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status until they are ready to receive offers, but the 18-month timer still continues to run. It is common for a candidate with a low score to simply expire from the register, thus making the process even more competitive. In the end, fewer than 2% of initial applicants to the State
Department Foreign Service will matriculate as Foreign Service officers.
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FSO jobs go through a highly competitive written exam, oral assessment, and security investigation process before they are eligible to be hired. Of the more than 100,000 applicants for State
Department FSO positions between 2001 and 2006, only 2,100 became Foreign Service officers. Once candidates
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In extremely rare cases when no
Foreign Service officers are available, non-career civil servants can be appointed by the Secretary for entry into the Foreign Service, providing they meet rigorous standards expected of career members. These limited appointees are not officially members of Foreign
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FSO jobs follow a somewhat different process. Because USAID has a strong technical focus in many of its overseas positions, FSOs are generally recruited for specific backstops. Most successful candidates will have an advanced degree (often a masters) and pertinent job experience related to their
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New candidates are appointed from the top of the register (highest score), and candidates who are not appointed within 18 months will be removed from the register. Candidates may decline one offer; declining a second will strike their names from the register. Some candidates go on "do-not-call"
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Many leadership roles at U.S. embassies are typically filled from the ranks of career FSOs, who receive extensive training for these roles, including learning languages and cultures of numerous countries. In the early twenty-first century, about two-thirds of U.S.
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Consular
Officers are charged primarily with working with American citizens overseas on such activities as adoptions and issues in the country where stationed. In case of a disaster, these officers would be charged with evacuating Americans from the
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Management
Officers are responsible for the internal affairs of an embassy or consulate; they deal with the personnel and budgets of the embassy, contracts and services. They negotiate administrative issues with the host
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are selected through processes specific to the hiring agency. They follow career tracks separate from those of State
Department FSOs. For example, within USAID, there are multiple technical "backstops", including:
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FSOs of the State
Department are split among five career tracks, called "cones": consular officers, economic officers, management officers, political officers, and public diplomacy officers.
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security clearance, been medically cleared for worldwide deployment, and passed a final suitability review, they receive a score and are placed on a hiring register for their career tracks.
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have been career
Foreign Service members primarily drawn from the Department of State. Ambassadors have been selected from other foreign affairs agencies from time to time.
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Public
Diplomacy Officers inform the citizens of their respective countries on the actions of the embassy, including meeting with the press and giving educational events.
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personnel have received ambassadorships. FSOs also help fill critical management and foreign policy positions at the headquarters of foreign affairs agencies in
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Almost all of the remaining third are political appointees, considered patronage appointments by changing administrations. A handful of State
Department
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Economic Officers work with foreign economic agencies to facilitate economic issues as well as foreign policy dealing with technology and sciences.
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Service and must leave anytime a career officer becomes available for their positions. This is a legal requirement negotiated with the
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backstop and will undergo an interview and testing process tailored to that backstop, but otherwise it is similar to that for
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Political Officers interact with foreign governments on policy issues and negotiating policy.
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swears in the 195th Foreign Service Generalist Class in October 2018
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62:. They spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S.
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Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the U.S. Foreign Service
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422:"USAID Careers". May 17, 2010. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
342:"Careers representing America – Foreign Service Officer"
208:have completed the application process, received a
82:, and educational institutions such as the various
281:United States Agency for International Development
229:U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
74:, though some receive assignments to serve at
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385:"Career Tracks for Foreign Service Officers"
27:Member of the United States Foreign Service
387:. U.S. Department of State. Archived from
89:As of 2021, there were over 8,000 FSOs.
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462:Foreign relations of the United States
437:State Department Official Career Site
303:, the first woman in what became the
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271:American Foreign Service Association
222:American Foreign Service Association
121:Agency for International Development
146:Crisis stabilization and governance
60:foreign policy of the United States
58:. FSOs formulate and implement the
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457:United States Department of State
442:State Department Official Website
261:United States Department of State
286:United States Commercial Service
256:His Majesty's Diplomatic Service
170:Population, health and nutrition
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246:United States Foreign Service
56:United States Foreign Service
276:Foreign Agricultural Service
129:Foreign Agricultural Service
330:. U.S. Department of State.
176:Program/project development
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408:H. Kopp and C. Gillespie,
365:. U.S. Department of State
344:. U.S. Department of State
266:Foreign Service Specialist
190:Senior Executive Service
472:International relations
301:Lucile Atcherson Curtis
133:Agency for Global Media
44:Foreign Service officer
251:Indian Foreign Service
84:U.S. service academies
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33:
305:U.S. Foreign Service
164:Financial management
363:"FSO Career Tracks"
227:Applicants for the
72:diplomatic missions
34:Secretary of State
173:Private enterprise
125:Commercial Service
76:combatant commands
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119:FSOs of the U.S.
18:American diplomat
16:(Redirected from
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70:, and other
52:commissioned
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183:ambassadors
158:Environment
155:Engineering
143:Contracting
140:Agriculture
36:Mike Pompeo
451:Categories
395:2015-02-21
348:2010-09-02
311:References
296:Clientitis
210:top secret
68:consulates
467:Diplomacy
161:Executive
152:Education
123:(USAID),
64:embassies
369:17 April
240:See also
102:country.
80:Congress
412:, 2008.
109:nation.
50:) is a
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328:(PDF)
167:Legal
371:2024
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48:FSO
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