How to Become a Diplomat

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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Diplomats, also known as foreign service officers (FSOs), are part of the U.S. Foreign Service. They represent the American government around the world and fulfill a wide variety of assignments, such as issuing visas, reporting on diplomatic issues, and helping U.S. citizens overseas. Diplomats' terms abroad usually last from two to four years.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Applications For Exam
Foreign Language Phrase Books
Foreign Language Tape
Computers
Online Career Search

Step 1

Make sure that you fulfill the basic requirements. You must be a U.S. citizen between the ages of 20 and 59.
Step 2

Avoid drug and alcohol abuse and make sure your finances are in order. A lack of responsibility in either of these areas may jeopardize your eligibility as a foreign service officer down the line.
Step 3

Visit the Department of State website. You can look for it with a search engine like Yahoo! or Google.
Step 4

Register for the Foreign Service Written Exam (FSWE), which is offered once a year in cities around the world.
Step 5

Review and select from one of five career tracks: Management, Consular, Economic, Political and Public Diplomacy.
Step 6

Take the written exam. Bring your admission ticket, a black pen, several No. 2 pencils and valid identification such as a photo ID card or a driver's license with photo.
Step 7

Take the Foreign Service Oral Assessment. Your eligibility to take it depends on your performance on the written test.
Step 8

Take a foreign language test, provided you are proficient in a foreign language, to enhance your eligibity.
Step 9

Be prepared to undergo a background investigation as well as a comprehensive medical examination.
Step 10

Be willing to serve anywhere in the world, including high-risk areas.

Comments

janetbrenda10 said

Flag This Comment

on 10/1/2009 what would be good majors to become a diplomat?

scttb2400 said

on 6/11/2009 I am currently a US Diplomat located at the US Embassy in Switzerland and I just want you all to know, and clarify, that you do NOT need to know a foreign language to become a diplomat. In fact, most of my colleagues do NOT know a foreign language and have been to many countries.

You should also look into an internship at a US Embassy. Many college students as young as 20 yrs old show up at our embassy all the time to work (unpaid of course) for a few months in the visa section or other sections as well. It is a good experience, and, if you can afford it, it will definitely give you a clear advantage over other applicants who have not completed an internship.

danny85 said

on 5/18/2009 I don't mean to be rude but seriously people how can you expect to get through the rigorous examination process to become a diplomat if you can't even type basic sentances? Every comment is messed up in some way and all of your questions can be easily found by googling them. To become a diplomat you have to be able to learn more than one language and since you all clearly have poor English skills what chance do you think you have as a diplomat for the U.S.?! DOMIDO- "diplomat" (lol) is not a major...diplomats have degrees in various subjects such as history, social studies, political science, foreign languages, economics, just to name a few. And to WILDY - do you realize your comment makes absolutely no sense? wtf are you talking about?!