How to make a career from International Relations?

College Majors
1

<p>Hey everyone. Before I ask my question, I'll give some background information.</p>

<p>Throughout my life, I've lived in 4 countries and in 4 different states. This is all due mainly to the work of my parents as my father once worked for a corporate company. Given the fact that I've never really lived in one place for more than 2-3 years, I've become exposed to many different cultures, languages, and peoples. It's what has led me to want to major in International Relations in college next year and do some extensive studying in different parts of the world. I've already studied abroad in Mexico, Spain, and Japan, finished AP Spanish this year, and am in the process of studying Japanese. </p>

<p>I will be attending Lewis & Clark College in the fall and will continue my studies in Japanese. Lately, however, I've been thinking about my language and international politics studies beyond my college career and what it is I want to do with graduate school and a career after that. I've been looking closely at a job with the CIA (please, do take me seriously) perhaps with clandestine service or language analysis. I also looked at doing something in the U.N. I essentially want a job that will allow me to live and work across the world, particularly with politics and foreign policy. </p>

<p>So I have two questions:</p>

<p>1.) If I do indeed attempt to pursue a career with the CIA, what are some other languages I should be studying? I plan on speaking English, Spanish, and Japanese very well by the time I graduate, but I think I should also learn Chinese (given the booming economy) and then a European language. Perhaps German? Or something a little more east of that, like Russian? What are some languages that are useful in the professional International Relations world? It would be cool to speak 5 languages by graduation! LC offers:</p>

<p>Chinese
French
German
Japanese
Russian
Spanish
Greek
Latin</p>

<p>2.) What are some adventurous careers that can result from an International Affairs major? I'm planning on attending graduate school at Georgetown (American, GW), or another IA focused graduate school in the D.C. area. I figure the location is prime for what I want to study, and the opportunities are endless. But what are some career options that include traveling and working abroad? Ideally in politics? I keep thinking CIA, but I honestly don't know how I'm going to get a job in there. The U.N.? What are some other options?</p>

<p>All I have is a dream of a career doing something I love to do, which is analyzing and studying different cultures and peoples in an effort to better national and international security...</p>

<p>Thanks for any help!</p>

2

<p>I am not only interested in career options from International Relations but I am also a prospective LC applicant! I hope you don't mind me messaging you in the future...</p>

<p>Oh, and being profficient in Japanese by graduation will be a tough feat. Just as a background, I recently finished my third year of Japanese and will be moving into an accelerated fourth year (we're already using the books the local colleges (UCLA, SMC) use) if my school approves of the course. My class has had numerous speakers come and talk to us about their experiences in learning the language and they all warn us that proficiency will take years of study (at least five) and to actually be able to hold conversations on a native level will take much more. To be considered proficient on a proffessional level, your Japanese is expected to be top-notch.</p>

<p>Russian I hear is also difficult in the same way and a few people have told me that Chinese is ridiculously hard for Westerners. If you decide to stick with Japanese, learning French as an addition would be the way to go in my opinion. It is spoken in numerous countries around the world, the primary language of diplomacy and the language of many international organizations, and as a Spanish speaker will be very easy to learn by graduation.</p>

3

<p>Yeah, I'm aware that the eastern languages are difficult. Let me change my phrasing to that I plan to be decent in Japanese by graduation, and perhaps Chinese as well. Perhaps I could further my study in Japanese and Chinese at grad school?</p>

<p>I was leaning towards French...I'd love to do Italian, but LC doesn't offer it! I think German could be good too tho...</p>

<p>And no worries if you want to PM me about LC. I'm not a student yet, but I'd be more than welcome to provide some insight into the admissions process.</p>

4

<p>You sound a lot like me when I first entered college. </p>

<p>With regard to the languages, however, I think you need a small reality check. I've studied Chinese for three years, and have lived in China, and I can guarantee you there is no way you will be able to do Chinese + Japanese and still have time to study international relations. Learning any one of these languages takes years and years, and substantial time in-country. Depending on current Japanese skill level, you might be able to learn an 'easy' language in your spare time. French is a good choice if you are interested in working in Africa; Portugese would enhance your Latin America credentials and, because you already speak Spanish, would be extremely easy to learn. If you want another Asian language, you might consider studying Bahasa Indonesian/Malay. It's very simple, and variants are spoken in four countries. </p>

<p>There are two things to remember about the CIA. First, about 40% of people who receive conditional offers from the CIA are eventually turned away after failing the security clearance process. People fail for all kinds of reasons, and it's hard to predict who will make it. The second thing is that analyst work, at least at the beginning, is boring. Analysts don't really travel. For the first few years or so, most of your time will be spent skimming newspapers and writing briefs that you will never see again. That's the most frustrating thing about being an analyst--you don't get to see the impact that your work has.</p>

<p>From your post, it sounds like you are interested in a more 'adventurous' career path, so you might want to consider other options. The UN is a possibility but as an American, you will have an extremely hard time getting hired. The World Bank is somewhat more achieveable. You might also be interested in the US Foreign Service, or perhaps international journalism, or international development work. Read this document, it outlines the main career paths in international affairs: </p>

<p><a href="http://www.american.edu/careercenter/students/career/APSIAInternationalCareerGuide2006.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.american.edu/careercenter/students/career/APSIAInternationalCareerGuide2006.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.</p>

5

<p>You should look into Arabic if you can. Are there any colleges nearby that offer it or could you do a summer class at your local university? I've heard it's pretty difficult to learn, though. It may be something to pursue in grad. school. Remember that you don't have to knock yourself out with languages in college, you can keep learning them in grad. school.</p>

6

<p>Yeah, I think I've decided to drop the Chinese deal and just keep on with Japanese. I think I should place in Japanese 201, but it will all depend on how I do on the placement exam. I've completed Japanese 101 and 102 with an A average, and I really enjoy studying the language. It's difficult for me to drop the idea of Chinese all together though because the kanji used in Japanese are the same characters used in Chinese. The meanings of the characters can be similar, but also sometimes be different. THAT aspect of Chinese makes it attractive as a language option, but I've concluded that many of the far east languages are difficult to learn...</p>

<p>I think I will take French then. And perhaps some "check up" work on Spanish. I don't think any colleges around me offer Arabic, but I would love to learn.</p>

<p>Thanks for the info and the link Samonite. I'll have to closely read that link a little later.</p>

<p>Any other tips?</p>

7

<p>hey guys! i'm kinda on the same boat. i'm a rising senior tho.</p>

<p>anyway, i would really love a career where i get to be involved with international affairs...lol. i'd love to be an ambassador or something and interact with different ppl from different countries on behalf of say the U.S or china.</p>

<p>and majors like international affairs, international relations, foreign policy, etc seem to be the type that could get me into that global field. except i have practically no clue what's the difference between all of 'em. any inputs would be greatly appreciated. oh and suggestions/advices would be great too :)</p>

8

<p>bump .</p>

9

<p>OK guys, bump. What CAN an IR major do?</p>

10

<p>Some jobs that pop into my head are:
politician
political analyst/consultant
ambassador
lobbyist
non-profit worker
teacher
journalist/reporter</p>

11

<p>There are some grad schools worth considering outside of DC:
Monterey Institute of International Studies for example.
For business, Thunderbird School of Global Management in Arizona (where you're required to speak a foreign language).
Another job possibility is journalism...working for Voice of American, Radio Marti, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, al jazeera, The International Herald Tribune, The BBC, or The Economist.</p>

12

<p>If I do indeed attempt to pursue a career with the CIA, what are some other languages I should be studying? I plan on speaking English</p>

<p>The CIA will die for a Arabic/Farsi speaker. Also the CIA also offer scholarship/intern programs you should look into on there website , cia.gov.</p>

13

<p>You sound a lot like me (except I am taking Arabic).</p>

<p>Georgetown SFS puts out a book every so often called Careers in International Affairs; they just came out with the 2008 edition at some point in the last month I believe... I was the first to get it at my library! It is especially useful in providing examples of and essays by individuals of varying experience that have been in the field, who give their perspective on a certain subfield within IA... such as government service, foreign service, intelligence analysis (CIA, DI, Homeland Security), international business, and non-profit.</p>

14

<p>The UN is very difficult for Americans, the main way into the UN is through the Young Professionals program but the US does not participate except for a few jobs. You have some credentials that gov. agencies would want, between the languages and the time abroad, so you may have a better shot at government jobs than some people do. It isn't easy, though, I've seen very, very qualified people get rejected and you never really know why. </p>

<p>I think that given the language you have, you may also be able to find a more business based job that would allow you to travel and live in various countries. </p>

<p>I didn't study IR undergrad but that's what my MA is in. Presently I work for a think tank and write for a UN-centered news website. I've been in the think tank world both in DC and in NYC so that's what I know well but I ended up in it in part because my plans to go work for an international organization like the UN didn't work out. However, I love what I do, so it's all good.</p>

15

<p>I think you'd like to be a foreign service officer for the US State Department. I'm also looking into that, and it was one of the biggest reasons I decided to begin learning Arabic. BUT LC doesn't offer Arabic, which is lame, but if you could possibly find someplace around you that offers it, I would DEFINITELY go into learning that. It IS difficult, but definitely do-able.
If you're still looking to decide what other languages to take, google the State Department, then click Careers, then Foreign Service Officer, then Selection Process. Go down to Foreign Languages and they have lists of Super Critical languages and Critical langauges, along with some other info you might like.</p>