The Foreign Service Journal, October 2012

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | OCTOBER 2012 39 I wish I had known that serving in a Critical Priority Coun- try (unaccompanied) would be such a big expectation. When I applied to USAID in 2007, I knew that I could be sent anywhere; but there was nothing in the job post- ing that stated an expectation to do an unaccompanied tour early on. Yet during my first day of orientation, after I had left a better-paying job to join USAID, we were told that all of us would be expected to serve in a CPC in the near future and that we could expect to return to such an assignment multiple times throughout our career. This was a big surprise and something I would have preferred to know before making the decision to join. —A female USAID officer in Latin America USAID is generally less respected than State, which manifests itself in a variety of ways, most prominently in starting salaries. USAID also pays less attention to language needs of its FSOs. I have colleagues currently enrolled in Spanish and French classes to go to Thailand. Another is learning Portuguese to go to Iraq. —USAID Officer Daniel Morris, Foreign Service Institute Spousal Employment I would advise FS candidates to think very carefully about the spousal employment issue if their spouses are working professionals. Spousal employment continues to be the dark cloud over an otherwise fantastic career. —A State political officer serving in sub-Saharan Africa Do not shrug off warnings about how difficult this lifestyle will be for ambitious spouses of Foreign Service officers. —A consular track officer serving in Mexico You must have patience, beginning with the application process, but you must also be proactive. Make sure you and your significant other spend a lot of time discussing realistic employment opportunities (or not) for them at post. Your non-FSO Eligible Family Member will need to sacrifice a lot and be very flexible, adaptable and sup- portive of your career. —A USAID health officer serving in Africa Will They Stick Around? To our question as to whether or not they view the Foreign Service as a long-term career, the most common response by far is “yes, but…” We also asked what the most important factor is in determining whether it will be a career. The vast majority of respondents say that they do want the Foreign Service to be a long-term career; but most of them also point to factors that could push them out—spousal employment being the one that comes up most frequently. Almost all respondents came into the Foreign Service view- ing it as a long-term career, many saying they’d like to stay “until retirement” or for 15 to 20 years. One public diplomacy officer serving in a consular position points out: “‘Long-term career’ is a bit of a strange phrase to me these days. I expect to be working somewhere in some capacity for 35-plus years. I see myself in the Foreign Service for at least seven to 17 years, but can’t see that as the one thing I will do for the rest of my working years.” FSO Jennifer Rizzoli meets Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during her visit to Cape Town in August.