U.S. Department of State

Both Foreign Service Specialists and Generalists are direct hire career employees of the Department of State.

Foreign Service Specialists provide important technical, support or administrative services in 19 career categories, including Doctors and Physician Assistants, Office Management Specialists, Information Management Specialists, Diplomatic Security Agents, Human Resource Specialists. Each category has specific requirements regarding education and experience. Details are available at: http://careers.state.gov/specialist.

Foreign Service Officers, also referred to as Foreign Service Generalists, enter in one of five career tracks - Consular, Economic, Management, Political, or Public Diplomacy. There is no specific requirement for education or experience. More information is available at: http://careers.state.gov/officer.

Employment benefits for Specialists and Generalists are generally the same. All serve in a series of overseas assignments at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world for much of their careers, with some domestic postings. The selection processes for Specialists and Generalists differ, although all include an Oral Assessment, medical and security clearances and a suitability review. Additionally, Specialists may be expected to serve within their functional area throughout their careers, while Generalists typically will have some assignments over the course of a career that that are inter-functional or in a different career track. For example, whatever the career track, entry-level Generalists usually serve in one consular or management assignment during the first two tours.