<p>Why do people believe DC = IR. Get real. The world--and careers in IR--do not revolve around the American capital.</p>
<p>No, but a lot of the jobs that you can get that are "IR-schooling based" do. No one's saying that you have to be in DC, but a collection of the best schools are there (Georgetown foremostly and a host of other good ones, undergrad; Johns Hopkins Nitze School (aka SAIS) foremostly and others graduate). DC has a lot of IR-related jobs that just don't exist in most other parts of the US, with the possible exception of UN-related jobs in NYC. Of course, you don't have to go to DC for school to get these jobs, but for some that's a strategy some use.</p>
<p>for grad school, Maxwell (at SU) is hard to beat...</p>
<p>also you can major in public policy (in addition to, or in place of IR), and have the opportunity to represent a country on a specialized committee OR have a different (and perhaps more lucrative) career at a think tank...</p>
<p>alanstewart...are you kidding?</p>
<p>I love languages and can pick them up pretty quickly but not without significant study, etc. So my question is, how DO you learn six or more languages? I plan to study French and Spanish in college (and maybe a semester or two of Swahili, since I want to do a lot of field work in Africa for an NGO), but I don't have time to do much else unless I ONLY study languages.</p>
<p>Plenty of great organizations besides US Foreign Service and UN... World Bank, IMF, IDB (someone said they wanted to work in South America, thats probably the best), US AID, Asian Developlmet Bank, African Development Bank, OAS, to name some well known ones.</p>
<p>The only ambassadors I've ever met (with the exception of Spogli in Italy) have worked their ways up from the Foreign Service (Venezuela, Nepal, Panama, Uruguay, and Costa Rica).</p>
<p>You mentioned that you need to do research to understand the field. I would do so extensively.</p>
<p>Pros and Cons of US Foreign Service</p>
<p>1) See the world
2) Represent your country and its foreign policy (this can be a double-edged sword, no matter what political stripe you are)
3) Meet interesting people
4) Be involved in interesting things
5) Work with some first-rate minds. There are some really sharp people in the foreign service.</p>
<p>Cons</p>
<p>1) First posting likely to be a place like the Republic of Congo, as happened with a friend. Look, I've been to Africa and I loved it. But if you think being in the Foreign Service means drinking Espresso in Rome before work, you would do well to consider that you don't get your first choices, especially initially of where you go.
2) Ambassadors almost entirely politically appointed. The result: morale problems in the service. Some people say this system has destroyed the service. You work your whole life to be number 2 and serve as counselor to some jack*ss.
3) Hard to have a family, meet spouses.
4) Pay's not great, though there are other perks.
5) Mid-career switching out of the foreign service can be tough.
6) Team B in the foreign service are career bureaucrats.</p>
<p>I have had friends who have stayed in and loved it and friends who have dropped out after loving it and then changing their minds about their career. And friends who really didn't like it from the start.</p>
<p>Preparation:</p>
<p>1) Any good school can prepare you.
2) Take economics and political science classes.
3) Consider going to a school of IR/foreign service. For undergrad, Georgetown and Tufts seem to be very good. For a Master's: Columbia, Hopkins (SAIS), Princeton, Tufts (Fletcher), etc.
4) If you want to work for the World Bank or the UN (places where there are quotas for each country and which therefore are beyond competitive for entry), getting a PhD in economics or a law or other advanced degree can help.
5) Demonstrating to yourself and the Service that you have the capability to learn languages can be a good thing. But just 'cause you know Italian, don't think you'll get posted to Italy, as an example. My friend posted in the Congo knew Chinese.</p>
<p>It's a tough road, but can be a lot of fun for the right personality. Oh, and the people who have done really well in the FS are people that would have done well in just about anything they tackled. They are real stand-outs. And as a result they've been fast-tracked. And every one of them has married a non-US citizen, 'cause that's where they are at that time in life.</p>
<p>Yea if you want to sip espressos in Rome I would suggest working for WFP, its based there and has a very large office in Quirinale.</p>
<p>OMG, in post #3, I forgot to put "primitive" in quotes. I can't believe I did that! Sorry, I did not mean it (even though this thread was from a longggg time ago). Actually, I should've not used the word at all. A better term would be "indigenous populations." </p>
<p>You have every right to punch me.</p>
<p>Politically correct, gianscolere1. Good! You're already on your way to an IR career.</p>
<p>This thread is so old that my plans have actually changed :) </p>
<p>Anyway, my correction was not a matter of political correctness but of accuracy. There are no "primitive" societies, since they cannot be ranked.</p>
<p>true... but we do still continue to do so unfortunatly</p>
<p>by the way....</p>
<p>every thread about IR recommends
Tufts
Princeton
Johns
Gtwon
GW
American
etc etc</p>
<p>but... are there other schools less well known or less recognized in the area of Undergrad IR ?
Any in the Midwest(not Macalester.. mega bias) or South ?Thanks</p>
<p>whats with the major bias towards mac?</p>
<p>"every thread about IR recommends
Tufts
Princeton
Johns
Gtwon
GW
American
etc etc"</p>
<p>This is because there is nothing like getting an IR degree in one of the most important political cities in the world. These schools are schools that have a very good name. I would reccommend those schools because IR especially to become a diplomat, requires making strong important connections. These schools, especially Gtown and Princeton provide them. Politics is mostly based in making good contacts and connections. IMO.</p>
<p>Well go to Georgetown School of Foreign Service and then get back to me.</p>
<p>I'm a bit wary of the liberal use of the word "diplomat." What exactly do you guys want to be doing? Foreign service? In that case, any top IR program and a good score on the FSO exam is the best path.</p>
<p>I applied to Brown to study IR (now I gotta see if I can get in)...what opportunities are there for a non-US citizen in the US in terms of IR?</p>
<p>cynicalowl,</p>
<p>With the United States government, the opportunities are extremely limited. For almost all clearances above confidential, you almost always have to be a US citizen. </p>
<p>As far as working for international organizations, you're fine. What country are you from?</p>
<p>UK citizen, been living in Hong Kong most of my life. Opportunities in HK for me are also limited because my Chinese sucks.</p>
<p>The logical thing from most people's perspectives was that I go to the UK for college since I could work in British intelligence and whatnot if I wanted to. However, 1) I might switch majors/double major/major-minor, 2) I don't want to specialise so early, and 3) I needed a change of scene.</p>