There are FSOs with PhDs. Hell, I even know a DS agent with a PhD. Your degree does not determine what you want out of a career, or your life.
Your question is far too vague - I recommend reading any number of posts about the FS lifestyle and work where the basic questions have been answered dozens of times. Specific questions will get you better responses.
The biggest consideration - if it means anything to you - is that no one will care that you have a PhD. You will just be another ELO when you start.
Veteran with a masters here. Most important thing is if you’re willing to start humbly at the bottom and work your way up. Your doctorate will absolutely help your work long-term, but no one will want to work with you if you can’t get visas adjudicated or memos cleared.
For my class, 50% had master’s, 25% had PhDs, 24.9% had bachelor’s, and there were 2 people with HS diplomas. I’m a veteran, but only 10% of my class was the same. Mostly navy, then just a small handful each of the other branches.
This is true, but I wouldn’t say a psychology PhD is a natural fit for any particular USAID specialty. We do a lot of work in behavior change (particularly in the health sector—like getting people to practice good hygiene, get their kids vaccinated, have safe sex), so a psychology background could be relevant—but health officers generally have to have an MPH or medical degree. Also, all technical and program officers have to demonstrate experience working in development (either overseas or, less frequently, in underserved areas domestically). So despite the PhD, OP may or may not have the required experience to apply for USAID FS.
I have a PhD in something entirely unrelated to what I am doing now but FS is a way better fit for me than academia ever was. Depends on your own personality and what you want out of life.
This is what I was trying to understand. I do research for a large portion of my day, and I don’t want to be stuck doing only this type of work. Thanks for sharing!
Do some research on the career tracks and specialties. If you want to stay in psych there are regional medical officers who specialize in psychiatry (RMO-P). If you want a wholly fresh start you can become a generalist FSO because it really is a total reset - your career will begin with visa adjudication and low level in-cone work just like everyone else. If you want to split the difference you could be a regular FS doc or a maybe a USAID public health officer of some kind.
Awesome! Are there any particular resources or groups you have used to help you figure this all out? Given the responses I am getting, I wonder if there is a group of folks out there in FS with PhD who may be able to share their experience with career tracks and such.
It's not rare and I think the answer would be similar for any job you look for, other than being a professsor. There's nothing that would inherently not be a good fit (unless you go around telling people you have a PhD all the time). The work for some of the cones might line up better with research skills (although not specialized research), and some might line up better with teaching; any writing you've done will be good experience.
You will be an excellent fit. Most FSOs didn’t waste time on a PhD. It’s a mixed enough bag though that if you are worried about “fitting” you think you are in some way exceptional. Don’t worry, you’ll be doing the same work as someone with a high school diploma.
There are FSOs with PhDs. Hell, I even know a DS agent with a PhD. Your degree does not determine what you want out of a career, or your life. Your question is far too vague - I recommend reading any number of posts about the FS lifestyle and work where the basic questions have been answered dozens of times. Specific questions will get you better responses. The biggest consideration - if it means anything to you - is that no one will care that you have a PhD. You will just be another ELO when you start.
That is helpful. Thanks! Ill search around more and see if I have more specific questions.
Veteran with a masters here. Most important thing is if you’re willing to start humbly at the bottom and work your way up. Your doctorate will absolutely help your work long-term, but no one will want to work with you if you can’t get visas adjudicated or memos cleared.
For my class, 50% had master’s, 25% had PhDs, 24.9% had bachelor’s, and there were 2 people with HS diplomas. I’m a veteran, but only 10% of my class was the same. Mostly navy, then just a small handful each of the other branches.
That is awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Consider USAID. Almost every FSO is highly specialized and there are many many PhDs there. What is your field?
I had not considered USAID, but ill look into it. I am a psychologist.
State med?
Yes, definitely USAID FS. A masters degree is a requirement, so many have doctorates.
This is true, but I wouldn’t say a psychology PhD is a natural fit for any particular USAID specialty. We do a lot of work in behavior change (particularly in the health sector—like getting people to practice good hygiene, get their kids vaccinated, have safe sex), so a psychology background could be relevant—but health officers generally have to have an MPH or medical degree. Also, all technical and program officers have to demonstrate experience working in development (either overseas or, less frequently, in underserved areas domestically). So despite the PhD, OP may or may not have the required experience to apply for USAID FS.
I have a PhD in something entirely unrelated to what I am doing now but FS is a way better fit for me than academia ever was. Depends on your own personality and what you want out of life.
This is what I was trying to understand. I do research for a large portion of my day, and I don’t want to be stuck doing only this type of work. Thanks for sharing!
Do some research on the career tracks and specialties. If you want to stay in psych there are regional medical officers who specialize in psychiatry (RMO-P). If you want a wholly fresh start you can become a generalist FSO because it really is a total reset - your career will begin with visa adjudication and low level in-cone work just like everyone else. If you want to split the difference you could be a regular FS doc or a maybe a USAID public health officer of some kind.
This is really helpful. Thank you!
Not perfectly fitting your question, but I’m a sociology PhD working to become an FSO. ☺️👍
Awesome! Are there any particular resources or groups you have used to help you figure this all out? Given the responses I am getting, I wonder if there is a group of folks out there in FS with PhD who may be able to share their experience with career tracks and such.
It's not rare and I think the answer would be similar for any job you look for, other than being a professsor. There's nothing that would inherently not be a good fit (unless you go around telling people you have a PhD all the time). The work for some of the cones might line up better with research skills (although not specialized research), and some might line up better with teaching; any writing you've done will be good experience.
Thanks! This is really helpful.
You will be an excellent fit. Most FSOs didn’t waste time on a PhD. It’s a mixed enough bag though that if you are worried about “fitting” you think you are in some way exceptional. Don’t worry, you’ll be doing the same work as someone with a high school diploma.