You may have noticed that I haven’t written a word on this blog since I joined A-100. Because I’m too busy, right? Well, there’s actually another important reason.

I could hardly contain myself as the announcer, speaking to a room filled with newly minted diplomats and 300 of their closest friends and family, began: “Berlin, Germany….” I buried my face in my hands as I muttered “there is no way I’m getting this” before jumping out my chair when my name was called, stumbling past my classmates and generally acting like an idiot as I progressed towards the podium where I received a little German flag.

Jobs at the US embassy are not just reserved for diplomats (I mean FSO Generalists) – the majority of American employees in embassies are actually something else. So what types of hires are they? And how do you get a job like that?