Foreign service officer vs specialist

The differences between foreign service officers and specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes More than 10 years to become a foreign service officer, becoming a specialist takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a foreign service officer has an average salary of $87,433, which is higher than the $58,013 average annual salary of a specialist.

The top three skills for a foreign service officer include USG, international organizations and technical assistance. The most important skills for a specialist are patients, customer service, and work ethic.

Foreign service officer vs specialist overview

	Foreign Service Officer	Specialist
Yearly salary	$87,433	$58,013
Hourly rate	$42.04	$27.89
Growth rate	6%	10%
Number of jobs	57,644	358,433
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	52	42
Years of experience	-	2

What does a foreign service officer do?

Foreign service officers aim to promote peace, support prosperity, and safeguard citizens whilst promoting their country's interest abroad. Your responsibilities in this role will include defending your nation's foreign policy in political conversations and helping citizens who are traveling overseas get their visas. You may also assist with international adoption issues and handle matters involving citizens' birth and death abroad. You may have to deal with NGOs, human rights activists, journalists, etc. To be a successful foreign service officer, you need to develop skills in leadership, negotiation, and innovation.

What does a specialist do?

Specialists are employees who are responsible for specific tasks or activities in the department they are assigned to. The actions or tasks they work on are related to their educational background or work experiences. They are usually highly skilled in specializations related to the work they are assigned to. Specialists are also highly trained on the competencies that are required of their specialty. As such, they are focused on the skills and competencies that are needed to enhance their experience in their specific field further.

Foreign service officer vs specialist salary

Foreign service officers and specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Foreign Service Officer	Specialist
Average salary	$87,433	$58,013
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $137,000	Between $32,000 And $104,000
Highest paying City	-	Jersey City, NJ
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	The Citadel
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between foreign service officer and specialist education

There are a few differences between a foreign service officer and a specialist in terms of educational background:

	Foreign Service Officer	Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Political Science	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Foreign service officer vs specialist demographics

Here are the differences between foreign service officers' and specialists' demographics:

	Foreign Service Officer	Specialist
Average age	52	42
Gender ratio	Male, 69.3% Female, 30.7%	Male, 47.5% Female, 52.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.8% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 10.5% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	12%	11%

Differences between foreign service officer and specialist duties and responsibilities

Foreign service officer example responsibilities.

Perform and successfully manage the daily administration and oversight of projects to ensure efficient delivery of goods and services.
Conduct interviews, file benefit claims and represent veterans at local and BVA hearings before the VA appeals division.
Act as control officer for congressional delegations, visiting ambassadors, and other VIPs.
Develop and coordinate comprehensive USG strategy to monitor and combat incitement to violence.
Charge with cultivating relationships with foreign individuals and institutions to promote USG policy.
Develop and implement staff share program within perioperative services, coordinate with site managers to maintain adequate staffing for each location.

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Specialist example responsibilities.

Create, manage, and assist users with SharePoint sites.
Manage an on-site IRB and company good clinical practice (GCP) inspection.
Manage SharePoint sites by creating, editing, and customizing company sites, libraries and security.
Manage the building of accounts, assigning of static IP's, and scheduling of business class installations.
Convert servers from UNIX to Linux, all hardware diagnostics and repair including printers/plotters/desktops etc.
Follow safety procedures such as maintenance of all equipment (Telxon scanners, terminals and ladders).

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Foreign service officer vs specialist skills

Common foreign service officer skills

USG, 12%
International Organizations, 11%
Technical Assistance, 10%
CUI, 6%
Law Enforcement, 6%
DOS, 5%

Common specialist skills

Patients, 15%
Customer Service, 11%
Work Ethic, 5%
Patient Care, 4%
Exceptional Client, 4%
Troubleshoot, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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