THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MAY-JUNE 2026 73 LIFE AFTER THE FOREIGN SERVICE Beyond the Mission Reinventing Yourself After Government Service Dawson Law was a member of the U.S. Foreign Service from 2009 to 2019, serving in Khartoum, Warsaw, Hanoi, and Canberra. He also worked as a civil servant at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence from 2021 to 2024. Law founded a geopolitical and compliance advisory, Conseil Global Advisors, and a career coaching practice, International Careers Coach. Whether you’ve chosen to leave the Foreign Service or had the choice made for you, these career transition tips can help you make the move successfully. BY DAWSON LAW I still remember the quiet shock of that first morning after my consulting job in London ended. I had made my grand exit from years in the Foreign Service and U.S. Treasury and sailed smoothly into a consulting firm. Suddenly, for the first time in years, I wasn’t waking up to a calendar full of meetings, policy papers, or classified cables. Instead, I sat in my small London flat, wondering what came next. Just months earlier, I had been deep inside U.S. Embassy London as U.S. Treasury’s first representative to the United Kingdom, focused on sanctions and illicit finance issues, working closely with many State Department and interagency colleagues on national security priorities. The mission was clear, the stakes were high, and the community was tight-knit. But I realized the Foreign Service wasn’t a long-term fit for me, and transitioning to the private sector abroad seemed like the logical next chapter. When my private sector role ended abruptly due to layoffs, I was forced into the kind of reinvention I had always assumed would happen on my terms, at my pace. Since the start of my career, my motto has been simple: I want to make a positive impact on the world. That motto carried me through, and it remains my compass now. What I’ve discovered is that life after government service is not just about finding another job. It is about rediscovering your ability to make an impact on your own terms. From Structure to Uncertainty Foreign Service careers provide a unique rhythm. Your life is shaped by bidding cycles, assignments, and an overarching sense of purpose. Even in moments of frustration and change, there is comfort in the structure. Leaving that world, especially early to mid-career, can feel like being dropped into a new country, but without a briefing cable or a welcome packet from post. The transition is not just professional; it is profoundly personal. For me, the first adjustment was psychological. I had built an identity around being part of the national security apparatus. In the consulting world, not everyone understood the weight of state-sponsored disinformation, sanctions designations, or the
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