Slim Cognito wrote: ↑Wed Jul 12, 2023 12:15 pm
Gotta a vague, general question(s) that only need a vague, general answer(s).
Do you speak a lot of languages and, if so...
Do they teach you or is it something you already knew to get the assignment?
Training follows the specific assignment and specific job. See, one joins the Foreign Service on two primary tracks -- specialists and generalists. Despite the name, one can technically bid on any time on any open position if one can convince the hiring managers one can do the job, but the common rule is that specialists are like Warrant Officers in the military, 'technical' specialists in specific management or security skillsets (finance, HR, IT, diplomatic security) and only crossover as 'excursion' tours either a) as the Management Officer who sits above most of the Specialists at post, because they've learned general leadership or b) in a skill they have separately from their career track (example: I knew a guy whose original undergrad degree was in Economics, so even though he's an IT guy, they were so hard up for Economic Officers for a certain domestic assignment, they let him take the gig). Generalists, on the other hand, are equivalent of Coast Guard line officers an can serve in any skill slot that isn't so specialized as to be reserved (rule of thumb: a generalist can do everything but IT, medical, or security work).
Most specialist gigs do not get language training unless they will have an extensive staff who do not speak English. Most officer/generalist gigs, do.
IRM (IT specialist) slots rarely get language training.
General Service "Officer" (logistics specialists who run everything from motor pool to supply chain management to housing assignments on behalf of the overall Management Officer) often run the largest or second-largest sections at an Embassy, with lots of drivers and stevedore types whose English may not be great, so they *can* get language training.
Most of the non-Management Office tracks (Political, Econ, Consular, Public Diplomacy) will get language training. Generalist officers can't be tenured until they take or test out of at least one language.
All of us can voluntarily take part in any at-post immersion langauge training that is offered. So I might take some private tutelage while I am here. I didn't at my first assignment because my department head was very controlling. But here, maybe I'll luck out.
So, yeah, more than you wanted to know, but that's basically how it works.