<p>As you get into the graduate program I guess you will go more in depth.
(What are you considering as for major, specialization, minor etc… so far?)</p>
<p>You know what Coolbreeze I am confused, and now I have to go figure out all the different majors I am interested in. Well I will post tomorrow because I am going to do research tonight on all the different majors and what I am interested in. Thanks for confusing the h*** out of me Coolbreeze, jk. ; )</p>
<p>That would be a good ideal, since I also plan to have as it seems the same major… sharing the info you find would be great.</p>
<p>Alright I will post tonight, and you do the same.</p>
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<p>I’m actually a rising junior. I won’t go into college declared, but IR has been my focus for a couple of years. I’m from Maryland. My emphasis will probably be Peace and Conflict Resolution, with a double major in Arabic/Middle Eastern studies. However, I have no idea and I’m not closing any doors just yet. I’m interested in many of the social sciences, including Urban Studies, IR, Poli-Sci, and (Human) Geography.</p>
<p>If you want a job with a $100,000 salary, your best bet is not to choose a social science. It’s not a huge money making field like others. Also remember that some jobs that start high don’t necessarily end high; there’s a lot of room for salary growth in some fields whereas there is much less growth in others. If you don’t want to consider working in the public sector, your best bet is not to choose a social science. There are plenty of social science options out there that are high paying (usually after a number of years) and that aren’t with the government, but that’s the general job outlook.</p>
<p>Some people just want to make money. Others want to major in something interesting and go from there. I, for one, would rather do something I want to do. Don’t let anyone tell you $60,000 is not a good income. That’s a middle class income for TWO people, let alone one person. But, like I said, if you want to make a ton of money but aren’t interested in medicine or engineering, major in something you don’t like. It seems like a lot of CC students are just as hung up on getting a high-paying job as they are on getting into the Ivy league. Life isn’t about going to be the best college or getting the most money. You’re going to be working at least 40 hours per week for the next fifty years or so. You only live once. You mightaswell enjoy it.</p>
<p>If you can get into HYP, you can major in almost anything and be in a position for a decent job. If not, in most instances, the most lucrative degree is engineering, almost anyone with an engineering degree can get a 55k starting job.</p>
<p>people say liberal arts people start low and then outearn engineers, but that’s not true on average. Let’s say the average engineer starts at 55k at age 22. Let’s say a modest 3.5% raise per year, compounded over 20 years, that’s over 100k. I know there’s inflation, but an average liberal arts major does not out earn the average engineer.</p>
<p>I actually would like a job that earn 100,000+ and have found many jobs in the social science field ( even international relations alone) to have jobs that offer that amount plus more. It seems like a lot of peoples ideal of international relations major is difficulty with the earning of 100,000+ within a few years… which can be ones case if they don’t attend a graduate school. I like the jobs of inerternational relations and know the payment is well, though I will look more into the jobs salaries since that is also important.</p>
<p>Would anyone know a website I can use to view salaries in this field? I just want to get an ideal where others are getting information from.</p>
<p>trojanman10101 I see why you considered finances etc… I’m thinking maybe I should double major after reading more into things. I’ll just wait and see what you’ve found.</p>
<p>Well, engineers usually go through raises whereas many social scientists work for the government. The government has a clear pay plan that has grades and steps. You can advance as many as two steps per year. If you’re good at what you do, you advance through all the steps in a period of ten years, ON TOP OF getting yearly cost of living raises. So let’s say you’re starting at 60,000. You advance a step mid year and advance a step at the end of the year, which is normal. On top of that, you get a 3.5% living wage increase. You could increase your salary by $8,000 or $10,000 in a single year, for multiple years in a row.</p>
<p>Actually, a surprising number of individuals working in some of the most financially rewarding fields (law, finance, medicine, etc.) majored in English at the undergraduate level – don’t underestimate the importance in life of having good oral and written communication skills.</p>
<p>^
Speaking of different undergraduate majors, I notice majoring in international relations or political science ( and preferred emphasis) and possibly a minor… one can attend a graduate school international relations program or even law school. So the field is still vastly open after undergraduate.</p>
<p>Contrary to popular belief, it IS infact possible to make a lot of money and enjoy your work.</p>
<p>For you guys interested in IR, look into the Foreign Service program.</p>
<p>[U.S</a>. Department of State Careers - Foreign Service Officer](<a href=“http://careers.state.gov/officer/index.html]U.S”>Foreign Service Officer - Careers)</p>
<p>Sorry guys, INR and Poli Sci are both pretty useless. I guess you could claim these degrees are useful because there are certain jobs out there where you just need any Bachelors degree, but I’d aspire for better than that. Both are cool subjects to study but the degrees have little function. </p>
<p>International relations = international relations
Poli Sci = studying politics</p>
<p>There can be quite a bit of overlap.</p>
<p>Heh that’s funny coming from Gordon Gekko. True to character I suppose though.</p>
<p>Anyway, like I said before, you’re probably going to have to get a master’s to really advance in your field. So I wouldn’t get too tied down to one major in undergrad, lest you change your mind.</p>
<p>major =/= career</p>
<p>The degrees are not useless. Not even a high school degree is useless. It may not be your idea of “useful” (it seems to you like useful = big bucks), but they are definitely not useless and do have a lot of value.</p>
<p>My idea of a useful college degree is one where it helps you get a job (or work for yourself.) Realistically most liberal arts degrees don’t help much in that regard. Philosophy for instance is a wonderfully thought provoking major but seriously, there isn’t anything specific you can do with it. There are jobs here and there for Poli Sci grads but most of them aren’t very desirable and you’re just promoting someone else’s agenda… I think the liberal arts should be studied recreationally, you should get a degree in something else though. Of course, there are exceptions, but generally I think most lib arts majors would be better off with something else… Maybe my experience has just been particularly bad because I graduated during the recession, but I still think most people that choose lib arts majors do so for the wrong reasons.</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>Well this certainly isn’t good to hear. What would one suggest for someone interested in international relations, political science etc… It’s almost as saying law is also useless since it is almost the same as international relations, political science. I’m not saying I’m sold on the opinion ( so far from two posters) that these majors are not the best choice and careers can still be accomplished through other majors… but I would like to know the suggestions. I still think there are many jobs for international relations/ political science and one could decided to attend law school or a international relations graduate program. Though in some instances, there may be other majors that offer both as well.</p>
<p>Political science and international relations is also government etc… there are tons of government jobs also, I don’t see how people are over looking this as well. I’m not starting to get confused.</p>
<p>Most government jobs have little or nothing to do with studying government Coolbreeze. If you want to work for the IRS accounting > poli sci. </p>
<p>A JD is a professional degree and what you learn in law school is directly applicable to what you’ll be doing as an attorney. Law actually is still useless to some extent. A lot of people study Poli Sci in undergrad and go to law school afterwards; so many that we’ve got way too many attorneys. Law is very competitive now, and unless you go to a T1 school there is a good chance you’ll be making <$50,000 once you graduate… I know that’s okay for some people but nurses make that kind of money after only 2yrs of school whereas attorneys go to school for 7yrs on average. </p>
<p>Take me for example even, I graduated in 2008 with a degree in interdisciplinary social science (poli sci / history) and now I day trade. Is my degree at all useful for day trading? No. Will it be useful if I go for an MBA next year? Definitely, but I still would have been better off with something else.</p>
<p>^
Hmmm… Well I’m part of the graduating class of 2010, and would really like to get all this stuff together. You suggest me to look into accounting? Also you suggest minoring in international relations woudl be better, or you don’t really have other suggestions base off my major? </p>
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<p>It is helpful since you mention your a graduate from political science yourself, but you also majored in history… something I would have never decided to mix between the two, since they are nearly the same. I do know politicans also have majored in poli sci or ir.</p>
<p>Well your opinions are very helpful, since I do want to know what I would be getting myself into with these majors.</p>