I'm looking to break into the international relations field after having been in the corporate world--can anybody assist?

November 27, 2007 8:01 PM

Ok, here's my story. I'm in my mid 20's and I reside in the Boston, MA area. Since college I've worked in the corporate world, currently selling advertising. As of late, I've been considering some major career changes, mainly pursuing a career in international relations.I've even looked into grad schools for next fall as M.A's are often pre-requisites in this field. Has anyone undergone a similar career change? Or any career change at all? If so, any advice would be appreciated.
posted by inight33 to law & government (7 comments total)

Moving from IT to academia here after about eight years of cubical life. I wish I was in my mid-20s when I started, but oh well.

IR is a challenging field, but rewarding. I imagine there are lots of options for grad school in Boston as well. Your corporate experience doesn't hurt you one bit.

Start making phone calls with admissions, make some department contacts, and go for it!

Good luck!
posted by wfrgms at 8:07 PM on November 27, 2007

You're at a great age to explore. There is no reason not to pursue your graduate interests; you are at exactly the stage in life where you have some seasoning and some passion, some life experience and the proven ability to prioritize and to support yourself. You are a prime candidate for graduate school.

I made a slight career change, from formal education to public history. I'm considering a third, to academia. There is some rule of thumb which says the average professional will change careers at least 4 times in their working life, and jobs every 3-5 years. Don't overthink. The days of being a company person are long over. Build your skills and CV; seek all the expertise you can sponge up. All skills at high levels are transferable.
posted by Miko at 8:27 PM on November 27, 2007

Both myself and Deathalicious made a mid-20s career change from IT to get MAs in international studies (with a heavy IR component).

We did it the cheap way (or at least that was my motivation) and went to the UK. Granted, with the exchange rate the way it is now, it isn't AS cheap.

But, the advantages of going to the UK, as I saw/see it:
- No GREs.
- You can apply late (most U.S. grad programs require applications to be in by Dec. 1).
- Only 9 months (2 10 week terms (Oct - Dec then Jan - Mar), then exams (late May - beginning of June) and write a master's thesis before end of September of the next year, I moved back to the U.S. to write my thesis).
- Only in class 6 hours a week allowed me to work 2/3rds time and there are many many places for native English speakers to work in London and make a very good hourly wage.
- Living in London was amazing.
- Tuition is 10,000 pounds, so at the time $18,500 AKA the Stafford Loan amount. Obviously today it is different, but I did the Stafford Loan for tuition and took out a private loan for living expenses.
- With good and recognized schools, a British MA is well-recognized in the U.S.

But, just FYI, "careers" in international relations are FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. Of my graduating class, very very very few people actually got jobs. Those that did knew at least 3 languages and had work experience before they studied. Lots of the Americans in my MA program took the Foreign Service Exam. Only some of us passed. None of us made it onto the 2nd round.

Most U.S. MA programs will take 2 years and many won't fund you. A lot of grad programs save the fellowships and TAships for the PhD students. I have lots of friends that went to SAIS and Fletcher (probably the top 2 IR programs in the U.S.) and they have just ask many problems getting jobs as my classmates have.

So, to sum it up, I'd probably think first about what exactly / why exactly you want to get into IR, seeing as the job prospects are dim. If you're not totally sure what/why, but you want to dabble and see if you like it, I'd suggest doing the 9 month UK route. Worst case, if it doesn't work out, it was 9 months of your life, spent in London, rather than 2 years of your life.

For me personally, it re-awoke in me a desire to learn that I had forgotten about in my 5 years out of school... then I decided to go back for a PhD. My U.S. PhD program accepted my UK MA just fine.
posted by k8t at 8:31 PM on November 27, 2007

Do you have thoughts on what you're actually interested in *doing*? There are lots and lots of career paths in IR: development, diplomacy, security, business, law, etc etc etc
You'll do yourself a HUGE favor by thinking about what you want before dropping two years and $120K on a master's program.

I just graduated from a top public policy program in the Boston area with many people that were focused on Intl stuff (I focused on comestic policy but seriously considered international work for a long time). My program was good for human rights and security. Other programs are better at area studies or diplomacy.

The most successful students were the ones who had a really good idea of what they wanted to do. Some had worked in the private sector, but had done undergrad work in economics, poli sci or IR. Most, though, had worked for nonprofits here or abroad, or in government.

Unlike k8t's experience, most of my classmates have found jobs (we graduated 6 months ago). This may have to do with the fact of being in the US, where so many international agencies are located. But again, the students who have had the hardest time were the ones who came in without much prior experience AND without a good idea of what they wanted to do.

Even if you don't know exactly what field you want to work in, it might be helpful for you to tell us what it is about IR that appeals to you: is it the travel/living abroad? Interest in international politics or economics? Similarly, what kind of work do you *like* to do in general? What are you good at?

Going to, say, the Fletcher School at Tufts because you're interested in IR would be like going to architecture school because you're interested in buildings. Sure, you'll get to work with buildings, but maybe what you really wanted was to actually build the buildings, in which case you would have been better off apprenticing as a carpenter.

One final suggestion: if you never have, I suggest working abroad for a couple of years before going to grad school for IR. There's nothing like on-the-ground experience. Peace Corps, teaching English, whatever: it'll get you on the ground.

Feel free to email me if you want to pick my brain further.

ETA: If you are interested in diplomacy, definitely apply for the Pickering Fellowship. Free ride for grad school, then three years as a junior officer in the Foreign Service. Pretty sweet deal.
posted by lunasol at 9:05 PM on November 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

Doesn't the Pickering require you to be in your sophomore year of undergraduate studies when you start?

I second the UK option. I changed fields from Literature, did a 9-month masters' program at Cambridge and fell right into a job.

However, I also agree that there are very few job opportunities in IR, and even those don't pay so well because of the high demand for them. I know someone, formerly of DC, who just took an academic teaching position overseas because the think-tank/journalism track did not leave him with enough money to take care of his family.
posted by laconic titan at 7:28 AM on November 28, 2007

Having had a DC IR/ think-tank job (luckily out of undergrad), I want to stress it's eye-opening seeing how many over-qualified candidates apply for pitifully few positions... Really, a huge proportion of people with a MA in IR and public policy, come to DC to compete for a TINY amount of jobs, (it's also interesting that once people get them, they work for a couple years and eventually move out of DC to pursue other things)...

If you are sure you want to do this both k8t and Lunasol offer really good suggestions...
posted by stratastar at 2:23 PM on November 28, 2007

Doesn't the Pickering require you to be in your sophomore year of undergraduate studies when you start?

There are two tracks, one of which starts in grad school.
posted by lunasol at 8:10 PM on November 28, 2007