[The Troubled One]

I'm going to be a college freshman in August at UC Santa Barbara. My major of choice as of now is International Relations, which, if reports are to be believed, will allow me to enlist in the Foreign Service, where I get to travel the world while the government covers me financially. Do you guys recommend taking this major? Are there any IR majors on the board? Is it really as great as everyone makes it out to be?

[JimNortonFan]

If the major is on the list, go for it.

More importantly, learn languages, usable math, learn to write, get practical experience/do internships.

Also, do research and get published. 90% or more of the research is vomit, so since everyone else is doing it they have it on their resume, you may have to have it too.

[Pacesetter20]

Are you talking about as an FSO for the State Department?

There is no requirement for a International Relations degree.

Go STEM (if anything) and you can still go FSO plus other options.

[Cyclone]

If you do go for it, make sure you stay ACTIVE and get apprenticeships, internships, organizational positions at every turn. It is a non-STEM major, which isn't a bad thing, but you must be an aggressive-as-hell individual to succeed here and have the govt pay any attention to you. Remember there will be thousands of IR majors competing for what you want.

Super jealous that you're going to UC Santa Barbara anyway. It's going to be a blast. Make sure you study abroad in Hong Kong, Dubai or Switzerland.

[Hencredible Casanova]

There's no requirement to join the Foreign Service, not even a college degree technically. What Cyclone said is right. Also, be careful because a lot of the ambitious IR types wind up in DC and that is NOT a place you want to end up.

[Ensam]

Congrats. That's a pretty good major at UCSB, though you might want to consider doubling in economics. Work hard and try and get into the honors program.

Don't fuck any chicks raw. The number of STDs floating around IV is ridiculous. And learn how to surf. On a warm day it's a great way to pick up girls.

[The Troubled One]

(05-12-2013 02:11 PM)Cyclone Wrote:  

If you do go for it, make sure you stay ACTIVE and get apprenticeships, internships, organizational positions at every turn. It is a non-STEM major, which isn't a bad thing, but you must be an aggressive-as-hell individual to succeed here and have the govt pay any attention to you. Remember there will be thousands of IR majors competing for what you want.

Super jealous that you're going to UC Santa Barbara anyway. It's going to be a blast. Make sure you study abroad in Hong Kong, Dubai or Switzerland.

Exactly what is so competitive about the IR field? Is the competition based on securing cushy posts abroad, or is it based on actual advancement? I might be wrong, but as far as I can understand the Foreign Service is a fairly chilled out field; the government pays for your food/lodging, you engage in various forms of diplomacy with local leaders, and generally have the ability to fuck around(this last point derives from Naughty Nomad, who majored in IR).

So do people compete for the ability to travel, or do they just compete for better positions within the diplomatic hierarchy?

[Brosemite]

Make sure you major in that with at least a minor in 1/2 languages being ones in critical demand (Korean, Russian, Japanese, Arabic). Whoever said a 2nd major in say Economics made a great point. Foreign relations is going to be exponentially better if you have languages in the curriculum being Spanish, Portuguese, or one of the ones I mentioned above.

[Sabra]

(05-12-2013 01:38 PM)The Troubled One Wrote:  

My major of choice as of now is International Relations, which, if reports are to be believed, will allow me to enlist in the Foreign Service, where I get to travel the world while the government covers me financially. Do you guys recommend taking this major? Are there any IR majors on the board? Is it really as great as everyone makes it out to be?

Man, I hope you're aware that joining the Foreign Service doesn't mean you'll be sent to a poosy paradise. You could be sent to Pakistan, Iraq, Kuwait, or any of a hundred other undesirable places. In fact, it's common to send young recruits to the less desirable spots for their first rotation. They also start out with the boring work - you'll likely be stamping passports 8 hours a day in an embassy for your first job.

Not saying don't go for it, just saying don't be naive like this girl who got killed trying to deliver books to schoolgirls in Afghanistan.

I definitely agree with everyone telling you to focus on foreign languages. Nothing could be more important. I'd try and get fairly fluent in at least two. Think about where you'd like to be posted and focus on those languages.

Also spend at least a semester abroad, preferably in a location that interests you so you can make a case to be sent there with the Foreign Service.

You need to get as much real life experience outside of the States as possible. These government agencies tend to hire very bright people, but being street-smart is just as important as anything you'll learn in a book.

[The Troubled One]

(05-12-2013 06:37 PM)Sabra Wrote:  

Man, I hope you're aware that joining the Foreign Service doesn't mean you'll be sent to a poosy paradise. You could be sent to Pakistan, Iraq, Kuwait, or any of a hundred other undesirable places. In fact, it's common to send young recruits to the less desirable spots for their first rotation. They also start out with the boring work - you'll likely be stamping passports 8 hours a day in an embassy for your first job.

Not saying don't go for it, just saying don't be naive like this girl who got killed trying to deliver books to schoolgirls in Afghanistan.

I definitely agree with everyone telling you to focus on foreign languages. Nothing could be more important. I'd try and get fairly fluent in at least two. Think about where you'd like to be posted and focus on those languages.

Also spend at least a semester abroad, preferably in a location that interests you so you can make a case to be sent there with the Foreign Service.

You need to get as much real life experience outside of the States as possible. These government agencies tend to hire very bright people, but being street-smart is just as important as anything you'll learn in a book.

Thanks. Yeah, I'm aware that newbies typically get the shit posts, and that its routine for FS officers to get sent to a "danger zone" at least once in their career. I'm not saying that it'll be cake, but the job seems interesting, at the very least. And at best, I feel like it'll be incredibly rewarding. A place like Somalia would suck, but a sojourn in Slovakia or Brazil would more than make up for it.

Also, I feel like Spanish or French would be the way to go regarding languages. With Spanish I can pick up Portuguese fairly easy, and a solid command of English should make both of these languages marginally less difficult than something like Mandarin or Arabic.

Again, is anyone on this forum an IR major or a Foreign Service officer? While I value all the input I'm getting on this subject, receiving firsthand knowledge on the field would be even better.

[Brosemite]

(05-12-2013 08:15 PM)The Troubled One Wrote:  

Also, I feel like Spanish or French would be the way to go regarding languages. With Spanish I can pick up Portuguese fairly easy, and a solid command of English should make both of these languages marginally less difficult than something like Mandarin or Arabic.

Again, is anyone on this forum an IR major or a Foreign Service officer? While I value all the input I'm getting on this subject, receiving firsthand knowledge on the field would be even better.

I think Spanish would be a better bet since it is the 2nd most spoken language in the world after Mandarin. French is useful if you're looking for good opportunities in say Quebec or going into the fashion industry in France/Europe.

I remember Political Science combined with French opened a ton of doors back in the 1980/90s, but that's just not the case anymore. I have friends that have studied that in prestigious universities in France/Morocco along with graduate degrees too but do not have relevant full-time work in what they sought out to do from their chosen paths.

It's still a really cool language as I studied it for about 3 years during high school but for the hard work, $$$, and time involved in trying to perfect French in a pricey state school setting of California, it's likely not going to pay off in attaining a desired career path in international relations.

[EisenBarde]

PM Sent, the subjects here are a mminefeild for me.

[lurker]

IR is a useless shitmajor comprised of polisci shitheads who think they're a cut above the rest of the polisci shitheads because IR has the word 'international' in it. Not that it matters. Your four plus years at UCSB will be spent getting belligerently hammered, eating Freebirds, dodging the IVFP, and fucking tainted pussy. Ten years ago you would then have had a brief crisis and gone to law school, although it's clearer now what a waste that is.

The one good thing about IR is that it should be easy to get good grades in, which is more important a lot of the time than actually learning anything.

If you really want a basis in the social sciences - and really want to understand what makes foreign areas tick - you should major in math and economics, with a minor in an important or up and coming language. Maybe Arabic. Maybe Chinese. Maybe Russian. Maybe Bahasa Indonesian, if they offer that.

[Lemmo]

(05-12-2013 10:07 PM)lurker Wrote:  

IR is a useless shitmajor comprised of polisci shitheads who think they're a cut above the rest of the polisci shitheads because IR has the word 'international' in it. Not that it matters. Your four plus years at UCSB will be spent getting belligerently hammered, eating Freebirds, dodging the IVFP, and fucking tainted pussy. Ten years ago you would then have had a brief crisis and gone to law school, although it's clearer now what a waste that is.

The one good thing about IR is that it should be easy to get good grades in, which is more important a lot of the time than actually learning anything.

If you really want a basis in the social sciences - and really want to understand what makes foreign areas tick - you should major in math and economics, with a minor in an important or up and coming language. Maybe Arabic. Maybe Chinese. Maybe Russian. Maybe Bahasa Indonesian, if they offer that.

Yeah, IR won't help you with the FSO process but there is no harm in it if you have a genuine interest. If you examine the FSO app process, you'll see it it designed to be as arbitrary as possible so that merit doesn't bleed into the process (visit the state.gov website http://careers.state.gov/officer/selection-process and try to find a stage of the process where they even review your resume). The one area where merit slips in is foreign language proficiency. If you can show competence in a language, especially a high demand language (Arabic; Chinese (Mandarin); Hindi; Persian (Dari); Persian (Farsi); Pashto; Urdu; and Korean), it will help your application. Plus, foreign language ability is a real skill so it will actually be marketable even if you decide not to pursue an FSO career or if your FSO application is unsuccessful. Studying a language is a much better use of your time than studying intl relations fluff (although it is surely possible to do both).