<p>I'm an International Studies major at Cal State Long Beach. My minor is in Russian and my geographic area concentration is in Russia and Central Asia. I'll be studying abroad in either Russia or Kazakhstan this upcoming Fall. I'm very passionate about my field and I can often participate in in depth conversations on foreign affairs. I've worked many jobs, but most relevant to my prospective career are an 8 month internship with Congress in my district and a 6 month and counting internship in the government affairs division of the nation's second largest port in Long Beach. I participated in Air Force ROTC for a year and a half but left due to me joining the program so late in my undergrad career. I'm also a member of the CSU intelligence recruiting consortium that recruits and helps people obtain jobs in the intelligence community from non-traditional locations (California, West Coast, anything but East Coast), CSU-ACE. What are my job prospects to land a job in my career field earning a minimum of 45k-55k a year? What can I do to increase my career chances?</p>
<p>It depends on what you define your career field as? Intelligence? Politics? Federal Government? You didn’t specify.</p>
<p>If it’s intelligence, you might find the most difficult hurdle is the security clearance. It just needs one tiny doubt, a history of mental illness even a blip. </p>
<p>If you’re physically fit enough with no medical issues then the military would be a good option. You could enter via OCS. </p>
<p>You could try to get further, more advanced internships from the same places but in slightly different departments. Getting your name out there as competent and a team player is very important. You could also email any strong contacts annually with an updated resume and a mention that you’re graduating in xyz. </p>
<p>I think one thing is that you need to be a little bit more humble in your subject knowledge. Unless you’ve spent extensive time in Russia or the ex USSR or perhaps your parents were emigres, you might not know quite as much as you think you do. Cultural nuances are fine in theory but so, so much more complex and subtle within a society on the ground. You’ll only be scraping the surface if this will be your first physical visit to the region. You aren’t an expert quite yet :)</p>
<p>How about seeing if there are any Russian emigre groups in California which lobby Congress? </p>
<p>Oh, and other areas where your language skills might be useful would be the FBI (needs work experience first), the Foreign Service, Consultancies for Russians wanting to do business with in America etc.</p>
<p>Making a minimum amount on graduation is a misnomer. A potentially high paying role further on in your career may be poorly paid to begin with.</p>
<p>I like your perspective highland. I’m sorry for not making my question clear enough but I’d like to enter into whichever field I could use my interests in Russia and Central Asia the most. Most likely, I’d like to be involved in policy making. Intelligence seems very attractive because of the expanding job opportunities which is ongoing. We are definintely witnessing an intel bubble expanding.</p>
<p>[U.S</a>. Intelligence Agencies Expanding Facilities Despite Declining Budgets - Defense News](<a href=“http://news.clearancejobs.com/2012/10/16/u-s-intelligence-agencies-expanding-facilities-despite-declining-budgets/]U.S”>U.S. Intelligence Agencies Expanding Facilities Despite Declining Budgets - ClearanceJobs)</p>
<p>I’m looking into Air Force OTS, but my GPA will be on the low end. Hopefully my letters of rec and AFOQT (Office ASVAB) will be a hedge for me, but we’ll see. I’m at a point right now where I’m either looking to make myself more attractive for OTS or apply now. We’ll see, the next board is in April. Documents need to be submitted in March.</p>
<p>I’m looking at more internships, but less politically focused. One thing CIA recruiters told me during our last session was that I don’t want to show any bias towards any particular poltical spectrum. 2 internships with a democrat isn’t a good as one with a democrat and another with a republican. But what republican will hire an intern who previously interned for a democrat? My next internship could be with a think tank. We have some out here in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>I can’t wait to go to Russia/KZ/former Soviet Union. I have much to learn and I can only learn so much from the immigrants who are young Russians with unique interests interested in pursuing the American dream. </p>
<p>So regarding pay, how would you think differently?</p>