I was recently laid off from a retail business that was downsizing.  I’m in my 30’s, with a bachelor’s degree in English, and I didn’t like that job anyway.  I’ve always wanted to travel overseas, so a friend asked whether I’d ever considered working for the State Department as a foreign service officer.  I looked into it on my computer and started thinking about it.  The selection process involved taking the FSO test.

There are no specific educational requirements spelled out for this position, but it obviously helps if you have some knowledge about subjects like political science and international affairs, and it doesn’t hurt to speak a foreign language.  I figure I have an advantage there because my family immigrated to the US from Taiwan and my parents made sure to teach me Mandarin.

I like to think things out before making important decisions.  I’ll be filing for unemployment insurance next week, and the retail business provided some severance pay, so my immediate bills will be taken care of right now.  Since I’ve decided to take the FSO test, I might as well do something to better my performance.  I found an online university that lists online courses like political science.  I was surprised to see there are schools that even offer online masters degrees  in this field.  I can also take some economics, if I want.  I’m feeling optimistic.

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