FSOT Preparation & Reading Project

As I am finishing up my second-to-last year of university, I am constantly aware of my impending need for full-time employment.

Ever since I decided to pursue Chinese and Linguistics at university, people have constantly been telling me to look into the Foreign Service. I’ve always just brushed it aside, until recently. Something kind of switched and now it’s a very serious consideration for me. 

I’m hoping to take the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) in the next year or two and just see where that goes. Most people don’t get in on the first try (and to be honest, it’s not really something I want to jump into right after university), but I’m just going to take the test and see. 

To prepare for this test, wherein they can basically ask you about anything related to any event, place, culture, etc., I’ve decided to come up with a project. I have come up with a pretty extensive reading list that focuses on areas of interest (East Asia, East Africa, the Middle East), and areas I don’t know that much about (Central Asia, the Middle East, pretty much all of Africa, and other specific issues and areas). The reading list was primarily based on one on the State Department’s website. 

This all came about in February, when I was traveling around China between semesters. I had a lot of time to think about what kinds of things I wanted to do after I graduate. I made a big reading list and got going on it pretty much immediately. I read two or three books on my trip in February, two of them being The Realities of Foreign Service Life and The Morning They Came for Us, both on my reading list. 

The Realities of Foreign Service Life is interesting, but I would recommend Inside a U.S. Embassy (which I am reading at the time of writing) instead. It’s an invaluable insight into the range of careers and jobs within the Foreign Service. It was a good litmus test for my interest, and I’m more interested after reading it. 

The Morning They Came For Us is a great introduction to the ongoing conflict and civil war in Syria. It’s brilliantly written and filled with incredible and heart-breaking stories that bring the conflict to life. It’s also got a great amount of background and history for those who don’t know much about a lot of things (me). 

That brings me to my ongoing motivation for this project. In school, I basically only had three years of history class. Two of those years were European History and U.S. History. That’s great, I guess, but it’s such a biased focus. In my senior year, I took a class focused on 20th century history. We just had to cover way too much (the whole world) during the year, and although it was a good introduction to some areas, I felt the perspective on certain areas such as the Middle East and Latin America was from a colonial perspective. I am just really not pleased with the knowledge of history, geography, and politics that I left school with. 

I am taking it upon myself to correct that. This reading list, which is ever growing, is my curriculum on the world. It’s been a super fun side project. It feels so good to learn about what I want at my own pace. It’s a really nice change to learn about something outside my degree. It also makes me feel ever so slightly better every time I learn about a new place, culture, historic event, or ongoing conflict. I also am continually humbled by how little I know and how much there is to learn. 

I mentioned above a few of the books I have finished already, but I also write about the books I read every month in my Monthly Recap. You can also follow me on Goodreads if you’re interested in my reading lists and what I’m currently reading. 

I have also created a non-FSOT-related reading list to also continually learn more about my other interests. I have only come up with one book I want to read for pleasure. The rest are mostly about China or classics, which I don’t really want to read, but will make me feel more cultured if I do make myself read them. I doubt this section will get much attention, as I don’t really like reading fiction. 

Finally, the last part of my project has been to read the news every day. I really didn’t think this would be as successful as it has been. I hope to keep it up, now that the habit is more or less established. I have been mostly reading the Guardian, BBC News, and CNN online. I have just got a student subscription to the New York Times, which I’ve been considering doing for a couple of months. I will still be looking at news from a variety of sources though. 

I also think late night comedy shows like Stephen Colbert’s show and the Netflix talk show Chelsea are interesting sources. They obviously weave in a lot of comedy, but they also are a great place to go to think about the state of US politics in addition to other topics on occasion. I admire Colbert’s lack of hesitation in ‘going there’ with his jokes. They are unreserved and quite cutting. Chelsea Handler isn’t necessarily who you’d think to go to for political opinions, but I think her earnest curiosity is inspiring and she’s done a lot of really great interviews with experts in every field. She has done interviews with the former Secretary of Education, candidates for local elections, scientists, and more and I think her show is really worth checking out.