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At best: a 25% pay cut where you get to chill in London and Paris
At worst (much more realistic): 45% pay cut where you can never settle down with family and have to work in unsafe countries where you don’t speak the language
That’s a no for me dawg
Indeed, you’ve helped solidify my decision. TY
I was a diplomat’s kid; lived in Africa. My dad did 31 yrs as a senior foreign service officer. Loved my experiences in retrospect, but at the time I hated being uprooted every several years and losing my friends each time. It’s a very hard pass from me. Incredibly tough on wife and kids.
I understand why people want to do it. It’s really fulfilling work. The unspoken side of the foreign service is the effect on your family. It’s seen as glamorous until reality kicks in living in an unaccompanied post. I chose not to do it because I would be asking my wife to give up her own career and ambitions and I just can’t do that (I know your situation is different). Ultimately, it’s a family decision, in my opinion.
Chief
It is a rough lifestyle. I was a civilian at State and have a number of friends who are career foreign service and diplomatic security. For every cushy posting to a, say, London, there are 20 postings to a consulate in an impoverished country with locals who might be hostile to your presence, or diplomatic incidents might result in your being kicked out of the country as was the case with several friends who were ejected from Russia during that kerfuffle.
It can be immensely rewarding and also very dangerous, very unglamorous, and involve constant uprooting of your family.
While I was a young civvie at State, I thought about going the FSO route, but it would be a hard pass for me now.
Thanks for sharing your perspective.
Rising Star
I’ve worked for the state dep as a consultant before and have actually thought about applying years ago to an FSO job. After seeing what many FSOs do, it may not be as exciting as the department makes it look. A large amount of time is spent doing administrative type work with foreign nationals or citizens abroad and doing data input / case management. There are great benefits though.
Other downside I’ve seen that if you’re looking to become a higher profile diplomat one day then it’s not a straight shot. Sometimes, ambassadors come from outside the department and not from the ranks of the FSOs.
All in all, it could be a great opportunity to go experience something completely unique. It’s a very tough selection process so congrats!
Edit: you could always come back to consulting no problem if you don’t like it after a few years
Thanks for sharing! I can handle anything and i am really looking forward to it. I am just concerned for my family. But yeah, lots of cons and pros
Rising Star
This is totally a lifestyle decision
Just make sure you go in eyes open to the unglamorous aspects of the job
Right. I was just curious to see how others feel about this opportunity if they were in my shoes.
was a diplomat’s kid if you want to Dm
This is a personal life dream of mine. That said, I think it would be too hard on my wife and kids to have to move around that much.
I would take it 100%. FSO is extremely competitive, so congratulations. I’m only here long enough to pay off all my loans and then go back somewhere to feel like I am actually making a difference in the world.
Thats a great position to be in. I came from the military so the moving thing was something we were already used to, I have a couple friends who are FSOs now, with kids, and they really like it.
What is the housing limit ?
Depending on the country, but somewhere around $3k / month
No. While it definitely would be interesting, but too challenging logistically.
Hot take: Sounds like a midlife crisis kind of decision of doing something drastic but flavorful because you're bored in consulting and getting anxious about a slow moving family life and aging sapping the excitement of your youth. Career or general counseling may be in order.
Not at all. My life is great as is and not boring in the least.. but FSO is something that i’ve been working towards for a while. My mind is set, i was just curious what others thought.