The Diplomatic Corps: 4 Different Types
Global: An Extraordinary Guide for Ordinary Heroes
If you’re interested in working abroad for the U.S. government (like in an Embassy), you can apply to the diplomatic corps, which is called the Foreign Service. The Civil Service are U.S. government officials who primarily work in the U.S. – mostly in Washington, DC – and Foreign Service Officers mostly work abroad.
What many people don’t realize is that there are four different types of Foreign Service: the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Department of Commerce. There’s a fifth type too: professional Peace Corps staff (not the volunteers) fits in the Foreign Service Category, but it’s a limited appointment (typically five years).
The State Department Foreign Service is by far the biggest and best-known service. The State Department Foreign Service has different cones that you apply under (Political, Economic, Public Affairs, Consular and Management). You can figure out which cone is the best fit for you with this quiz. These are considered Foreign Service generalists and are what most people probably think of when they think of the Foreign Service. There are also Foreign Service specialists in the State Department Foreign Service. These are for Administration, Construction Engineering, Facility Management, Information Technology, International Information and English Language Programs, Medical and Health, Office Management, and Law Enforcement and Security. The specialist track has a different application process than the generalist track and, if you’re interested, you can learn more about that process. Some of the specialist tracks require a bachelor’s degree.
To apply for the State Department Foreign Service as a generalist, you don’t need a bachelor’s degree, but most successful candidates have one. The first step in the process is to register and take a written test that they offer all over the world and that you can only take once a year. After you pass the written test, you submit a personal narrative. After that, if you are chosen, then you go to Washington, DC or San Francisco for an oral test. You also have to get security and medical clearances. If you pass all of that, then your name gets put on a list of the people who have passed – which is ranked by your oral exam score. Having specific language skills gets you bumped higher on the list. Jobs are allocated starting from the top of the list as they become free, and your name gets dropped from the list if a position hasn’t opened up within 18 months, which means you’re back to square one and have to go all the way back to the beginning of the process if you want to reapply.
USAID Foreign Service Officers are technical experts, so to apply you need to have a master’s degree. In the USAID Foreign Service, different technical areas are called “backstops” (as opposed to the State Department’s Foreign Service, where they’re called “cones”). The technical backstops are Crisis, Stabilization and Governance, Agriculture, Private Enterprise, Environment, Engineering, Health, Economist, and Education. Other USAID backstops are functional: such as Financial Management Officers, Executive Officers (who deal with human resource issues, and building and operations), Regional Legal Officers, Contracting Officers or Program Officers (who manage the strategy, budget and reporting process).
The application processes for the USAID and State Department Foreign Services are similar in some ways. For USAID, you complete an online application that includes questions about your technical expertise. When you pass, you go to Washington, D.C. for oral and written exams. Once you pass that step and get your medical and security clearances, your name is added to a ranked list and called in the order that positions in your backstop come open. Both State and USAID have six-week orientation classes to bring you up to speed on the Foreign Service – and both usually keep you in Washington doing language and other training for a year or so before heading out to your first assignment.
The State Department and USAID have the two largest Foreign Services, though State’s is definitely bigger. With the State Department Foreign Service, you can be posted to any country with a U.S. Embassy (i.e. most countries in the world). With the USAID Foreign Service, on the other hand, you’ll only live in developing countries (given that it works on development issues). If you’re a State Department Foreign Service Officer posted to a large enough country, you might work in a Consulate, which means that you live outside of the capital city. However, USAID Missions are only in capital cities.
If you’re interested in facilitating trade and international cooperation critical to the U.S. agricultural sector, you should check out USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. And, if you’re interested in advancing and protecting strategic U.S. commercial and economic interests around the world, check out the Commerce Department’s Foreign Commercial Service.
In addition, many U.S. government agencies and departments have representatives overseas in U.S. Embassies. The difference between being in one of the Foreign Services and being a U.S. government representative in an Embassy for a department (that doesn’t have a Foreign Service) is that your overseas time isn’t necessarily a continuous long-term thing, but rather could just be one three-year tour before you return to a domestic career.
If you’re looking for reasons to pursue an international career, check out my blog post: Five Reasons to Pursue a Career in International Relations.
Views expressed are my own and not necessarily those of the U.S. government.
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