Retiring from Foreign Service
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Anonymous
| The only times I’ve heard of retired FSOs getting PhD req’d positions at universities (and not having them) was when they took Ambassador-in-residence positions. Without a PhD or Ambassador title, I think your time is better spent applying for other positions. You certainly can apply, but don’t tell them a PhD isn’t necessary. |
Anonymous
Russian 4/4 Polish 3/3 French 4/4 Korean 3/3 |
Anonymous
Absolutely this. It's a credentialist environment. I've worked at State and at a university with a lowly masters. The main difference is that State is a pay your dues kind of place. Grey hair = wisdom. "Tell me about the places you've been!!" etc. Academia at the two universities I worked at was all about where you went to school. We didn't hire a woman who had a proven 20 year track record of $150 million worth of grants because her PhD (20 years ago) was from Northern Illinois University. Meh, a better institution snapped her up because they weren't as hung up on the credential. So, it definitely varies by institution. My experience mirrors PPs that without a PhD, you might get treated as the village idiot. I'd be prepared for that dynamic. |
Anonymous
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OP, I was one of the early PPs who advised you to check your attitude. A couple of other quick things to consider since you've posted more detail about the job and yourself:
1) There are a ton of FSOs who are trying to make the leap out of govt right now for obvious reasons. I work at an educational institution and we have been cold called by some of the most senior people at State. Many are still looking months after they first left or began thinking about leaving. So you've got competition from within your own cohort. 2) International education is a well-developed field - there are people who make their careers in this field. You bring useful expertise, but it may not be totally the same as what the university really wants/needs. 3) It never hurts to apply, even if you don't have the minimum qualifications. My organization's HR dept will automatically cut an app that doesn't have required credentials, but if the degree is recommended but not required, the application would still reach the cleared pool for consideration by people who might appreciate your background. Finally if you come off as resentful here, you may be off putting in your cover letter etc. We see some really arrogant stuff come through and it almost always knocks a candidate out of contention simply because we have hundreds of qualified applicants for every position. Keep that in mind as you job hunt. |
Anonymous
| Yes, Op comes across as pompous. Apply, you are not going to get it if you don't apply, that's for sure. |
Anonymous
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No reason not to apply. Be aware a university is likely to view it as a weakness in your application, and a job like that is going to have a LOT of applicants.
Work your connections in international education instead of complaining on a messageboard. When you reach out to connections, try to sound like an ambitious go-getter, grateful for advice, instead of frustrated and resentful. I'm not saying you shouldn't be resentful; I don't think it's all that bloody hard to get a Ph. D. in international relations. And universities tend to treat it as much more useful and important than it really is. But, for obvious reasons, a university might value that degree more than you do. So, don't try to persuade them the degree is useless; persuade them you bring something unique. |
Anonymous
Thank you. On the flipside, one of my favorite stories comes from the late Randy Pausch. In his book the last lecture, he tells about taking a sabbatical from Carnegie Mellon to work as a Disney imagineer. On the first day, his team leader asked him "what can you do professor boy?' He said, I have a Ph.D in XYZ from XYZ, to which his team leader responded, I asked what you can do not what degree you have. Hence, "I learned the difference between business and academia," he said 
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Anonymous
| I'm in the Foreign Service and I can't wait to retire. Counting down the days! |
Anonymous
| OP, I used to work in the field you are currently targeting. I'm here to tell you that this job absolutely does not require any academic credentials, let alone a PhD. The entire point of that job - the only one! - is to sell your university, and not twenty-five others just like it, to foreign students with cash. It's a sales and marketing position, which for reasons of gentility is now called "engagement" or "development". But all you're doing will be selling. Come study here, not there. Come partner with us, not with them. The entire enterprise of the U.S. academia is vying for the same pool of global affluent class that wants its children educated in the U.S. , and that's why it even has people with job titles such as this. |
Anonymous
Because that's what they do on here. You could post about your Mom and dog dying in the same day and the collective response would be "get tough!" |
Anonymous
Nice! |
Anonymous
I mean, come on. Could you be any more pompous? You actually think being FSO in your cone is business? You don't sound right for the job, PhD or not, you ought to be likable to sell anything. |
Anonymous
| I'm not in a cone since I don't work for State and universities actually pay me money now to do this work. |
Anonymous
| I don't know what's with the pompous-shaming cos I don't think OP sounds unreasonable or uptight at all. Is it just because she's hoping to work in a university setting? |
Anonymous
No, it is because he/she is clueless and rather than pick up the message that academia wants academia, and maybe go with a bit more humble attitude, he/she goes on to quote and praise their work, hence putting down academia. That in itself is a sign of pompousness. It is the "I am too good for the job," attitude. |