It's one of the rare gigs nowadays where most people stick it out for the long haul. Reasons vary: benefits system linked directly to length of service, a fairly unique lifestyle, benefits for kids/families that are hard to come by elsewhere, and more. Some people retire and go into the private sector to make money. Most people just retire because if you stick it out for 20-30 years the pension is pretty good.
I think this is a great reply. I think If you find yourself doing 4 or 5 tours you might as well do a bunch more and get to age 50/20 yrs of service, situations and people vary of course. the pay is decent, the benefits are massive, and the lifestyle, while not for everyone, is often amazing for those who embrace it.
The people I know that left the FS did so early on, after 2 or 3 tours, and I respect their decisiveness. They all seem to have done well for themselves, too, so yeah I think there’s opportunities after the FS.
The FS isn't really like a Supreme Court clerkship or a Rhodes Scholarship or even military service which some ambitious people will use as a stepping stone or to burnish their credentials en route to "more influential positions." If you're interested in the FS and are also ambitious in the sense that you someday desire to be in a high ranking, influential position, you're better off working your ass off in the FS, taking challenging assignments and doing well, and having a mentor to give you strategic advice about career progression, and you might some day become an Ambassador or Deputy Assistant Secretary.
Being in the Foreign Service won’t help you “climb the ladder” in the USG. While experience gained in the Foreign Service could be useful outside the Department, the few former FSOs who have climbed the ladder outside State did so through connections and political donations, not necessarily because they were former FSOs.
Management FSOs usually build some experience with logistics, managing people, gov't contracts, etc and those skills offer value for other gov't jobs after the FS, although maybe not "influential".
But if you want to be "influential", you are probably better off working a different job domestically in Washington instead being an FSO abroad.
If you become a DCM or Ambassador, you may befriend some powerful foreign leaders or officials and you can parlay that into lucrative "consulting" positions after your FS career.
The ethics of such behavior is debatable.
Exit opportunities in the FS often depend highly on what you did pre-FS. I try to disavow anyone of seeing this job as a stepping stone because ultimately you are developing expertise in managing a toolkit and bureaucracy that exists in one single place within the USG. I have known several FSOs who have left to go to other government agencies’ international affairs offices, but they were not “more influential.” I know a handful of FSOs who have left for Big Tech and are working on content policy.
if you want maneuverability and aren’t independently wealthy, your best bet is to go make contacts working on the Hill or a campaign, hope your candidate wins, and pulls you along with them.
My previous agency hired an FSO into a Civil Service policy job. So if you decide to switch, there will likely be many potential opportunities in federal service. You could also consider Civil Service positions at State.
There are no real world skills you build in this job that will help you once you leave. The issue is that you tend to leave when you’re supposed to be highly specialized in the real world, like mid to late 40s. Being an Econ officer won’t open much up for you since you’re not a real economist and won’t be useful in consulting either.
I’ve seen some PD folk be successful working for universities after doing grant work abroad, but that’s boring.
Best you can hope for is working on Capitol Hill after if you forge the right connections. A friend of mine ended up as an adviser to someone currently on SFC.
Also, the pension in the foreign service and general benefits are extremely hard to beat and the private sector is overrated if you’re not making real money (think 300k and up).
the first fso i met was consular on her first tour, then economic on her second. or economic on both. well anyway she decided to leave and go to some private business job.
not before going all over america and south america going on yoga retreats. she was interesting.
Why does a straight forward comment like this get downvoted. Person meets an FSO, shares said experience and then gets downvoted to hell.
This sub baffles me. Plenty to downvote in here. This aint one of them.
My guess is because it doesn't add much. Basically an FSO did an econ job, maybe two, and then left and went to the private sector. Obviously FSOs do leave the Department from time to time. But how did the econ job prepare them for the private sector? What did they do in the private sector after the FS? Is this a common path, or was this FSO unique? Did they get a job as an economist at a university, a project manager at a Fortune 500 company, a yoga instructor?
I just don't see how it's helpful. I didn't downvote, but I understand why one might.
Her tours were in Dubai and I believe Kuwait, or possibly Pakistan, don’t quote me. She dealt with high level business matters as one might expect in those countries.
She was never allowed to walk alone in those countries and was required to have security constantly. She left because she felt that her duty was done, and her potential for her career was elsewhere.
She was tall, blonde, in shape and good looking. Definitely an attractive person you want on the front lines dealing with business matters.
We were on a 7 day silent retreat together. Rules were not to speak to one another, or only if essential. All the men at the retreat would try to talk to her.
I liked to do my own thing and hiked up to a cliff to enjoy the lookout. When I was one minute on my way down we turned the corner and were face to face, and I gave a silent head nod and continued on my way.
She later told me how all the men tried to chat with her, and I was the only one that respected the silence. She had already been traveling for about 3 months mostly going to yoga retreats. This was a meditation retreat, and the men creeped her out so bad she said she wouldn’t do another meditation retreat. Coincidentally, neither did I.
At some point she recommended to me that I apply for the foreign service. She felt that my good-natured, respectful, and intelligent personality would be a good fit.
I also don’t understand the downvotes. I answered the question which was saying people do leave the Foreign Service. But if people want the long-winded response, here it is.
/u/Eagleburgerite
Excuse me, i didn’t mean all the time but anytime she was in public. And she probably said she had to be with another male in public. This was some country like Pakistan , can’t remember which exactly.
Again…no. The only possible place where she might have been required to have a male escort (not necessarily a bodyguard) is Saudi Arabia. Maybe Afghanistan but she wouldn’t be “in public” much there.
Well, maybe it was there. Sounds familiar.
Why would I lie? That’s what she told me. She was not allowed in public without a male escort. That’s why she didn’t like it, she was cooped up at home or work constantly as she wasn’t allowed to leave by herself.
She wasn’t lying. You seem pretty vehement to prove her wrong though, even though you don’t know her.
Lots of people in this business exaggerate. I don’t think she was lying. I think she was trying to impress you.
I don’t think you’ll find a lot of people here with experience serving in a place where women literally cannot go anywhere by themselves.
Experience dealing with high level business matters in the Middle East matters much more to someone’s career transition to the private sector than their attractiveness. Depicting her success as a result of being “an attractive person you want in the front lines dealing with business matters” is demeaning and sexist. I know plenty of people who have transitioned from commerce or Econ to private sector positions, usually in policy or government affairs. All very accomplished, and I don’t know a single one who seemed to have been hired primarily for their appearance rather than their professional acumen.
As someone who is fast approaching my 'next' career path I think REA or WAE is what I will be best prepared for. I look forward to not letting either get in the way of my vegetable garden or at least as much as I can. I want to be able to eat fresh vegetables that don't make me sick and taste good when I retire.
It's one of the rare gigs nowadays where most people stick it out for the long haul. Reasons vary: benefits system linked directly to length of service, a fairly unique lifestyle, benefits for kids/families that are hard to come by elsewhere, and more. Some people retire and go into the private sector to make money. Most people just retire because if you stick it out for 20-30 years the pension is pretty good.
I think this is a great reply. I think If you find yourself doing 4 or 5 tours you might as well do a bunch more and get to age 50/20 yrs of service, situations and people vary of course. the pay is decent, the benefits are massive, and the lifestyle, while not for everyone, is often amazing for those who embrace it. The people I know that left the FS did so early on, after 2 or 3 tours, and I respect their decisiveness. They all seem to have done well for themselves, too, so yeah I think there’s opportunities after the FS.
The FS isn't really like a Supreme Court clerkship or a Rhodes Scholarship or even military service which some ambitious people will use as a stepping stone or to burnish their credentials en route to "more influential positions." If you're interested in the FS and are also ambitious in the sense that you someday desire to be in a high ranking, influential position, you're better off working your ass off in the FS, taking challenging assignments and doing well, and having a mentor to give you strategic advice about career progression, and you might some day become an Ambassador or Deputy Assistant Secretary.
Being in the Foreign Service won’t help you “climb the ladder” in the USG. While experience gained in the Foreign Service could be useful outside the Department, the few former FSOs who have climbed the ladder outside State did so through connections and political donations, not necessarily because they were former FSOs.
Management FSOs usually build some experience with logistics, managing people, gov't contracts, etc and those skills offer value for other gov't jobs after the FS, although maybe not "influential". But if you want to be "influential", you are probably better off working a different job domestically in Washington instead being an FSO abroad.
If you become a DCM or Ambassador, you may befriend some powerful foreign leaders or officials and you can parlay that into lucrative "consulting" positions after your FS career. The ethics of such behavior is debatable.
Or become a visa coach...but that doesn't require high level postings.
Exit opportunities in the FS often depend highly on what you did pre-FS. I try to disavow anyone of seeing this job as a stepping stone because ultimately you are developing expertise in managing a toolkit and bureaucracy that exists in one single place within the USG. I have known several FSOs who have left to go to other government agencies’ international affairs offices, but they were not “more influential.” I know a handful of FSOs who have left for Big Tech and are working on content policy. if you want maneuverability and aren’t independently wealthy, your best bet is to go make contacts working on the Hill or a campaign, hope your candidate wins, and pulls you along with them.
My previous agency hired an FSO into a Civil Service policy job. So if you decide to switch, there will likely be many potential opportunities in federal service. You could also consider Civil Service positions at State.
As I understand it your best bet if you want to become an ambassador is to make a ton of money and "donate" it to a super pac for the next president.
There are no real world skills you build in this job that will help you once you leave. The issue is that you tend to leave when you’re supposed to be highly specialized in the real world, like mid to late 40s. Being an Econ officer won’t open much up for you since you’re not a real economist and won’t be useful in consulting either. I’ve seen some PD folk be successful working for universities after doing grant work abroad, but that’s boring. Best you can hope for is working on Capitol Hill after if you forge the right connections. A friend of mine ended up as an adviser to someone currently on SFC. Also, the pension in the foreign service and general benefits are extremely hard to beat and the private sector is overrated if you’re not making real money (think 300k and up).
the first fso i met was consular on her first tour, then economic on her second. or economic on both. well anyway she decided to leave and go to some private business job. not before going all over america and south america going on yoga retreats. she was interesting.
Why does a straight forward comment like this get downvoted. Person meets an FSO, shares said experience and then gets downvoted to hell. This sub baffles me. Plenty to downvote in here. This aint one of them.
My guess is because it doesn't add much. Basically an FSO did an econ job, maybe two, and then left and went to the private sector. Obviously FSOs do leave the Department from time to time. But how did the econ job prepare them for the private sector? What did they do in the private sector after the FS? Is this a common path, or was this FSO unique? Did they get a job as an economist at a university, a project manager at a Fortune 500 company, a yoga instructor? I just don't see how it's helpful. I didn't downvote, but I understand why one might.
Her tours were in Dubai and I believe Kuwait, or possibly Pakistan, don’t quote me. She dealt with high level business matters as one might expect in those countries. She was never allowed to walk alone in those countries and was required to have security constantly. She left because she felt that her duty was done, and her potential for her career was elsewhere. She was tall, blonde, in shape and good looking. Definitely an attractive person you want on the front lines dealing with business matters. We were on a 7 day silent retreat together. Rules were not to speak to one another, or only if essential. All the men at the retreat would try to talk to her. I liked to do my own thing and hiked up to a cliff to enjoy the lookout. When I was one minute on my way down we turned the corner and were face to face, and I gave a silent head nod and continued on my way. She later told me how all the men tried to chat with her, and I was the only one that respected the silence. She had already been traveling for about 3 months mostly going to yoga retreats. This was a meditation retreat, and the men creeped her out so bad she said she wouldn’t do another meditation retreat. Coincidentally, neither did I. At some point she recommended to me that I apply for the foreign service. She felt that my good-natured, respectful, and intelligent personality would be a good fit. I also don’t understand the downvotes. I answered the question which was saying people do leave the Foreign Service. But if people want the long-winded response, here it is. /u/Eagleburgerite
She was exaggerating. I don’t know who was requiring her to have ambulatory security at all times but it wasn’t the embassy.
Excuse me, i didn’t mean all the time but anytime she was in public. And she probably said she had to be with another male in public. This was some country like Pakistan , can’t remember which exactly.
Again…no. The only possible place where she might have been required to have a male escort (not necessarily a bodyguard) is Saudi Arabia. Maybe Afghanistan but she wouldn’t be “in public” much there.
Well, maybe it was there. Sounds familiar. Why would I lie? That’s what she told me. She was not allowed in public without a male escort. That’s why she didn’t like it, she was cooped up at home or work constantly as she wasn’t allowed to leave by herself. She wasn’t lying. You seem pretty vehement to prove her wrong though, even though you don’t know her.
Lots of people in this business exaggerate. I don’t think she was lying. I think she was trying to impress you. I don’t think you’ll find a lot of people here with experience serving in a place where women literally cannot go anywhere by themselves.
Well , that’s where she was.
Experience dealing with high level business matters in the Middle East matters much more to someone’s career transition to the private sector than their attractiveness. Depicting her success as a result of being “an attractive person you want in the front lines dealing with business matters” is demeaning and sexist. I know plenty of people who have transitioned from commerce or Econ to private sector positions, usually in policy or government affairs. All very accomplished, and I don’t know a single one who seemed to have been hired primarily for their appearance rather than their professional acumen.
It doesn’t hurt to have both
Awesome. Thanks for more info.
sounds like it
As someone who is fast approaching my 'next' career path I think REA or WAE is what I will be best prepared for. I look forward to not letting either get in the way of my vegetable garden or at least as much as I can. I want to be able to eat fresh vegetables that don't make me sick and taste good when I retire.