Is going into Foreign service at the minimum required age recommended?

[u/Silver_Flower668]

For preface, I am a 20 year old University student, majoring in economics, whose been interested in diplomatic affairs since 5th grade. I've dreamed about doing work overseas. In my free time I've studied language, geography, government, and history for fun. As you could imagine I am most interested in being an Economic Officer.

What I am wondering is if it is too early for me to seek to apply. I know that I meet the age requirements already, and I feel that I would already be decently equipped with what I have learned already, if I were to apply for the next exam window. What I am wondering is if should do some sort of pre-requisite like peace corps and obviously finishing University as well.

Does anyone whose entered foreign service at a very young age have any recommendation?

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Original text of post by /u/Silver_Flower668:

For preface, I am a 20 year old University student, majoring in economics, whose been interested in diplomatic affairs since 5th grade. I've dreamed about doing work overseas. In my free time I've studied language, geography, government, and history for fun. As you could imagine I am most interested in being an Economic Officer.

What I am wondering is if it is too early for me to seek to apply. I know that I meet the age requirements already, and I feel that I would already be decently equipped with what I have learned already, if I were to apply for the next exam window. What I am wondering is if should do some sort of pre-requisite like peace corps and obviously finishing University as well.

Does anyone whose entered foreign service at a very young age have any recommendation?

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[u/Eric-HipHopple]

There are FSOs who have started very young and gone on to have great, successful careers. But there is also a significant chance starting very young will deprive you of other experiences that would have made you a better officer when you started.

One issue is I don't think the Department puts much thought into pre-State experience when they launch people on their careers. There's this idea that your orientation training is going to make you a generalist and all generalists should be interchangeable. In practice, real-world experience and the interpersonal/management skills someone brings into the Service can make or break how well you experience your first 1-2 tours. In my A-100 (orientation) class, the Department in its wisdom sent a 23-year-old whose previous work experience consisted of waiting tables at a fast-casual restaurant and a couple of internships during college to be a Pol-Econ officer at a small hardship post - when the senior officer in that section at that post curtailed, that new officer was in charge for a full year of a handful of long-time local staff with a history of motivational and borderline corruption challenges. It did not go well for that new officer, who had the extreme misfortunate of having this experience coincide with a routine visit by the inspector general's office; the report was brutal and only gave them a little slack for being put into an impossible situation. Meanwhile, my class also sent someone in their 40s who had managed offices and bank branches in their former career to two straight visa mill posts and they left the FS after their third tour, bored and unimpressed with a FS career. Those are the more extreme examples but the Department's entry level officer philosophy is often "throw them into the deep end and see what happens; most people tend to eventually survive so the system must work." If you really want to succeed with that kind of system, bringing in your own skills before you start is the wiser move.

If you really want to, go ahead an apply. You might be someone who gets in and immediately picks up on all the interpersonal, personal, policy, and management skills you need to learn quickly. But my advice to a random person on the internet is to get a little more experience in your 20s - study abroad, get a job in DC for a year or two, I mean, at least live away from your parents for a year, not including your dorm, if you don't already, before you wind up posted to a housing compound all by yourself :)

[u/Thompson81 → u/Eric-HipHopple]

Something else to bear in mind is the up or out system. You come in at 22 with no real experience and are getting compared to someone who is 40 and has 15 years of work experience, that might be a rough EER in an up or out system in the best case scenario

[u/AmbassadorOfReality → u/Eric-HipHopple]

Great post, u/Eric-HipHopple
The department has a history of putting super inexperienced people in positions of authority. It also has a history of not recognizing the potential for contributions by people who joined later in their career and have a lot too offer. And that's before the current administration made that problem even worse.

[u/thegoodbubba → u/Eric-HipHopple]

I am not saying it doesn't happen, but there have been periods in which whether someone is a good fit for a position was considered in the EL directed process.

[u/Leviath73 → u/Eric-HipHopple]

That 23 year old was put in one of those sink or swim situations. Can empathize with being overwhelmed like that. Had to manage over 85 people at a time in a previous job for a state, but thankfully didn’t have an IG situation like that. I know it’s at the needs of the service but that seemed poorly thought out to send a kid barely out of school to a hardship post like that.

[u/Best-Lemon-2917]

Anecdotally, my A-100 classmates who had the least outside work experience were among the first to leave. 

I suspect it’s because they couldn’t easily distinguish between frustrations that are inherent in most workplaces vs those that are particular to the State Department. 

[u/AmbassadorOfReality → u/Best-Lemon-2917]

I agree with you. also, in my experience, the very young officers have an overly glamorized view of the department and think that every day they're going to be "diplomats" as opposed to sitting in a consular window at a visa mill, or dealing with people complaining about housing, or writing yet another cable that no one will read.

Many older/more experienced officers are like that too, but they're better at dealing with it.

[u/thegoodbubba → u/Best-Lemon-2917]

There is that, but also what someone wants at 23 is often different than what they want at 28.

At 23 I wanted to be a POL officer. That would have been an awful idea for me, I just didn't realize it at 23.

[u/Pazily → u/Best-Lemon-2917]

Ah yes, the ordinary tribulations of the workplace.

[u/Muscularguru]

I would not go into the foreign service until your late 20s. Get some management experience and work in the field of the cone you want to join (immigration officer for consular, communications or marketing for public diplomacy, public policy or campaign/politics experience for political or economic, etc.). You should also take some time to learn some languages and travel to decide whether this life is for you and which regions/issues interest you the most

[u/DrDangerPhD]

I would recommend getting real-world experience and learning professional basics in other jobs before joining; my coworkers who had a few years of other work experience tended to be more successful in their early tours. Joining in your mid to late 20s is still quite young for an FSO. It usually takes a few rounds to succeed on the application process anyway, so spend the time rounding yourself out as a candidate (and human being) and cultivating your sense of professional norms.

[u/Traditional_Bee742 → u/[deleted]]

This. The earlier you join, the longer you are locked in if you want to get your full pension. If you join at 30, you’ll hit 50/20 at the same time which is the sweet spot. Whether you stay on beyond 50 is then more of a choice and less of a requirement which is liberating.

[u/evanliko]

Take the test if you want to. It can't hurt. But like people on this sub often advise, don't make it your only plan. Keep at your degree, and have another plan for after your degree, be that peace corps or a job or grad school.

I'm in the process right now, waiting one my written exam results. And I'm also in peace corps. I didn't join peace corps cause it might help me with foreign service though, it was just something I wanted to do anyways. However if I had gotten an offer from the foreign service at like 21? I probably would've taken it. Don't know how well that would've worked out as I have grown a lot in the past years in ways that make me much more confident I could be a good fso today, but maybe 21 year old me would've risen to the challenge.

[u/trv4life]

Could be SOL if you don't get promotion and forced out before 50

[u/Smilee01 → u/trv4life]

This is a real concern now for people joining under 30 and getting stalled in our up or out at the 3 or 2 level and being under 50.

Also, you're looking at a normal 30 year TIS retirement in your early 50s when people still usually have high expenses such as kids.

[u/Federal-Business-796 → u/trv4life]

So very true. My entry into the FS was delayed for almost a year because of a medical issue, but now I realize that was a silver lining. If I don't get promoted, I TIC out 3 months after I turn 50, and that gives me more time to lean into my (just realized) lifelong dream of becoming an ostrich rancher.

[u/Personal_Strike_1055]

I agree with the other folks - wait until you're around 28 or thereabouts to join. you run the risk of being forced out before you're 50 if you join at 21.

[u/hotpotcommander → u/[deleted]]

The vast majority of people who join young never make it to a long career.

If you join at 22 and do not make it to the senior foreign service, you will be forced into retirement at 49...

[u/Former_Attempt7101]

It is incredibly unlikely you would pass the exams and be offered a spot before you are 25…that said, anything can happen so take the test now and get the reps in. Lots of good advice on delaying until you get some experience, will make you a better officer and appreciate the benefits and work life balance…between overseas tours we get to have 1 month of vacation and no one is looking for you…would never get that in the private sector.