Double Major: Psych and International Studies?

College Majors
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<p>I agree with zapfino’s earlier post: "The areas of social and political psychology study many relevant topics for international relations. Psychology certainly would have something to say about topics like risk & decision-making, groupthink, leadership, the mindset of terrorists, why people engage in actions like genocide, cross-cultural understanding/misunderstanding, ethnic group stereotypes, propaganda, sanctions/incentives, etc. "</p>

<p>Just saying<br>
To the original poster: Good Luck with the future and all you do</p>

<h2>Peace ~ Tennis28</h2>

<p>No, you are completely wrong.</p>

<p>I mean, how many people do you think they need to do that? Not many - and the ones who do are all experts in a certain field, not people with BA/BS in Liberal Arts majors.</p>

<p>That kind of stuff is more for think-tanks and research centers, not law enforcement.</p>

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<p>Sorry, but that’s what I’ve been told by a number of people in fed.agencies…Just repeating what I was told. No need for anyone to be mean :)</p>

<p>With the amount of terrorism and intel needed, it would be good for this type of thing…</p>

<p>SORRY, but like i said, this was based off what i was told and IMO.</p>

<p>^I still don’t think that Accounting is going to help with counterterrorism as much as knowledge on a region would, but whatever…</p>

<p>GOOD LUCK to the OP.</p>

<p>Goodbye</p>

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<h2>^I still don’t think that Accounting is going to help with counterterrorism as much as knowledge on a region would, but whatever… ~ Tennis28</h2>

<p>How do you think terrorist organizations operate? WITH FINANCING!!!</p>

<p>Besides, a BA in IR doesn’t provide any expertise. Unless you have years of study in a particular area and have worked there overseas with it’s assets and community members, you aren’t going to know squat.</p>

<p>Everything is money tracing. Nearly every investigation will be based around financing and money, not “regional knowledge”, which they have experts in and people who actually work within that country/area of the world.</p>

<p>Almost every crime such as we are discussing will involved to things, 1) Money tracing, 2) Computer/Internet.</p>

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<p>^ I’m sorry but that was just rude^^ I was presenting another side of the arguement and agreeing with an earlier poster. If you didn’t like it, then sorry, but there’s no need to fight over CC. </p>

<p>I’m only forwarding advice that I received from people who ACTUALLY work in this field. I apologize if it isn’t correct, but honestly, I’m not telling the OP what they SHOULD do, just what i’ve been told has worked…besides, my last few posts have just been defending myself and my advice from you ^^</p>

<p>Sorry, but I don’t feel like arguing over something this stupid anymore. I cited my sources (you have not) and I’m moving on.</p>

<p>…</p>

<p>To the OP: I apologize for the fact that our disagreement has taken over your thread. It wasn’t my intention…and I honestly tried to end it. Hopefully, others on this site continue to give you advice without fighting each other…take EVERYONE’S advice with a grain of salt and do what you think is right for YOU.</p>

<p>If all else fails, as your guidance councilor or talk to someone who works at the college you want to go to. They’ll know better than anyone on CC what works for their students, and you know you can trust them. (They won’t argue for THEIR side, they’ll help you with what’s right for YOU).</p>

<p>Good Luck, OP!! :)</p>

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<p>I ACTUALLY work in the field also, which is why I know what I’m talking about.</p>

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<p>sorry to cut in but i agree with some what tennis said and…zapfina’s (?) one earlier post. </p>

<p>my uncle is an SA, so hes told me that undergrad doesn’t matter much, but that workers who know about a region or their people (terrorist, civilian, whatever) would be consulted for something simple (unless they were intel analysts…then they actually had to know what they’re talking about). (this is normally from natives or advanced degrees, though…)</p>

<p>(but i can still see what you mean, bigeast, when you mentioned funding for terrorists…but i thought there were people who looked that up?? eh, i’m probably wrong about that lol)</p>

<p>Good luck to whoever started this thread.</p>

<p>P.S. what does OP mean? Thanks</p>

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<h2>but i thought there were people who looked that up?? ~Isismarie</h2>

<p>Looked what up?</p>

<p>Forensic Accounting is a skill, you don’t simply type “where do terrorists get their funding” on google or some database and the answer pops up.</p>

<p>Bad guys wash their money using various sources, so it takes alot of work to figure out where the bad money is, where it came from, ect.</p>

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<h2>my uncle is an SA, so hes told me that undergrad doesn’t matter much, but that workers who know about a region or their people (terrorist, civilian, whatever) would be consulted for something simple (unless they were intel analysts…then they actually had to know what they’re talking about). (this is normally from natives or advanced degrees, though…) ~ IsisMarie</h2>

<p>A person with just a BA can’t have the degree of expertise to be consulted on anything, not with out work experience that provides them with that knowledge.</p>

<p>Again, IR is just a general degree. Writing a few term papers on a region doesn’t make you an expert on squat.</p>

<p>Now, if you are a PHD in Economics with research in the crop production in Brazil, sure that is different.</p>

<p>As I keep saying, a BA is only a check mark - it doesn’t matter what it’s in. They don’t sit down and say, “well this person was a Poli Sci major, or this person was a IR major, ect.” It’s just, ok - this person checked yes to having a degree, move on to the next criteria.</p>

<p>People get hired for the job, then get assigned to different divisions in which they gain knowledge from working experience and training. That’s how it’s done.</p>

<p>If you want to be an SA, the best thing to do is join the military as an Officer, or go become a Police Officer. Those two fields crank out the majority of 1811’s. Having a JD helps as well.</p>

<p>The agencies are different. USMS and DEA hire alot of former military and street cops.</p>

<p>FBI hires alot of accountants, attorneys, computer forensic experts and intel folks.</p>

<p>The Secret Service also hires ALOT of police officers and military, they also like accountants and computer people because of their investigative jurisdiction.</p>

<p>All agencies have 0132 Intel, which are alot of former military analysts, detectives, and people with research experience. An IR major can be helpful here just because it might give you some research experience, but that’s about it.</p>

<p>What makes you competitive for the job is your answers to the KSA’s (Knowledge, Skills, AbilitieS) assessments you fill out when you apply. That is what gets you to move on in the process.</p>

<p>None have a real preference on your degree. Degrees just matter for your GS level and promotions, that’s about it.</p>

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<p>about the accounting part: i just thought that there were people who specialize in hunting down any non-obvious financial sources for terrorist groups (idk, though. like i said before i’m probably wrong)…if it were that easy, i’m sure accounting wouldn’t be something agencies look for. they’d just make the case agent google it :). </p>

<p><but i do know that about terrorists and their financial sources. i researched it a bit for school (at least, some of those in the ME)</p>

<p>i never said that they instantly became experts (which is what you seem to be saying), but that if one agent doesn’t know squat about a region and they have a question, they might go to another agent who studied about it in college or was originally from. say, the Middle East.</p>

<p>do you mind me asking where you work, bigeast?</p>

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<p>Just to prove my information IS credible: :)</p>

<p>In the book “FBI Career Guide”, on page 121-123, it tells you that first you must have a credible four year degree with either substantial language knowledge, or at least three years’ work in that field.</p>

<p>Then, you must fall into one of the FBI’s critical skills categories. These include PHYSICAL SCIENCE (which includes medical specialties (psych, perhaps)), and INTELLIGENCE. Under INTELLIGENCE, this includes two years’ full time in an intelligence activity, OR (as this has been expanded recently to include) UNDERGRAD and GRADUATE degrees in International studies, international finance, or related programs.</p>

<p>^^many of this–as was much of my other info in my earlier posts–is (quoted) from “The FBI Career Guide”, written by Joseph W. Koletar. His “stellar FBI career spanned four decades, culminating in his role as Section Chief in the Criminal Investigative Division, where he was in charge of the Witness Protection Program, Criminal Undercover Operations, Aviation and Surveillance Operations, and the Strategic Intelligence Operations Center.”</p>

<p>Again, OP, Good luck!</p>

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<p>Psych isn’t a physical science - so strike 1.</p>

<p>Secondly, I already mentioned that an IR major may allow to apply under Intel.</p>

<p>But that’s all it does - allows you to apply. It has nothing to do with being competitive for the job. </p>

<p>Do you understand that concept? It just means they accept your application - nothing more, so strike 2.</p>

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<p>What about IR/econ?</p>

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<p>It doesn’t really matter.</p>

<p>Majors don’t really matter. IR/Econ is fine. IR is fine.</p>

<p>You will get hired based on your working experience, not your college major. It’s just a check in the box that satisfies a requirement and determines what GS paygrade you get picked up at.</p>

34

<p>Perhaps an economics major as well as studying abroad or doing an international internship would be the best fit?</p>

35

<p>It really depends on what the OP wants to do for a living. I assume he/she wants a career in homeland security - just judging on the first post.</p>

<p>If so, there are really only two or three outlets. The first, is government agencies such as the FBI, CIA and all the other federal soup agencies (all have a piece, for example the US Marshals SOG deploys all over the world). </p>

<p>Those agencies hire based on skills and work history. Majors mean little to them. I know I sound like a broken record, but having a degree is just a check in the box and satisfies the requirement for college education. However, some degrees can set you on a path to acquire needed skills, such as Computer Science and Accounting. Both those skills are in heavy demand by federal agencies tasked with investigations and security. So if I were to pick the “best” major it would be one of those two.</p>

<p>Now, if you have relevant work experience, an IR/Poli Sci/Econ/History/Psych/CJ degree is just fine, because it no longer really matters, what matters is your work history. When you fill out your application you will just check YES, I have a Bachelors degree and move on. What really makes you competitive is your work history.</p>

<p>Remember, this agencies are law enforcement agencies (with the exception of CIA, NSA), so the best place to get experience to make the jump into federal law enforcement is from local/state law enforcement. Go become a street cop or a state trooper. Do that for a few years and get exposed to different aspects of law enforcement then start applying to federal agencies. The DEA, USSS, USMS, and ATF recruit very heavily from local/state police departments, I’d say 60% are former police, then a large percentage of military (many have both), followed by attorneys and accountants. </p>

<p>The other main avenue to get experience is the military, especially as an Officer - personally, I think that is the best route. You are involved in international security operations from day one, get a security clearance, work with multiple agencies, countries, and units daily and get the best training in the world. Intelligence Officers are heavily recruited into federal LE, as are any Combat MOS officer. Intel probably has the most overlapping skills though. </p>

<p>The only other real avenue is federal contracting, which typically just hire former military/fed types with current clearance. Not realy entry level type work.</p>