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What is the best path to a career in the Foreign Services? |
I am interested in working in the foreign services. What should I major in college and what should I do after college. Etc. If you are able to go to college in the DC area (American University, Georgetown, George Washington, George Mason, etc.) you will have a natural in to employment at junior levels of foreign service. A second language is a must, and the more obscure, the better your chances. Like Farsi, Russian, Korean, etc. The State Department recruits these universities heavily, as do the other Departments having international focus. Think about the types of things we would like to know about the other powerful countries of the world and then choose one of these areas to focus on in your degree program. As for after college - I think that most all foreign services are always looking for applicants on a continuous basis. Look on any federal jobs website, or go to the web page of the State Department, the Defense Department, or the Commerce Department. Good Luck Depends on what country you're in. Most foreign services that I know of will take any major. Depending on what you're doing, specialized services in IT, business and languages are all good ideas to major in. Especially if you do more than one. (ie get a major in Computer Science and become bilingual in French, Spanish, Arabic or Chinese.) No matter what, having more than one language is definately an asset. Canadian Foreign Affairs requires a BA, and then you do an exam held twice a year - Oct and May. I believe the US Foreign Services Dept also requires a preliminary exam. I'm not sure what the UK's application is like. Once you've completed the exam, you'll most likely be given paid training. In Canada, it's a minimum of 5 yrs paid training, with an extra year if you aren't already bilingual in French and English. In the US, I believe they will send you away for basic boot camp military training. Check out the Foreign Affairs department pages for the country you are in. Good luck! |
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