If I weren't 37 years old and gay, I would seriously consider this. I'm good with languages and foreign policy and diplomacy has always appealed to me.

Unfortunately, while I might consider jumping into a new career, the federal government doesn't recognize my relationship, so I'd be stuck with being single; you can't ask someone to give up their career, family and friendships and follow you around the world with zero support.

Or you could make the lower end of that salary, face similar dangers, and stay in the States and perform a job known as "schoolteacher."

In public schools, every classroom is a kill zone.

I think I just created a pitch for a show on HBO.

Kinda sounds like fun...sorta.

The competition for these job slots has always been notoriously difficult. When I was looking at these jobs (not as a serious endeavor, just one of those days/weeks where I decided to learn about new things), I was looking at the info about their some of their exams, and how preparation of the written exam was pretty much reading the NYT everyday, front to back.

Considered this when I was going to school to be a teacher. I graduated with my degree and am not teaching as I found job right out of school which required no SPECIFIC degree as they just wanted someone with A degree.

I make way more than a teacher does and plan to continue on this career path as there is plenty of places to move up and sideways as most open positions now only require experience.

@Corydon: State will let you bring any who is committed enough to you to go with you. I'm not sure what the extent of spousal benefits are, but they won't ask you to go without support unless it's a post dangerous enough to merit a one year unaccompanied tour (Kabul, Baghdad, Peshawar, etc).

What you'd really have to worry about is being out in a country that considers homosexuality illegal. You'd probably be protected by diplomatic immunity, but still, it would be very rough.

@lalaland13: The movie Dangerous Minds pops into my head...

@Corydon: I worked for the State Department overseas. State has the largest number of gay people and they are very friendly. I considered working much longer for State, but I didn't want to put my boyfriend through the chore of moving all the time.
More important, the State Department owns and manages the housing that their expat employees live in. Which means secure housing that is free.

I worked for the State Dept. for a few months on an internship in 2006. It was wonderful. The pay is amazing, and while you're in country there is no cost for housing, since they provide housing. It was a wonderful experience. I just graduated and was going to join up, but I am now in a significant relationship with someone who cannot move as frequently as they would like due to special citizenship status (political exile). It's an amazing job for those who are looking to live overseas. Some caveats: you must be able to get a secret clearance, and 2 of your first 3 assignments must be in "Hazard Zones" (Baghdad, Tel Aviv, etc). I was told they do this to ensure that those signing up with them are career (20+ years of service) employees.

@NikkiSweet: I had visions of Kindergarden Cop. Although I guess the potential of upward mobility to Califorina Governator would make it more appealing.

@Matt: Just out of curiosity, could you kind of run us through a regular day in one of these jobs? Is it like driving around in humvees in the streets or sitting in the green zone on a computer all day?

@lalaland13: Depending on where you live and years of experience, it's possible to make a lot more than $75,000 teaching. When I got out after 5 years I was making $50,000 teaching high school, and my mom's about to retire from a grade school at ~$95,000.
We were in a well-off suburb, though, and I wound up taking a major pay cut to switch careers. Teaching wasn't worth getting assaulted by students and developing an ulcer at 25.

I have a friend that worked in Saudi Arabia for 8 years. He banked over $600k tax free during that time. He lived on the American compound. He kind of liked it. His wife, on the other hand, didn't like it too much. Women are second-class citizens in Saudi Arabia. But, those willing to pay the price can make some good money.

this actually sounds awesome. and it's seemingly one of the few jobs that doesn't really have an educational requirement. unlike around here where i see secretarial positions requesting a ba/bs...

@Matt: yes what happens if your plans change? i mean i can say as it stands right now i'd have no strings. but you say you're in a relationship now and that gave you strings. how do they handle that?

Maybe I ought to do this. I can't make any money here, that's for damn sure.

Of course, I can't do anything, either.

@katylostherart: and the peacecorps had a ba/bs requirement as well last time i looked. you think you wouldn't be that freaking picky with the help you got as long as enough people with that kind of background showed up.

@lotussix: doesn't that bother you though? that it's almost the case that what the degree is means nothing unless it's medicine or law?

@kwsventures: US citizens in foreign countries are still required to report and pay income tax. How did he legally bank that much tax free? The only way I know of would be to rescend your citizenship and become an expat.

@Corydon: There are a lot of gay people in the military. It's a shame they have to "don't tell" to serve their nation. I know of a USAF doctor who has to stay quiet. Damn tragedy.

@Canino: The Middle East is a tax free zone (if you spend a single day working there, the whole month is tax free). I just had a friend re-up with the Navy while he was deployed. He got a $41,000 re-signing bonus...tax free.

@sleze69: Nice - thanks for the explanation.

@Corydon: I'm all for berating the military for this policy, but it's frankly not (necessarily) true in the rest of the government. I have a bunch of friends in the Dept. of Commerce who are gay, and have never had problems...

@katylostherart: It sorta did at first. Until I realized how heartbreaking the world is.

This is happening when I student taught:

I would give out extra credit so that the kids getting F's would get D's or C's and I was even somewhat lenient letting spelling errors or whatnot go. What ended up happening was that the A student turned into A+++ because they had an average of 110% while the F student would open their backpack to have a bunch of empty extra credit sheets. Sending notes homes and calling parents did not work either as I would get a half-assed response saying they would work on it with their kids. At parent-teacher conferences only the A and B student's parents would show up and I would stay an extra 30 minutes just in case some of the D's and F's trickled in. I offered pre and post school hours assistance and nothing would come about of that either for the low end as the only kids who showed up for that were the B's who wanted so bad to be A's.

I am thankful for the education I received and glad that my parents assisted me along the way. I can't blame it all on the parents as other teachers dropped the ball along the way too. Letting kids "slip through the cracks" is way to easy and it's hard to teach a kid the Circulatory System in 8th grade when he can't read at a 3rd grade level.

I am not the most optimistic person, but I honestly went in bright eyed and wanting to change the world, and be the hero that some of my teachers were to me. I ended up getting extremely jaded through that year (semester of practicum work, semester of my own classes). I am glad that a lot of that has faded since I had my own child. I'm not "Crazy Joe" Clark or Jaime Escalante although I always sorta wanted to be.

Sorry for the rant.

@HogwartsAlum: Don't know how to do anything? Then a government job is perfect for you.

Those 59 and over need not apply. (What I read on the linked Web site.)

Shoot, most jobs I've had stateside required all that. Actually almost tempting.

@meduzagirl: While its true that the person working for the govt would have the diplomatic immunity, their partner wouldnt.

@Corydon: Being gay won't stop you from working for State. Hell, it doesn't stop you from working for Defense, either-- I know quite a few openly gay civilians in the Pentagon, some with the highest security clearances around.

You should do some research before you opinionate.

For the record, the NYT article does not do the Foreign Service justice-- or technically, injustice.

Sorry Consumerists, but these jobs are nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get, and require skills and smarts that the vast majority of people don't have.

I say this from personal and professional experience. I've taken the Foreign Service exam, twice, and couldn't make it to the orals either time. That's one of the toughest tests you'll ever take. I've known several people who *have* passed the written exam (and I hate them for their accomplishment ;-), but most bomb the orals.

The one woman I know who DID make it past the orals got a placing number so low that for all practical purposes, she'd never be hired ever, especially after the freeze went into effect.

Now, I can't vouch for myself, but these other people were some of the smartest folks I know, and even they were reduced to tears by this process.

Seriously, State and CIA are the two toughest places to get into in Washington. Which is both good AND bad-- I think they both look for people who fit their preconceived notion of who is "best" for the organization, but unfortunately for both outfits, I think recent history has shown they both could benefit greatly from significantly greater intellectual diversity. But both orgs like "company men (and women", and they skew their hiring process to prevent anyone who doesn't fit their bill from getting in).

Anyway-- that Foreign Service exam is a bitch to pass.

@Canino:

Actually there are certain countries that you can live and not have to pay taxes as part of working for or with the government. I believe is an incentive to work in those regions. The countries are usually in some type of conflict region, but a bunch of them are in the middle east.

@katylostherart:

Yes, but try taking the exam without having a formal education. It's very difficult to score well enough to land a job as an FSO unless you are a prolific reader. This writeup and the dept. of state's website glosses over the HIGHLY competitive nature of the testing/interview process.

@Daveinva:

Not to mention that many of the test questions are highly skewed toward those with Ivy educations. This writeup on the consumerist (and even the State Dept's website) glosses over the difficulty in getting the job. I believe it was the NYT that had an in-depth article on the failure rate of th written/oral exams. I ridiculously small percentage of applicants actually end up working as an FSO. If my memory is correct, it was well below 1%.

What's comical is the comment up-thread that stated that one should become a teacher rather than an FSO because the pay as a teacher is better! As if the two jobs are even remotely comparable in difficulty to land. FSO can be compared to CIA Agent in terms of difficulty to get.

But, as an aside, a friend that I do know stated that the State Department looks for diversity. Not only does that mean race/gender, but also geographic diversity. Those who live in the southeast USA may have an advantage in getting one because that region is underrepresented

@lalaland13: I'd watch it.

@lotussix: may I ask what field you are in that requires A degree? i have some people who need career changes and I am open to anything and learning of new paths at this time!

@lalaland13:

FSO and school teacher are not even remotely comparable. People who become FSOs generally are not the type of people who end up as teachers. I'm not in any way putting down teaching, but the hiring process for FSO is probably the most highly competitive in America, if not the world.

You can get very similar salaries working for Customs & Border Patrol.... I have no experience with them or their hiring process, but did happen to notice that for months they were on featured on the 'jobs in demand' site of the federal job website.

[jobsearch.usajobs.gov]

At the moment, it seems the Navy is lacking pharmacists.... but the CBP jobs are still there, and if you're interested in relocating to Arizona, Texas, or the Virgin Islands, you could get 36,000 - 46,000 / year, depending on location and your education. They are GS 5 - 9 jobs, with promotion potential to 11, plus pension, health care, etc.

Skimming the requirements, it seems like you'd be eligible as long as you are under 40 years old & have some kind of schooling and/or comparable work experience. And no foreign service exam! But there is a drug test. And they exclude people who have committed domestic violence. Hmmm.

@oneandone: Just noticed that the CBP jobs online registration closed - sorry. But they'll pop up again soon, probably.

I'm not sure where you are getting those figures for salary but they are way off. The foreign service pays well. There are many, many benefits - pay differentials, bonuses etc. The expansion was largely neutered by the current administration. But working in the foreign service is truly a prestige job - it's not easy to be hired, but truly rewarding when you are. Working under a Clinton-Obama banner for at least the next four years will likely make time spent working for the Department a really wonderful, rewarding, exciting thing. I'd encourage anyone with language skills and intellectual curiosity to get involved. The world needs change; it craves it. Now's the time to step in there and facilitate it.

@lunchbox: I currently work as a Sales Manager now, but I started right out of college in the Consumer Affairs department.

They wanted people in Consumer Affairs who had a good head on their shoulders and who could make reasonable decisions. I think my background in CA sorta brought me to become a Consumerist reader!

@Corydon: "you can't ask someone to give up their career, family and friendships and follow you around the world with zero support"

Really? I need to go talk to my girlfriend.

@lotussix: great to know! thanks so much!!!

@Daveinva: I'm well aware that many gay people work for the federal government. Hell, I was in the military myself.

The main problem I would have is that, as far as I am aware (and I have researched this), the federal government does not offer spousal benefits to gay people. Right now, my other half is on my health insurance from work, so losing that would be a major hardship.

But thanks for assuming that I hadn't done my homework.

@katylostherart: You can quit if you want to. It's like a normal job, concerning employment. It's just very expensive to quit while you're in the middle of nowhere, especially since they won't pay to move your stuff if you do quit. Many people in the FS meet their significant others in country, which, should they get married, makes them citizens after the probationary time. State is really good with working around and with situations. They know that, maybe you can't move in 6 months because you want to wait for someone to marry you. That's ok, since you can change assignments next year.
Daily life depends on where you work. I worked in London, so I lived in the housing and took the subway to work. Spent my free time being a tourist and hanging out with local friends I made. I usually spent most of the work day in meetings with local officials or working on stuff on the computer. Had a few opportunities to visit Parliament and observe pending legislation. However, if you work in places like Baghdad, you usually stay within the confines of the compound. Any work that would normally take you out of the office will come to you.
The entrance exam is really hard. Most people are expected to fail the first 2 times they take it. Since they're offered annually, that means a 3 year entrance time. Additionally, there are oral exams, group interviews, etc that make it very selective to getting in. Not mentioned enough are the 'specialist' cones that you can apply for. These do not require the entrance exam to be a FS officer. Even better, you don't have to move every 2-3 years, as it generally means you're working on specific tasks. One of the specialist options is IT. That's what I plan on applying for, should my SO warm up to the idea.

@methamp: Not mentioned enough are the 'specialist' cones that you can apply for. These do not require the entrance exam to be a FS officer. Even better, you don't have to move every 2-3 years, as it generally means you're working on specific tasks. One of the specialist options is IT. That's what I plan on applying for, should my SO warm up to the idea.

@Daveinva: I fully agree that FSO positions are damn near impossible to get (it's actually 3% of applicants who pass orals, crunching the numbers from the website). I, too, took the written exam and failed miserably. I'm going to disagree about the CIA, though - I know three people working there, and two of them are complete idiots - book smart, but no common sense, no foreign language ability, and military backgrounds. I have another friend who was headhunted by the CIA right out of undergrad at UChicago. They flew her out to VA, wined and dined her, and she quit after her first day. She decided she didn't want to make a career out of kissing ass and towing the company line on everything. She's a lawyer, now, and much happier.

As an alternative to the almost frightening "Kill Zone" I recommend calling it "Dead US Citizen Zone Where You Should Have Just Claimed To Be Canadian Instead"

@cmdrsass:

Weeeee haaaawwww! :D

My father was career Foreign service from around 1974 to around 2004. He did spend a few years in the Peace Corps during college, so that may have given him a leg up. He also did get his PhD in the end, but he definitely did not come from an ivy league background, both of his parents did not go to college. I grew up all around the world - 4 countries (Colombia, Israel, Nigeria & Ecuador) all before I was 12.