Dilemma...need some advice about IR/law/life

Graduate School
1

<p>Sorry if this seems to be coming out of the blue. I'm a current med student who loathes what he's doing and is kicking himself for not majoring in IR back in the day. I'm a JHU English BA, graduated in '05, and would love to apply to grad school for IR or law school. However, I have about $22K in med student loans that I need to pay off, and was thinking about taking a commission with one of the armed services before grad school and hopefully pick up a useful foreign language (Chinese, Korean, Arabic)...Montgomery-GI bill will help pay for grad school, which I understand is ridiculously expensive for IR and law. I was wondering if any of you could suggest anyone (ie professors, ppl currently in the field) that I can talk to about this? I realize that there are a ton of prereqs for IR (econ, conversational or higher ability in a foreign language), but I keep finding myself way more interested in international affairs, trade, or law than medicine.</p>

<p>Some background about myself: I have a high interest in East Asia and Southeast Asia, since my folks come from that region. Unfortunately for me, I don't speak either language very well, but I have always enjoyed learning languagess formally , especialy when I was at Uni (I was at Intermediate/Conversational level for French). I've been on a medical track for so long (high school, undergrad, post-grad), that I think I've lost sight of that in some ways. I would say at this point that I am more interested in working professionally for State, intel agency, or a corporation overseas, but I do enjoy teaching, so a PhD would be terrific too. I would need to find out more details about both, however.</p>

<p>For a number of reasons - lack of engagement with the material and patients, lack of the fanaticism to love love medicine enough to do it for the rest of my foreseeable life, etc. - I am not going to be able to stay in medical school. I am truly interested in doing humanitarian and missions work overseas, however, I am also cognizant of the fact that I am going to need to make a living at some point to pay off all of my loans. I would rather fulfill my life doing something that I truly believe that I have a knack and passion for, then one that might be more financially rewarding. My parents think I've gone bonkers, but this has always been my philosophy (for better or for worse).</p>

<p>I'm at one of those critical junctures in my life - joining one of the services, applying to law or grad school, or doing Teach for America for a couple of years. I've taken practice GREs and LSATs, and scored 1520 (800V, 720Q, 6S) & 173, respectively. I do not have any real experience (internships, Co-ops, etc), with either IR or Law, which is part of my dilemma.</p>

<p>Anyways, any advice that you could give would be much appreciated.</p>

<p>-X</p>

2

<p>Um, why exactly would you even think of doing anything military-related right now? Getting language training would seem to be a poor reason to get thrown into a war zone, perhaps get killed, and then be abandoned once you get home.</p>

<p>If you hate med school, get out - I know lots of people who have done just that (and fled law school, too.) In the cosmic scheme of things, the debt you have isn't absurdly high - just live with your folks or get a few roommates, and you'll be able to pay it down slowly. In the meantime, you can take language classes or econ classes at local schools to bolster your credentials, and take some time to work in a reasonably well-paying field. Perhaps you can do a volunteer program in Asia for a few months, or even teach in Japan or China, where you'll be able to live well and experience all sorts of new things. Living and working overseas, especially if it's a region you're interested in pursuing for graduate study, will give you a HUGE leg up on the admissions process, not to mention make it easier for you to get a job in that region both before and after you graduate from your master's program.</p>

3

<p>Put Global Public Health on your radar (master's in public health). People in this field do some amazing work abroad, and I think that it is more pragmatic and social service oriented than an IR degree. You could also apply your hard science background (depending on your practice method / concentration) and that aspect would make you a strong applicant. </p>

<p>Programs that stand out include Emory, Johns Hopkins, UNC, Columbia, and Berkeley.</p>

<p>Also, check out a book called Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracey Kidder. It is about a dude named Paul Farmer, an MD MPH from Harvard who has done some impressive work in Haiti.</p>

<p>Best of luck in your next phase!</p>

4

<p>I can speak for the military portion, at least from an Army point of view. You can try to get your commission but it will be hard for you to be guaranteed language training that way. Officers are pretty much what they call "needs of the military" type positions. I had a degree before I joined the Army but opted to go in enlisted so I would be guaranteed language training. Officers get paid quite a lot more than enlisted soldiers do, but the pay as an enlisted person is still really good considering that the military pays for housing and food (even if you live off-post in an apartment or house).</p>

<p>I wasn't guaranteed the language I wanted (Chinese) but if you try to haggle enough with the person who writes up your contract, they might put it in writing for you. MIGHT.</p>

<p>The GI Bill is great. It offers some extra perks like Tuition Assistance which pays for other school-related bills. It will be extremely useful for paying off your grad school fees.</p>

<p>I didn't want to go to grad school before I enlisted so I opted to take the Student Loan Repayment Program. This pays off all your current school debts but there are two major problems with it: one, it voids you of eligibility for any GI Bill benefits. Two, the money goes straight to the financial institution but still counts as EARNED INCOME to you.</p>

<p>If you have any more questions about the military, feel free to ask. DON'T TALK TO A RECRUITER UNTIL YOU'RE SURE YOU WANT TO JOIN. I would recommend the Army since it's the most flexible but involves some risk/pain. You could join as an intelligence soldier like I did; I loved it. I spent 63 weeks studying modern standard Arabic in Monterey, CA. Keep in mind this would involve at least a 5-year commitment with 3 years inactive reserve.</p>

<p>You could also join as a medic, where you'd get some pretty hardcore medical training including hands-on at hospitals. You just wouldn't get a language that way.</p>

<p>All that being said, the military isn't right for everyone. Obviously with politics being what it is in the US right now, the usual IR mentality and the military mind-set are at odds. There's a physical component -- less so if you joined the Navy or Air Force. And there's the stupidity of tasks and details that also linger over one's military career.</p>

<p>It was the best thing I ever did for myself though.</p>

<p>Pursuing other options to find yourself might be less of a commitment. Peace Corps or projects like GVI (<a href="http://www.gvi.co.uk/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.gvi.co.uk/&lt;/a&gt;) might be better if you want to get moving faster towards grad school.</p>

5

<p>ParaguayIs Cool,</p>

<p>Yeah, it does seem a bit nuts, doesn't it? I guess my thinking was that I always wanted to serve my country and I thought it'd be a good way to do that, while picking up some skills that I'd be able to use later. It would also get me started towards paying off my debt, which was what I was kind of worried about.<br>
Thanks for all the responses, everyone. I'm going to use all the information I can get to make an informed decision.</p>

6

<p>As Blazing said I'm not sure if IR is actually your best bet if you actually want to go out and DO things in Southeast Asia or neighboring regions. Alot of people who get IR degrees don't necessarily work international jobs, so you might want to look into something (such as the Global Health Masters that blazing mentioned) that will streamline you more directly into a foreign career.</p>

7

<p>Definitely think about Peace Corps - it would give you the international experience and the language training with a much shorter commitment in terms of timing. Plus it will look great on applications to IR schools.</p>