Diplomat

You represent your country abroad, handling everything from trade negotiations and visa processing to crisis management and intelligence briefings. You'll live in embassies and consulates around the world, navigate foreign cultures professionally, and attend functions where a single wrong word could become an international incident. It's the most sophisticated government job, and it comes with postings that range from Paris to places you need a security detail.

Learn the skills

Courses and certifications to get you job-ready

What you'll actually do

• 01Represent U.S. interests in meetings with foreign officials where every word is chosen with surgical precision
• 02Draft diplomatic cables and reports that inform policy decisions made by people who may never read them
• 03Process visas and consular services for citizens abroad, including some who got themselves into spectacular trouble
• 04Attend diplomatic receptions and functions where networking is literally national security
• 05Navigate local politics, cultural norms, and government bureaucracies that make the DMV look efficient
• 06Relocate every 2-3 years to a new country, uprooting your family and starting over each time