Steppingstones to my future: Career Essay by Minji Kang

My childhood affected a large portion of my interests, values, and skills, which all led to my future career as a Foreign Service Officer (FSO). As an only child, I grew up alone and had a lot fears, especially about wars and death. Whenever I heard about wars or homicides, I have always dreamed of a world where we could live without fear, hatred, and pain. At first, I got scared and started to sob, but from one day, I started to ask myself of ways to change the world. Fortunately, because of my frequent family trips to several foreign countries, I became interested in other countries, their languages, and culture. Therefore, I could use my background knowledge from what I had learned and experienced. Because of my interest in knowing new cultures and people, I had valued relationships, and my knowledge in languages and cultures improved. As a result, the test for my career choices became a doorway to my determination to become an FSO.

My values, skills, and interests mainly affected what I want to be. Since I am “artistic, social, and enterprising” (Holland 2), I value relationship and responsibility the most. I put my best effort to complete and accomplish what I am responsible for, so I feel very uncomfortable when I do not do my works and just fool around. I think of relationships as an important part of my life as well; this includes my relationships with God, friends, and families. What makes my relationship gratified is having faith and treating others with respect. I also enjoy being involved in art-related activities like singing and drawing, and I have some talents in languages. My interests in art and my skills in languages might seem like they do not get along very well. However, for a person like me who is interested in arts of different cultures and able to speak more than one language, FSO is a perfect job. Moreover, I am “sociable and civic-minded” (Keirsey 2), so I will be able to communicate and socialize with representatives from different countries pretty well. Furthermore, I concern about the world and its conflicts, with means I already have a set mind and attitude to help making the world into a better place: “I worry a good deal about society falling apart, morality decaying, standards being undermined, traditions being lost, so I do all I can to preserve and extend the institutions that embody social order” (Keirsey 2). Overall, my characteristics and personalities will be a big influence to the future, and I should develop my skills and knowledge to achieve my ambition.

In order to become an FSO, I should know its roles and requirements that I should meet. FSO’s have many duties to help the development in international relations and economy: “they promote peace, stability, and prosperity, including advocating foreign policy, protecting citizens, bolstering business throughout the world (Career Profiles). These people work all over the world to attend conferences, or sometimes just work on documents. To become an FSO, I should receive a bachelor’s degree in one specific subject and apply for the job in the Department of Foreign Service. I must choose one of the five different career tracks: “Management Affairs, Consular Affairs, Economic Affairs, Political affairs, and Public Diplomacy” (U.S. Foreign Service Department). Then, I should take the FSO written exam, and if I pass the exam, I will be taking an all-day long Oral Assessments. Lastly, I have to pass the Comprehensive Physical Exam and a rigorous background security check. My earnings for the first year would be $39,691(U.S. Foreign Service Department). I wouldn’t necessarily have to be fluent in a foreign language because there are language trainings for overseas businesses; nevertheless, I already am able to speak two foreign languages. Nowadays, it is very hard to become an FSO because there are only a few hundred slots each year only for the people who pass all three exams. Therefore, it is getting more competitive to work in the Department of Foreign Service.

Being an FSO would be an awesome opportunity for me. I would get to visit many different countries and make new friends and memories as I work for the country I applied for. The country that I will apply for would depend on what nationality I will choose when I become twenty-two years old, but for right now, my plan is to become a South Korean FSO. The reason is because I want to show wonderful and fantastic cultures and traditions of South Korea that are not very well-known to people around the world today. I particularly want to work for cultural development department to introduce our culture, traditions, as well as the technological, economic, and artistic abilities to other countries. Even though Korea is developing more and more these days, I am pretty sure that if other diplomatic workers and I put in our best effort to solve international conflicts and keep good relationships with other nations, we will become more developed and recognized to other countries. Thus, it will lead to not just the comfort and pleasure of people in South Korea but also the peace and well-being of the world population.

Works Cited:
"Career Profiles." The Princeton Review. 2007. The Princeton Review, INC. 13 Mar 2007 .
"Foreign Service Officer." Careers Representing America. 27 Mar 2007. U.S. Department of State Careers. 18 Mar 2007 .
Holland, John L. Assessment Booklet: A Guide to Educational and Career Planning. Lutz: Psychological Assessment Resources. Inc., 1994.
Holland, John L. The Occupations Finder. Lutz: Psychological Assessment Resources. Inc., 2000.
Keirsey, David. Please Understand Me 2: Temperament Character Intelligence. Del Mar: Prometheus Nemesis Book Company, 1998.