foreign Service; you will receive language training required for overseas assignments. However, the U.S. Department of State welcomes applicants who have foreign language competence, especially in Slavic, Middle Eastern, and Asian languages. Each FSO must choose one of five career tracks: Management Affairs, Consular Affairs, Economic Affairs, Political Affairs, or Public Diplomacy. Increasingly, transnational issues such as the environment, science and technology; the global struggle against diseases such as AIDS; international law enforcement cooperation and counter narcotics trafficking; counter proliferation and international action against trafficking in persons have gained priority among American foreign policy objectives. This shift has opened fascinating new avenues in which FSO's are making major contributions on the cutting edge of foreign policy. Serving in Washington, D.C., officers in all tracks implement, and thus also participate in developing, our foreign policies.
What awaits you in the Foreign Service is the opportunity of a lifetime to get to know foreign languages and cultures by living them, and to make a difference in the lives of American and foreign citizens.
FOREIGN SERVICE ASSIGNMENTS
After an initial orientation and training period in
Washington (usually between three months and one year), newly hired
Foreign Service Officers are assigned overseas. During their first two
assignments (each of two years duration), officers hold a variety of
positions in order to demonstrate their qualifications for tenure as
career Foreign Service Officers. As part of this process, officers
early in their careers perform at least one year of consular work
overseas and are frequently assigned to at least one hardship post.
Hardship posts are those where living conditions are considered more
difficult than in the United States. Such factors as climate, the
quality of local health care, crime rate, pollution levels, and
availability of spouse employment opportunities are used in deciding
which posts are designated hardship; in general terms, most locations
outside of Western Europe, Canada, and Australia are considered
hardship posts. Employees serving at hardship posts receive a "hardship"
differential of between five and twenty-five percent of
salary, depending on the severity of the hardship. For example, in
2003, Asuncion, Paraguay, is a 5% hardship differential post;
Bucharest, Romania, is a 15% post; and Kigali, Rwanda, is a 25% post.
Assignments are made based on a bidding process. From a list of current
openings, employees submit a list of desired assignments. After close
consultation with the employee, the Bureau of Human Resources then
selects an appropriate posting. Personal as well as professional
factors are taken into account in making assignments, but the needs of
the Service remain paramount.
TELL ME ABOUT THE CAREER TRACKS I MIGHT CHOOSE?
MANAGEMENT OFFICERS
It's The Adventure of A Lifetime.
Your U.S. Foreign Service adventure begins with you at the forefront of
global initiatives, taking command of complex diplomatic affairs in the
prestigious role of Management Officer. It's a job that isn't for just
anyone. It's for someone like you — who thrives on a high level of
responsibility and challenge; who wants to use your exceptional
leadership skills and detail-orientation to make an important
difference in the world on behalf of the United States; who's got the
strong networking ability and personable character to deal with all
sorts of people and cultures in varying situations; and who's driven
to, and capable of, leading multi-million-dollar operations.
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Equal Opportunity Employer.
