<p>I'm planning on majoring in International Relations in college soon and minor in foreign language like Arabic, Farsi, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Korean or German as well. After I obtain my bachelor's degree, what are my options in terms of careers. I want to work for the UN, IMF, World Bank, CIA, FBI or some other important government entity. I don't think a bachelor's degree is really enough these days to really get a good career so I'm also thinking of getting my master's degree in business management right after I obtain my bachelor's degree because it's more desirable to have one than a bachelor's, am I wrong? I'll be graduating next year from high school and I know my interests and plans could change in the future but I've always been interested in the international arena so I think International Relations is just right for me. Oh! By the way, I am a pacific islander from the island nation of the Republic of Palau but I currently live in the United States. Just so you guys know.</p>
<p>first, if you don’t have US citizenship, it will be virtually impossible to get in some place like the CIA or FBI. These places also rarely hire entry level, and when they do, the entry level hires often come from their intern pools.</p>
<p>you should consider looking into internships at these places. That will allow you to experience the work and make you a more attractive candidate. I think I heard somewhere that the UN takes mostly grad students as interns, but I’m not positive about that.</p>
<p>also consider that IR and business management are fairly different. Obviously, they can be complimentary degrees, but if you want to learn Arabic and do policy analysis on an arabic speaking country, an MBA is not going to be especially helpful. Additionally, the strongest MBA programs generally prefer people who have a few years of work experience, rather than straight out of undergrad.</p>
<p>I do know that the CIA and FBI hire only American citizens and that is why I’m planning on becoming a naturalized citizen in the future so that I could be eligible to apply. For my master’s degree I was thinking about getting an NPO not an MBA. Sorry for the confusion!</p>
<p>Umm, a master’s in business administration (virtually interchangeable with business management) is an MBA, and an NPO is a non-profit organization; there is no such thing as a degree in non-profit organizations, though having an MBA will help run non-profit organizations.</p>
<p>It is on the rarer side of things for someone to go from college to a master’s program like that… you will find that most people pursuing an MBA, MSW (Master of Social Work), MUD (Master of Urban Development) and similar degrees have had at least a few years of work experience before going back to school. The courses you take in these programs are unlike your typical liberal arts education; they are designed with one purpose: to make you better at your job. It’s difficult to become better at something if you have little or no experience, so while you can certainly get a degree, that piece of paper may not be as helpful to a 23 year old as it would be to a 33 year old.</p>
<p>As for your interest in law enforcement and intelligence, I will tell you this: we are still not recovered from a recession, and jobs are tough to find; that means that there is a greater influx of applicants than the normal insane number that go to the high power government agencies. </p>
<p>You would have to be exceptionally intelligent and bring some serious credentials to the table in order to even be considered for the agencies/organizations you listed. For example, the FBI (citizenship notwithstanding) basically does not hire without a master’s degree or 2 years of work experience, and you have very diminished chances if you don’t have both. The US State Department is the same way, as is the CIA, NSA and any other security agency in the country.</p>
<p>The world bank recruits people who have had powerful positions in the private sector.</p>
<p>What I’m saying is that if you truly have these aspirations, your best bet for success is to find a niche in college. If you LOVE what you study, you will know what you can do happily before you pursue your ultimate goal. If you enjoy languages, studying Arabic, Farsi, Mandarin or Hindi will put you on the preferred list for the state department and CIA, but you would need to be able to show that you can use a language in a business environment – language study in the classroom is useless in the real world if you can’t actually communicate!</p>
<p>You seem interested in international security and economics. Though you have PLENTY of time to figure it out, try to focus job searches internationally. If you have the chance to study internationally, do it. </p>
<p>It’s important to note, too, that the agencies you are interested in recruits the demographic that is not too far out of college that they are set in their ways but not so close to college that they have no solid experience.</p>
<p>Have fun in school and good luck otherwise :)</p>
<p>Thank you for your input chrisw! I do appreciate it very much. Let me just say that there is such a thing as a master’s in nonprofit management although very few schools have it. I think it’s a new field. Thanks for your through response though!</p>
<p>Being a naturalized citizen may not be enough for FBI and CIA jobs. You have to pass the Security Clearance. I personally know a naturalized citizen who was being tested for number of years before he decided that it was too much stress and took himself out as a candidate. Good luck!</p>
<p>this is kind of an old thread, but i thought i’d just reply anyway. a lot of people here are ignoring the fact that you come from the republic of palau. if i were you, i’d review the compact of free association between palau and the united states. believe it or not, palauans are entitled to a lot of american government positions. did you know that palauans are allowed to run for positions as high up as mayor and governor? review the compact! you might actually not have to be a citizen to work for those agencies you’re looking at! i know a number of palauans who work for the fbi.</p>
<p>are you serious? there are Palauans working for the FBI? can you name one or are they like covert or something.</p>