Indian foreign service is one of many other departments in the central government that students like to get into so they prepare for civil services examination so that they can get into to these services.
But in this blog we will take a look at the benefits and drawbacks of becoming an Indian foreign service officer and see whether it is a good career option for you or not.
So let’s get started.
Pros and cons of becoming an officer in Indian foreign service
Pros
- Becoming an officer in Indian foreign service is considered to be one of the most highly respected professions because you will be representing entire country as a ambassador in other countries.
- You can also enjoy lots of perks being an Indian foreign service officer like you can get a car for transportation facility and all of your bills like phone, medical and house bills are paid by the government at the same time you can also get security and bodyguards and servants to work in your home for your comfort and convenience and post retirement can also get minimum pension from the government.
- You can also get good average salary as an Indian foreign service officer if you are posted in foreign countries as compared to other departments of India like IAS and IPS.
- Being an Indian foreign service officer you can get a chance to meet international leaders including president, prime minister and other important leaders of other countries where you have been posted as ambassador and diplomat or consulate representing the country.
- Because the entire department of Indian foreign service deals with improving and establishing good political, social and economic relationships with foreign countries as an Indian foreign service officer you can get a chance to visit on average of more than 20 countries in term and this can give you a lot of exposure & experiences and improve your knowledge and skills a lot.
- You have many additional benefits of being a diplomat in foreign countries like getting special treatment from the host nation for example even if you commit any crime even then the host nation cannot condemn or arrest you and even the Government of the host nation and the police services cannot enter your embassy without your permission and much more benefits due to the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations.
- As officer in the Indian foreign service you will get appointed as ambassadors and diplomats in foreign countries so you can work freely without any political interference compared to other departments like IAS and IPS which have larger political interference and involvement in your profession.
- As an Indian foreign service officer the Government of India will take care of the education fees of your children (only two) who are above 5 years of age in foreign countries as long as you are in the tenure and this means that your children can get foreign exposure and study in best education, environment in foreign countries.
- The Indian foreign service officers get luxurious car with a blue colour plate on it when they get posted as diplomats to foreign countries and with the diplomatic immunity after the Vienna convention even the host nation police and government cannot check and stop your car, this is a special power you have as only diplomat in any country.
- As an Indian foreign service officer you can also get more than one month of time of holidays to visit India if you are posted in foreign countries as a diplomat and during the work and important meetings you can also get first class and business class aeroplane tickets along with stay in 5 star hotels and food and all other expenses are paid by the Indian government.
These are some amazing benefits of being an officer in the Indian foreign service.
Cons
- Even though you can get a chance to take your parents and family members along with you when you will be posted in foreign countries because you will be getting frequent transfers to other countries as a diplomat it can affect your family life because they will constantly change and get settled in new environment and culture and it can become quite hard to get accommodated.
- Because of frequent transfers if you are getting your children along with you then their education and life can also get affected because even they have to visit new schools and colleges and start their preparation and make friends from zero whenever they visit new country.
- You cannot control which country you will be posted on and this can lead to alot of variability and you can get yourself being posted as a diplomat in countries like Iraq and Iran or Syria which are war prone countries or other countries like Nigeria and Egypt where the environmental situations can be hard for you to live.
- As an Indian foreign service officer you cannot marry a non Indian women in the foreign countries without the permission and conversion of the citizenship of women to Indian and approval of the central government of India and if you do so you will be dismissed from the department.
- If you take your parents along with you in foreign soils other than india as Indian Foreign Service officer the Medical fees of your parents will not be paid by the government of India
- If you don’t take your family and parents along with you to foreign Nations then you can only get chance to meet them and get back to India for only 40 days in one year and this can lead to homesickness & loneliness for officers.
- Every year the intake into the Indian Foreign Service has averaged between 30-35 persons annually.The present cadre strength of the service stands at approximately 850 officers manning around 193 Indian missions and posts abroad and the various posts in the Ministry at home because of very limited number of seats and vacancies it is very difficult to get into the Indian foreign service compared to other services and departments like IAS which have more seats and vacancies.
These are all the disadvantages of being a diplomat and officer in Indian foreign service department.
Is Indian foreign service Good career option and worth it?
Just like other departments of Central Government of India even Indian foreign service can be a good and bad option both at a time.
Indian foreign service can be Good career option if you like the following situations,
- You like to travel and visit new countries
- With Indian foreign service you have great responsibility and power and you will be representing an entire nation
- You can work freely without any political interference
- It is one of the most highly respected and highly satisfying job filled with patriotism
If you agree with all these situations you should consider Indian foreign service as your career option and it is going to be worth it.
The Indian foreign service officer would not be a good career option if you,
- You Don’t like to travel alot.
- You don’t want to stay away from your family and parents.
With that being said let’s conclude the post.
Conclusion
These are all the things you need to know about Indian foreign service.
Do let me know what are your thoughts about Indian foreign service and whether you are interested in becoming an officer in it.
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