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

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.