ABSTRACT
Not all organizations in the United States use the rank-in-job system, but most do. Noting the few exceptions may help explain the differences between the two systems. The military, the teaching profession, and the Foreign Service are prominent examples. Most paramilitary organizations, like police and fire departments, also use rank-in-person. Whether a person works in the motor pool or as a clerk in a company headquarters, a private is a private; whether a person teaches “Introduction to American Government” or a graduate seminar in political theory, an assistant professor is still an assistant professor; and whether a person approves visas in our embassy in Cairo or analyzes political developments from a desk in the State Department, a Foreign Service Officer-8 is still a Foreign Service Officer-8. In all these cases, pay and status go with the rank a person holds, not the job he or she performs.
