At this point in my life the career path which interests me the most is the Foreign Service. This is has been a career interest of mine throughout high school and continues to be today. Saying that getting a job in the State Department is hard is a bit of an understatement. After spending months researching others’ endeavors trying to get employed the Department of State, I’ve learned it is one long battle. You are essentially competing with yourself every time. Surprisingly with all the negative experiences of getting hired I’ve received, I still want to pursue it. For me, the biggest reason why I want to do this is the opportunity to travel and really immerse myself with people from various cultures. It is also about broadening my
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With that much travel and readjustment, most of your life you are most likely researching, meeting new employees and policy making. Most diplomats have said that it’s hard to make friends or hold on to a relationship outside of the Foreign Service. Another challenge is living overseas, it’s exciting, but moving to a new country every few years is draining I imagine. Officers also do not have a choice of where they move to, they are usually assigned them. Most of the time, they are placed in dangerous parts of the world. There are times you might be isolated, the air quality might be poor, you can face a lack of medical support, very little infrastructure and even terrorism. In 2013, a 25 year-old Public Diplomacy officer, was delivering books to a school in southern Afghanistan when her vehicle was struck by a suicide bomber. It is situations like these that remind me of how much risk I would one day take in the future to pursue this …show more content…
It is important to recognize that much of the policy-making is fueled by hard working diplomats who want to better the department, but at the same time, they might want to further their career and start looking towards professional associations. Professional Associations are usually not for profit organizations that look to further their profession and the interests of those who are in that specific profession. Many people join to have a sense of security and trust, you can participate in forums and discussions, maybe even find a mentor to help you professionally. Others join for networking purposes. This is not the same as a Labor Union. For example, the American Foreign Service Association is an association that is a part of the United States Foreign Service. Some of their goals include workforce planning to guarantee a healthy and full Foreign Service career, reach to engage the membership and better understand the priorities and concerns of the Foreign Service, and outreach to the public in order to enhance understanding of the role and importance of the Foreign Service among key audiences (AFSA). The legislative office, where I currently intern gives you many opportunities to network without really needing to join a professional association. In fact one of my responsibilities in to check in with some of the influencers around the state to see how they are doing. Sometimes when I am on the phone with an influencer,
With that much travel and readjustment, most of your life you are most likely researching, meeting new employees and policy making. Most diplomats have said that it’s hard to make friends or hold on to a relationship outside of the Foreign Service. Another challenge is living overseas, it’s exciting, but moving to a new country every few years is draining I imagine. Officers also do not have a choice of where they move to, they are usually assigned them. Most of the time, they are placed in dangerous parts of the world. There are times you might be isolated, the air quality might be poor, you can face a lack of medical support, very little infrastructure and even terrorism. In 2013, a 25 year-old Public Diplomacy officer, was delivering books to a school in southern Afghanistan when her vehicle was struck by a suicide bomber. It is situations like these that remind me of how much risk I would one day take in the future to pursue this …show more content…
It is important to recognize that much of the policy-making is fueled by hard working diplomats who want to better the department, but at the same time, they might want to further their career and start looking towards professional associations. Professional Associations are usually not for profit organizations that look to further their profession and the interests of those who are in that specific profession. Many people join to have a sense of security and trust, you can participate in forums and discussions, maybe even find a mentor to help you professionally. Others join for networking purposes. This is not the same as a Labor Union. For example, the American Foreign Service Association is an association that is a part of the United States Foreign Service. Some of their goals include workforce planning to guarantee a healthy and full Foreign Service career, reach to engage the membership and better understand the priorities and concerns of the Foreign Service, and outreach to the public in order to enhance understanding of the role and importance of the Foreign Service among key audiences (AFSA). The legislative office, where I currently intern gives you many opportunities to network without really needing to join a professional association. In fact one of my responsibilities in to check in with some of the influencers around the state to see how they are doing. Sometimes when I am on the phone with an influencer,