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Serving your country in a job abroad can definitely be a challenge, but it can also be fairly glamorous and an enriching experience, which will last for the rest of your life. Entering into a foreign service job as a way of life there requires both dedication and persistence and if you have what it takes to get the job done, here are a few specialty categories, which provide employment opportunities.

Consular Jobs

Consular jobs involve utilizing one skills in the legal profession, as a social worker or as an investigator with responsibilities running the gambit from issuing passports to locating lost persons or helping Americans who are having difficulties in the host country.

Administrative Jobs

Administrative jobs in the foreign service overseas have the responsibility of hiring foreign national workers and ensuring adequate communications with the Federal government and supervising various computer systems and providing security.

Cultural affairs jobs are run by the United States Information Agency, which promotes a number of diplomacy and informative and cultural programs in the host nation. Some typical information officer jobs can involve working with the public, meeting with the press, and overseeing English as a foreign language programs in a host country.

If businesses are more up your alley, an economic officer job with the foreign service may be an ideal choice for you, which are mostly involve having contact with business leaders in America and the host country, monitoring economic conditions and their impacts on American trade policies. Some typical examples of economic officer jobs can include international banking, aviation safety, or fishing rights.

So now that you know some basic categories of foreign service jobs, what are the positives and negatives of such a lifestyle? Foreign service officers can work from Washington, DC to Asia to the Middle East or pretty much anywhere around the world. They can work in a wide variety of settings that range from embassies, consulates, and diplomatic missions helping Americans live overseas and providing visas to other persons hoping to enter into the United States.

Foreign service worker jobs certainly involve a glamorous lifestyle such as dining with representatives of a host nation and making important decisions that will affect potentially world politics and history.

Some negatives of such an overseas job can be having to work with hostile and harsh environments, such as the desert in the Middle East, or in an area like Siberia. which is cold for much of the year.

There are a number of government benefits provided to foreign service employees, and the starting salary can be fairly low but travel expenses, furniture, allowances for families, and free housing more than make up for any lower pay scales initially. Another benefit of working in a foreign service position is having the ability to retire at the age of 50 if twenty years of service are put in.

So how much do foreign service officer jobs make? Their salaries will usually range from around $26,700 to $43,800 depending on their existing experience and those who have been in their position for a long time working overseas can earn even more. Starting out with a bachelor’s degree will typically earn a pay scale of at least $30,000. Foreign service job candidates with more advanced degrees such as a master’s degree can earn starting pay of around $33,600, with those working overseas with a doctorate earning around $35,600.

If one finally advances to a senior foreign service officer position, their salary range would typically be in the low six figures. Health insurance is also not a problem for foreign service jobs, as a government usually subsidizes or provides free coverage depending on one’s experience.

So How Do You Apply for a Foreign Service Officer Job?

First, the Department of State will conduct a background check to note your credit history, drug abuse, and any criminal record that you may have, and you also have to take a written exam that lasts for entire day which will measure your verbal and mathematical reasoning skills, in addition to cultural awareness and your knowledge of the English language.

The foreign service test is so difficult that many people will not pass the first time, and in addition to the written exam, there will also be an oral valuation which will measure the abilities and knowledge of the foreign service candidate. Another consideration is a clear bill of health, as candidates can pose health hazards to an embassy, although certain accommodations will be made for handicaps.

In order to be eligible for the foreign service job, you must be at least 20 years old, and not older than 60, in addition to being a citizen of America and available to be deployed worldwide. The foreign job outlook is not always positive, and the number of candidates will always greatly exceed the amount of openings available. If this whole process still interests you, you should contact the Department of State Recruitment Division in Arlington, Virginia, in order to learn more about when you can take the foreign service exam and to learn how to apply for the foreign service.