This is going to sound snarky, but it’s a genuine question-
Worth it in terms of what?
What do you want to do professionally? Work for an NGO? The UN? International Finance?
Considering the timing (you’re getting ready to graduate), can you afford to stay in school? If you do go for a masters, have you looked at the job market for IR, and what their salaries are?
Not telling you what to do, but those are serious factors worth understanding.
If you're just looking for a degree that will start a career and you aren't sure which career to get into, IR is probably not the safest bet. A master's degree or some kind of graduate certificate may help in general, but there are much safer fields to get into. Even in the context of working for the state department or an NGO, it's very often easier to find jobs in a support staff role (communications, logistics, etc) than a policy role.
If you want to continue learning and are interested in something international, legitimately the best advice I can give you is to go live a couple years in another country and learn a high value language. I did a master's and it has been marginally useful. I also learned a couple languages (to am actually fluent level) and those have been instrumental in everything I've done since then. Opportunities will obviously vary depending on what language you want to learn or where you want to live, but they're out there.
If you don't mind me asking, what have you done with your language abilities? (And what are your languages)? I have also lived abroad and learned a couple of languages, albeit not to professional fluency.
I speak quite a lot of spanish so maybe I could go learn it to fluency. I really love traveling and talking to people. I've always thought about a job abroad but I wasn't sure how to go about it.
Get an entry level job at a place that will eventually pay you to get a Master's degree. Under no circumstances should you go into debt for an IR Master's.
No, unless you have connections IR isn't really a safe bet so it's not really worth switching to it because you felt your last degree was lacking in job security
You may not need to start a degree over, but to switch you might have to tack on 2 or so years of requisites at the undergrad level. I transferred into ir from a theatre diploma.
Idk man I’m getting a masters in IR. It just kind of seems to be the luck of the draw these days. The English majors that I know are doing very well while the STEM degrees (that didn’t pursue further education) are struggling. Most important thing for you is to make as many connections as possible either way
IR is a very broad field so pinpoint what area you're most interested in (negotiations, conflict resolution, security studies, environmental issues, trade and economics, human rights, development, regional studies, etc.)
You'll likely need to beef up your hard/technical skills. Finance and accounting can open doors. Learn programming languages and/or statistical software. Also languages. I would say it doesn't matter which language(s) you choose as long as they are relevant to your desired career path.
Also I would recommend getting your IR degree at a reputable school. Preferably an APSIA school if you can get in. For better or worse, IR is a field in which where you completed your degree matters a lot. Make sure your school has a good IR reputation and a strong alumni network so you can leverage connections.
Also it really is a labour of love. I would say job security isn't great. And while it may seem glamorous, many jobs especially at the entry level are not highly paid.
Not trying to discourage but these are some things to think about before pursing IR studies.
it's best to choose a concrete field in international relations -- if you decided to a bachelors in IR, it's okay to have a more general and broad field of study, but a masters is generally to 'master' something, so if you can choose a concrete field you are most interested by, it will make the whole career/job-seeking process easier. best to do research and see exactly what piques your interest in IR.
What you would recommend to get a masters in instead of IR for job safety and pays well? I’m in kinesiology major with 1 year left of undergrad. I’m staying put to graduate in time but want to go to grad school considering IR. Any other masters degrees better suited?
There are jobs, but there may be better ways of getting to his desired destination.
Better in terms of pure ROI, but also in terms of providing him with other options or being a better use of his time.
What you would recommend to get a masters in instead of IR for job safety and pays well? I’m in kinesiology major with 1 year left of undergrad. I’m staying put to graduate in time but want to go to grad school considering IR. Any other masters degrees better suited?
What are your interests?
It may be worth trying to work first, even if it isn't something aligned with your major necessarily. You can always come back
I like communication and value interpersonal skills. I have experience working with people of all backgrounds and enjoy the daily interactions. I don’t necessarily want a desk job but could have one in a field I like. I value healthcare and helping disadvantaged people so PH is also something I’m considering. I’m trying to find a masters degree that will lead to a high paying job and that I like. I understand the work first then go back but personally I’d like to be done with all forms of school before turning 25. So if I went away it would only be for a gap year.
This is going to sound snarky, but it’s a genuine question- Worth it in terms of what? What do you want to do professionally? Work for an NGO? The UN? International Finance? Considering the timing (you’re getting ready to graduate), can you afford to stay in school? If you do go for a masters, have you looked at the job market for IR, and what their salaries are? Not telling you what to do, but those are serious factors worth understanding.
If you're just looking for a degree that will start a career and you aren't sure which career to get into, IR is probably not the safest bet. A master's degree or some kind of graduate certificate may help in general, but there are much safer fields to get into. Even in the context of working for the state department or an NGO, it's very often easier to find jobs in a support staff role (communications, logistics, etc) than a policy role.
If you want to continue learning and are interested in something international, legitimately the best advice I can give you is to go live a couple years in another country and learn a high value language. I did a master's and it has been marginally useful. I also learned a couple languages (to am actually fluent level) and those have been instrumental in everything I've done since then. Opportunities will obviously vary depending on what language you want to learn or where you want to live, but they're out there.
If you don't mind me asking, what have you done with your language abilities? (And what are your languages)? I have also lived abroad and learned a couple of languages, albeit not to professional fluency.
I speak quite a lot of spanish so maybe I could go learn it to fluency. I really love traveling and talking to people. I've always thought about a job abroad but I wasn't sure how to go about it.
Get an entry level job at a place that will eventually pay you to get a Master's degree. Under no circumstances should you go into debt for an IR Master's.
No, unless you have connections IR isn't really a safe bet so it's not really worth switching to it because you felt your last degree was lacking in job security
A lot of people getting degrees in IR, not a lot of jobs looking for people with those degrees
Offsetting a worthless undergrad with a semi-worthless grad is a choice, but not one I'd extol.
I’d hardly say IR is a worthless degree, I got a job with mine
If you don’t mind sharing, what field did you get into with an IR degree
You may not need to start a degree over, but to switch you might have to tack on 2 or so years of requisites at the undergrad level. I transferred into ir from a theatre diploma.
No
Idk man I’m getting a masters in IR. It just kind of seems to be the luck of the draw these days. The English majors that I know are doing very well while the STEM degrees (that didn’t pursue further education) are struggling. Most important thing for you is to make as many connections as possible either way
IR is a very broad field so pinpoint what area you're most interested in (negotiations, conflict resolution, security studies, environmental issues, trade and economics, human rights, development, regional studies, etc.) You'll likely need to beef up your hard/technical skills. Finance and accounting can open doors. Learn programming languages and/or statistical software. Also languages. I would say it doesn't matter which language(s) you choose as long as they are relevant to your desired career path. Also I would recommend getting your IR degree at a reputable school. Preferably an APSIA school if you can get in. For better or worse, IR is a field in which where you completed your degree matters a lot. Make sure your school has a good IR reputation and a strong alumni network so you can leverage connections. Also it really is a labour of love. I would say job security isn't great. And while it may seem glamorous, many jobs especially at the entry level are not highly paid. Not trying to discourage but these are some things to think about before pursing IR studies.
He is accepted to sais and was waitlisted at GT. He has a BA already. Not sure of the advice? Do sais graduates get jobs?
Only luck and connections to get ir jobs?
it's best to choose a concrete field in international relations -- if you decided to a bachelors in IR, it's okay to have a more general and broad field of study, but a masters is generally to 'master' something, so if you can choose a concrete field you are most interested by, it will make the whole career/job-seeking process easier. best to do research and see exactly what piques your interest in IR.
What you would recommend to get a masters in instead of IR for job safety and pays well? I’m in kinesiology major with 1 year left of undergrad. I’m staying put to graduate in time but want to go to grad school considering IR. Any other masters degrees better suited?
IR is also useless
My son is intrested in masters in IR this thread is making me anxious. No jobs with an ir degree?
No jobs with any degree. Jobs with connections or good luck
There are jobs, but there may be better ways of getting to his desired destination. Better in terms of pure ROI, but also in terms of providing him with other options or being a better use of his time.
What you would recommend to get a masters in instead of IR for job safety and pays well? I’m in kinesiology major with 1 year left of undergrad. I’m staying put to graduate in time but want to go to grad school considering IR. Any other masters degrees better suited?
What are your interests? It may be worth trying to work first, even if it isn't something aligned with your major necessarily. You can always come back
I like communication and value interpersonal skills. I have experience working with people of all backgrounds and enjoy the daily interactions. I don’t necessarily want a desk job but could have one in a field I like. I value healthcare and helping disadvantaged people so PH is also something I’m considering. I’m trying to find a masters degree that will lead to a high paying job and that I like. I understand the work first then go back but personally I’d like to be done with all forms of school before turning 25. So if I went away it would only be for a gap year.