I don't want to give the impression that a Foreign Service career is fraught. My 30 years were gratifying and I often felt I was taking part in history, instea

I don't want to give the impression that a Foreign Service career is fraught. My 30 years were gratifying and I often felt I was taking part in history, instead of merely reading about it. You're not paying for rent or utilities. Your children are provided (generally) with very good, very expensive educations going to school with children of diplomats of other countries. The pension is fantastic. It's good work if you can get it. Salaries are low initially, but as promotion kicks in, sooner or later you're making real money. My salary at retirement was a little over 160k a year, which is not bad for generic IT support. I retired at 62.