The Foreign Service Journal, October 2012

24 OCTOBER 2012 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL international experience, languages spoken and family status (single, mar- ried/partner, kids). Here is a sampling of State and USAID orientation classes as described: • State FSOs, 143rd A-100, 2009, class of 92: The class was very diverse regarding gender and age. If there were more men than women, I didn’t notice; it seemed very balanced. However, there were shockingly few minorities represented. One minority classmate told me that her heart was pounding on the first day of A-100 as she scanned the room and saw only one other dark-skinned new FSO—out of 92. That’s something you’d expect from her mother’s genera- tion, not ours! • State FSOs, 150th A-100, 2010, class of 81: This class was 60-percent men; maybe 10-percent minorities. Huge age range, from 22 to 59, with a median age of 35. Of the 81, about 15 people were over 40. Probably 30 percent had Ph.Ds.; 10 per- cent were lawyers; 40 percent were former Peace Corps Volunteers. Very bright, interesting cadre of professionals. Maybe only 10 percent lacked language proficiency. The second- and third-career officers were very interesting and diverse. All had concerns about how or whether their expertise would be used in the FS. • State FS Specialists, 2011, class of 75: My entry class consisted of almost every type of American out there: from new citizens, language-needs hiring, African-American, Asian and so on. We had five or six religions represented, including Latter-Day Saints and Muslims. In age, we ranged from 21 to late 50s. We spoke many languages. I was excited to see that the hiring included folks of all types, including some who would need special accommodation. • USAID DLI Class, 2009, class of 40: My entry class was fairly diverse. We had about 30 Caucasians; the other 10 included African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans. We came from all over the U.S., and all had at least a master’s degree (a requirement for joining DLI). There were more men than women, probably about 60/40. Average age seemed to be between 30 and 35. Some of us had up to 20 years of work expe- rience; a few had less than five. Nearly all had lived overseas and worked in international development before. Most of us spoke a foreign language to some extent. About half of us were married or had a partner who would travel to post, and probably about a third had children. Why Join the Foreign Service? The most frequent response to the question of the motivation for joining the FS was “to serve my country” or “public service.” Other factors were the desire to work and live overseas and to work in international relations/ foreign policy/development. Several respondents mentioned wanting to further democracy and human rights. Answers did not differ in any noticeable way between men and women or between State officers and specialists. Only a few new hires mentioned job security as a motivation; one USAID officer mentioned the fact that he was “laid off, wanted to do some- thing meaningful” as his motivation. “It is what I always wanted to do,” says economic track officer Mark Palermo, who joined in 2008. “But when I gradu- ated from college in 1992, I was told it was impossible to get in, especially for somebody coming right out of undergrad. I already had a job lined up (in a bad economy), so I let it go. Approaching 40, I was reaching a point in my life where I felt I was running out of time to serve my country, to work for a pros- perous and peaceful future, and, well, I guess to have a legacy other than running an architecture company and making a good living. Maybe an early mid-life crisis?” One consular officer, himself an immigrant, said that he wanted to do something that allowed him to have an impact on people’s lives. He decided to join on a whim one day while surf- ing the Internet for career options. Many State FSOs tried numerous times to get in before suc- ceeding, including one person who got through the process on the fifth try and another on the sixth. Several of the State specialists did not know about those career options until just before applying. “The thought of joining the Foreign Service had never crossed my mind,” says Security Engineering Officer Daniel Carlson. “Honestly, I had no idea they even hired engineers. However, as soon as I saw the job posting, I started working on my application. I had an offer within about eight months.” A health practitioner says he heard about the Foreign Service from a recruiter at a medical conference. FOCUS THE NEW FS GENERATION “The newer generations have higher expectations that the workplace/agency should be responsive to their needs and interests.” –FSO Ben Kauffeld