Retiring from Foreign Service

[Anonymous]

I will be retiring from the Foreign Service soon, am looking to make the transition to working most likely in higher education. I am presently in the Senior Foreign Service. I think my skill set would be best put to use in an executive capacity at a college or university helping them to build or expand international engagement programs.

An example of a position for which I believe my skills well fit is this position as Executive Director of Global Engagement at the University of Louisiana. I have done everything that is described and have all the qualications except for a Ph.D. Frankly, I don't understand why a Ph.D. is required when it has literally nothing with my ability to perform in the position. Anyone working in academe care to shed light on this and suggest ways around it? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

OP as someone who has worked at State and in academia, the first suggestion I'd make is to check your attitude. Educational institutions tend to value educational achievements, that's hardly shocking or inappropriate. Some schools, particularly those with policy-related programs, may be open to considering candidates with senior government experience in lieu of a PhD.

I work in an organization where PhDs are preferred but not mandatory. The truth is that a PhD doesn't make you smarter, but it does force you to absorb the literature in a field, learn how to think critically, and develop research skills. We have amazing colleagues who never went to grad school, but generally speaking, someone with a PhD brings valuable qualities and skills to the table that a long-time civil servant typically does not.

[Anonymous]

There are fsos who have competed for and gotten academic jobs without the phd. Two come to mind - both well outside dc where the fs experience is more rare. Go for it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are fsos who have competed for and gotten academic jobs without the phd. Two come to mind - both well outside dc where the fs experience is more rare. Go for it!

I know someone who recently made the jump. He has a JD, but isn't teaching at the law school, so I don't know how much that matters. He is young, but had a reasonably senior post in the Obama administration, so not really someone retiring. He also had to move to a place many of us would not be terribly fond of.

[Anonymous]

I would be very surprised if a government bureaucrat with no PhD who had never worked in academia actually understood how one goes about accrediting international exchange programs. Accreditation is also usually specific to a particular region. It is a very specialized skill set. So is working with liability issues that arise with international exchange programs. So is working with student personnel issues. People who work with student issues involved in study abroad in particular tend to have degrees in student personnel which focus heavily on counseling type skills. You also sound really arrogant

[Anonymous]

As someone who is very familiar with the job you mention, you are not qualified for an interview. People with these jobs have 20 years of experience in international higher education,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As someone who is very familiar with the job you mention, you are not qualified for an interview. People with these jobs have 20 years of experience in international higher education,

Without knowing my specific background, you are in no position to judge. But a lot of what I have been doing for the past 10 years is exactly what is in the job description. In fact, the universities are coming to me when they are making connections in-country in order to get doors opened and introductions made.

[Anonymous]

And why are people being so nasty?

[Anonymous]

I think OP's tone comes across as overly formal and a little pompous in the context of an online parenting forum.
But regardless--I worked in academia without a PhD. Despite lots of applicable experience and multiple masters, I was often treated as a second-class citizen and/or the village idiot. It's a credentialist environment and they really value the PhD, because that's what they do there.

[Anonymous]

I agree that OP should get over themselves. It can be hard to transition fields, especially if you think you're entitled to a higher up slot than you really are in your new profession.

I work for a highly-sought after employer in the area. Always in the top if Best Places to Work, etc. you wouldn't believe how many friends of friends think they can waltz in at really high titles. I would say, even if they have top credentials, MBAs from top schools, McKinsey consulting, etc, there are highly qualified applicants for each opening, and the outside people don't always understand the nuances or details of the industry of company.

Job hunting is always hard. Just check your attitude before you get angry about not even getting an interview for something you are "highly" qualified for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that OP should get over themselves. It can be hard to transition fields, especially if you think you're entitled to a higher up slot than you really are in your new profession.

I work for a highly-sought after employer in the area. Always in the top if Best Places to Work, etc. you wouldn't believe how many friends of friends think they can waltz in at really high titles. I would say, even if they have top credentials, MBAs from top schools, McKinsey consulting, etc, there are highly qualified applicants for each opening, and the outside people don't always understand the nuances or details of the industry of company.

Job hunting is always hard. Just check your attitude before you get angry about not even getting an interview for something you are "highly" qualified for.

I'm not angry. I've not even applied because I saw the Ph.D. requirement. Here are the basic functions of the position:

- expand the University’s international engagement and provide leadership for global international initiatives

In my current position, I lead a variety initiatives aimed at expanding markets for American exporters, including educational organizations seeking international partners.

• oversee the recruitment of international students, setting and meeting specific recruitment targets at the undergraduate
and graduate level

- have successfully worked with U.S. universities to reach out to foreign students, including leading education focused trade missions and fairs as well as providing customized services for U.S. universities and colleges seeking partnerships with foreign universities for study abroad, faculty exchange and student recruitment.

- managed recruitment efforts for prestigious U.S. graduate fellowship program, conducting outreach and marketing to foreign students in a very large foreign market.
- established international alumni programming to maintain university connections with their foreign student alumni.

• oversee the articulation of international resources on campus and to coordinate the international functions and resources
of the University (including the Office of International Affairs and the Office of Study Abroad) under a single Office of
International Relations and Programs

• keep a database of all joint degree programs and international partners, and to match students with opportunities for
international study

• assist with international admissions, recruitment, advertising, advising, scholarships, financial aid, transcript analysis,
articulation agreements, dual degree programs, and credit transfer

• lead efforts to develop, maintain, and enhance international partnerships; to assist Colleges and Departments in
managing and creating international programs and reciprocal Memoranda of Understanding with international partners,
including universities, corporate entities, grant funding agencies, and consortium programs

- have worked with universities, corporations, government, grant funding agencies and others at the executive level, negotiating international partnership agreements for funding, student exchange, etc.

• assist with the international branding and reputation of the University

- have built branding programs for U.S. regional consortia programs.

• familiarity with Visa regulations

- via Osmosis

• host and engage with campus visitors and dignitaries from foreign institutions seeking to establish partnerships with UL
Lafayette.

- managed faculty exchange programs for a leading U.S. university with partner institutions in Europe and former Soviet states.

QUALIFICATIONS:
appropriate academic training and professional experience in global education and international relations;

M.A., international affairs, published author in the field and 20 plus years experience in the field.

experience in university administration at the Department Head level or higher;

OK, no, but was Assistant Executive Director in a previous life of the Global Studies Center at USNWR top 30 ranked university.

foreign language competency and intercultural sensitivity;

-Fluent in four languages and experience managing multi-cultural teams and staff.

experience in academic leadership and budget oversight; Terminal degree in the field or Ph.D. required

No Ph.D or academic leadership experience, but experience with oversight of multi-million dollar budgets

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And why are people being so nasty?

Because they are jealous of OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:foreign language competency and intercultural sensitivity;

-Fluent in four languages and experience managing multi-cultural teams and staff.

Which languages besides English? I'm a language teacher, and love hearing from fellow Americans who learned languages as adults.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And why are people being so nasty?

i don't know but op sounds like a jerk. maybe that's why.

- np

[Anonymous]

Op, just you reaction to hearing you might not be qualified for this job is showing some level of insecurity.

Go ahead and apply, you might be proven right. But don't dismiss others who say that the specific items they've requested in the job description are usually there for a reason, regardless of your justification for why you don't have them.

And to the previous posters, I don't think anyone is being nasty if they are telling the unvarnished truth to zoP.