I did! I couldn't force myself to go through with it, honestly, plus I needed a little more experience with the languages which I couldn't afford; I couldn't travel or hire tutors; I was trying to live on 800/mo with no external support. I was sleeping on a mattress I dragged home off the street. I had no office clothes, no non-library work experience, nobody in my family who had a college degree to help me with the cultural expectations. I didn't even have a way to move to DC and back then you pretty much had to do that. I almost did a Master's just for the funding to move/live in DC but I researched that and was like 'that would be financially stupid'. So I didn't even though WITH MY SKILL SET it would have worked, because I read too much generic advice and had nobody to guide me.
That CIA signing bonus was REALLY tempting, though, I'm not going to lie.
That CIA signing bonus was REALLY tempting, though, I'm not going to lie.