<p>I recently graduated with a major in Business Administration and I'm considering which graduate school route to take.</p>
<p>I'm currently applying to Peace Corps and hope to volunteer for 2 years in a business development project abroad. After graduate school, I would like to work in either a foreign service field (e.g. Foreign Service Officer) or in international development (World Bank, UN, NGOs, etc). My primarily reason for wanting to go graduate school is future career advancement.</p>
<p>After two years in Peace Corps and/or work experience- here are two routes that I am considering:</p>
<p>1) JD - International Law (I think that a law degree would be helpful in the diplomatic field and the course work itself is useful, but I have no interest in practicing law. Considering it's expense and rather intense coursework.. is it worth it to go for the degree but not practice?)</p>
<p>2) MBA + MIA - Master in Business Administration and a Master in International Affairs/International Relations--- this program will take 3 years to complete. </p>
<p>I appreciate any of your tips, suggestions, and ideas.</p>
<p>I would think rather broadly about what you might be interested in doing and pursue a graduate degree where people in that program go on to do jobs that sound interesting to you. I would talk with law schools about what their grads go on to do, other than just working in law firms, after graduation. If they have alumni working in NGOs, the Foreign Service, etc, see if you can talk with them about the transition from law school to a non-law firm career. </p>
<p>Based on your interests, you should probably check out various graduate programs in IR and in public policy. Many grads from those types of programs go on to work in jobs related to international relations, international development, and so on. Talk with career officers at the various programs and see what their grads go on to do and whether those jobs sound interesting to you. </p>
<p>You should also keep the cost in mind when looking at programs, no matter what you decide. Salaries are usually comfortable, but a huge graduate school debt could hinder your career choices. So, consider the debt load of any given program and the subsequent repayments of grad school debt and any undergrad debt you may have when choosing a program.</p>
<p>Finally, I wouldn’t plan my graduate school career with the specific goal of getting in to the Foreign Service. Last I heard, only about 2-4%, depending on the hiring needs and number of applicants, of the people who start the hiring process by taking the FSOT are actually hired to become FSOs. So, the odds are long and there are a lot of things that can derail a candidacy. Just look at programs that are interesting and where graduates go on to do jobs that are of interest to you, whether that’s the Foreign Service or other options.</p>