How have you used your liberal arts degree?

November 1, 2010 9:01 AM

I'm a political science/economics double-major with an Arabic minor graduating in May from a highly ranked public university. Who else out there had a similar course of study, and what did you do with it after you graduated? More details inside.

My concentration is in international comparative politics, and I'm specifically interested in the Middle East. My economics degree focuses on Econometrics, but there is no way I am smart enough to do anything professionally in that field (and I have no desire to even if I were).

The obvious answer that I hear from everyone I've talked to so far is DOS/CIA/DOD/some other government agency, but from what I can tell, my GPA is not high enough (3.2) to secure one of these positions.

I've already consulted with the university's career advisors and other job-hunting resources, but I still have yet to talk to actually talk to anyone who has a similar educational background who has hunted for jobs in the recent past.

Thoughts?

posted by cirgue to Work & Money (18 answers total)

I would still encourage you to apply to "DOS/CIA/DOD/some other government agency," especially if you can demonstrate interest in their mission through internships, study abroad, or specific classwork.

Especially if your Arabic is ILR 2 or higher.
posted by Nomyte at 9:10 AM on November 1, 2010 [3 favorites]

GPA matters less than you would think. Mine was the same, maybe a 3.1, and I managed to get myself into the diplomatic corps easily.
posted by fso at 9:34 AM on November 1, 2010

If you meet the physical requirements, a military career (either as a line officer) or doing something like intelligence might also be possible.
posted by Jahaza at 9:47 AM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'd think you could work in journalism, print or electronic. Take the Foreign Service exam, too.
posted by Ideefixe at 9:51 AM on November 1, 2010

As FSO and Ideefixe said, the foreign service officer application process doesn't factor your grades. Rather, you'll be evaluated on your book learnin', analytical skills, and interpersonal skills (among other things). You can google around for the 13 precepts to get an idea of what the DOS looks for in FSOs.
posted by eulily at 9:53 AM on November 1, 2010

I basically did what you did, but sub French for Arabic, and all as part of one integrated program at a school noted for that program. I went straight into finance, as did many of my classmates (consulting as well). There were also lots of kids who went into the State/DOC/CIA career path. Many also did the NGO route as well as the IMF/World Bank type thing. Plenty did Peace Corps. Lots of people sat the Foreign Service Exam, and a few of my classmates are doing that. Ten years later there are lots of folks who are lawyers and MBAs, but lots of people who went to grad school for Public Policy, IR, and Public Health.

Basically its a really good background for lots of jobs. The one thing I would say it can lack is the quantitative stuff - so the Econometrics background really makes it stronger.

The GPA issue really matters only in the context of on-campus recruiting and getting past the HR people - it is a really easy screen. Make sure you get around them somehow and you'll be fine. 3.2 isn't in the "WTF were you doing" range where it could call into question your intelligence or work ethic.
posted by JPD at 10:07 AM on November 1, 2010

GPA is important, but economics, politics and arabic? That's not a common skillset. Apply to the CIA.
posted by empath at 10:11 AM on November 1, 2010

A friend of mine majored in econ at what I'm assuming is a far less prestigious school. He's spent his time since graduating working for the state and federal government as an economist (for instance he worked for the IRS for a while, though I know that's not the only job he's had).

He makes a lot more money than I do with my puny anthropology degree slaving away in the film industry. Now big financial firms are trying to recruit him to do something-or-other. He may have an MA in econ as well, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't have an MBA.
posted by Sara C. at 10:11 AM on November 1, 2010

Take the Foreign Service exam, but be ready to walk away thinking, "and I thought I was smart, dang." I was the only person in my oral exam group who didn't have at least a Master's degree; despite the fact the exam was literally down the hall from where I worked during my State Department internship (the secretaries were so pleased to see me!) I was blown out of the water by how good my competitors were. I was half a point below the cutoff, in the end. I took it as a sign that it's probably OK I didn't go to Yale, after all.

I ended up in municipal government (Political Science and International Studies double major, focusing on the post-Soviet Russian sphere with an eye towards emerging democracies as opposed to kleptocracies and outright dictatorships; my Russian was not good enough to get a job using it.) My department director (who majored in Russian history) has instructed me to get an MBA.
posted by SMPA at 10:12 AM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

I have a somewhat similar educational background.

I ended up going for graduate degrees that I didn't really need to get the job that I eventually wanted.

Apply for DOS/CIA/DOD/some other government agency jobs. Start applying soon because the clearance takes awhile.
posted by k8t at 10:18 AM on November 1, 2010

Everybody here keeps pushing the government jobs - are you sure that's what you want to do? When I went to college I was positive I wanted to work at State. I used to mock my undergrad b-school housemates for their miserable education (still do actually, but that's neither here nor there) - then I got some exposure to it, and realized that it was not for me.
posted by JPD at 10:55 AM on November 1, 2010

Friend of mine had undergrad & grad degrees in poli sci and Eastern European languages. She's worked in NGO's all over Eastern Europe and eventually got a diplomat job. She's talked about how thrilled she's been to help people, how exciting it is to travel all over, how great it is to experience other cultures firsthand.
posted by galadriel at 11:14 AM on November 1, 2010

Couple options besides government jobs:

1. UN
2. Oil companies and contractors
3. Telcos
4. IT/Startups (fair number of my ME business school colleagues started IT companies in their home countries)

Good luck!
posted by zia at 12:31 PM on November 1, 2010

Defense contractors are desperate for Arabic speakers to do annotation, auditing, and metadata for large projects. A list of Federally Funded Research and Development Centers here. Most FFR&DC offer great benefits, including tuition aid for post-graduate education.
posted by Sidhedevil at 12:58 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

If you are considering applying to the CIA, you should ask the mods to anonymize this post. The CIA regularly recruits on my campus and they specify that applicants should NOT tell anyone that they are applying or it will compromise the range of the positions they can be considered for.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:00 PM on November 1, 2010

The CIA is also famous for "recruitment theater" to make the job seem a lot cooler then it is.
posted by JPD at 7:04 PM on November 1, 2010 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks for all of the responses. These have been really helpful. If I were to do government work, I think I would be more interested in diplomatic work or USAID than CIA.
posted by cirgue at 7:52 PM on November 1, 2010

Contractors! Contractors contractors. There are tons of USAID-contractors, intel contractors, shipping-things-for-USAID-and-State contractors, defense contractors, etc. It's not as cushy as government, but it has a far lower barrier to entry - and a far lower barrier-to-leaving. Most jobs are DC area.
posted by quadrilaterals at 6:04 AM on November 2, 2010