Mid-Career Pathways into Diplomacy

Introduction to a Series

Thank you for joining me again. Since launching the Gazette last month, your most FAQ has been: how to switch to diplomacy mid-career? Today, the start of a monthly series on many possible pathways in.

Also this week:

2025 UN Young Professionals Programme opens

HH Pope Leo, HM King Charles III

Hurricane Melissa: how to survive a crisis

6 top jobs + 6 fellowship/research opportunities

Diplomacy can feel obscure, elitist and dauntingly competitive. I joined the service at 30 after chancing on a newspaper ad, thinking admission would be impossible for “someone like me”.

I found both barriers and (fortunately) my ideal roles. Readers have sent their own stories of “late entry”. My successor in Havana was in his mid-50s.

But how do you get in?

With flexibility, realism and ambition you can find more pathways in to diplomacy than you might imagine. Today and in coming weeks the Gazette will identify diverse pathways with guidance, resources and links.

The introduction, with 6 headline pathways and a few extra pointers and tips: