Careers

Students who complete CESSI and learn a Central Eurasian language have a vast array of employment opportunities open to them. Whether you’re looking for a job in government service, academia, or the private sector, a Central Asian language is a great addition to your skill set! Below is a breakdown of some resources to aid in your job search depending on if you’re interested in private, academic, or government employment. You’ll also find some more general resources here:

• ASEEES has a great list of different resources, also broken down by sector, which you can find here
• TopLanguageJobs has a great search engine for foreign language positions in the UK
• CREECA often posts announcements about job opportunities that may be of interest

There is certainly no shortage of resources for students looking to pursue a career in the government. Below, we’ve compiled some resources that may be helpful to you in your job search:

• USAJOBS
  • This is a great place to start looking for jobs with the U.S. government. Keep in mind, however, that this site requires users have a login.gov account and a USAJOBS profile in order to apply for positions.
  • Additionally, some agencies post job opportunities to their own websites. If you’re looking for employment in a specific agency, you can search for it here.
• You can find more information about the U.S. Intelligence Community here. This site is especially useful for area studies specialists and linguists.
• Students and recent graduates can visit this site for information regarding hiring pathways and other student programs
• Veterans and those who have served in the military can visit this site for information on Veteran’s preference and special hiring authorities
• More information about Schedule A hiring authorities can be found here.

Helpful Contacts

If you have questions about hiring processes, government employment, etc., feel free to reach out:

• For general questions about State Department Careers: careers@state.gov
• Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) outreach and recruitment: INR-Jobs@state.gov
• Diplomats in Residence Program
  • Diplomats in Residence are career Foreign Service Officers and Specialists located throughout the U.S. who provide guidance and advice on careers, internships, and fellowships to interested students. To find a Diplomat in Residence in your area, visit this site.

The private/academic sector also boasts a wide array of opportunities for CESSI students to pursue a field in which your CESSI language is used regularly. Here’s a list of things to consider when searching for a private sector job:

• • Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS)If you’re interested in conducting research or acting in some sort of administrative role, consider checking out some regional think-tanks or similar organizations. The following is a short list of groups that we have promoted as having some job opportunities:
  • Council on Foreign Relations
  • International Republican Institute (IRI)
  • Institute on International Education

American Councils for International Education is hiring for a variety of different positions. See below for links to more information & to apply. Note that each position may have a different application deadline.

These opportunities recommend/require Russian and Kazakh language proficiency:

• Alumni Coordinator, FLEX North Kazakhstan
• Alumni Coordinator, FLEX South Kazakhstan

This opportunity requires fluency in Tajik:

• Program Assistant & Social Media Specialist, FLEX

Other job opportunities at American Councils:

• Senior Program Officer, Field Operations 2023
• Program Officer, International Visitor Leadership Program 

We will continue to update this page with more job opportunities as they arise. If you have questions or would like to inform us of a relevant job opportunity that you’d like us to promote, please reach out to cessi@creeca.wisc.edu.