Major for a kid who wants IR but is average student

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here, also with a kid pursuing IR at a well regarded but not top 20 university.

I am one who typically thinks you can find a path to anything if determined enough, but this thread is making me rethink it in the IR space (with which I have no familiarity). Several of you are making it sound like the only employable people in the field have ivy league degrees. I know someone who graduated JMU who is an FSO. Now I am wondering if they are a unicorn …

Does the person who went to JMU have hard to find language skills or some other attribute? I think IR is about as snobby as you get for career fields, but a US citizen who can get a clearance and is natively fluent in Mandarin/Arabic/Hindi/Russian... is going to get into the foreign service ahead of an Ivy classics major whose taken a bunch of French classes

they do not!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ROTC. The military has a lot of opportunities that are akin to diplomatic roles. We've know a few families who were attachés and they lived in great places and were really only back in the US for language training

We know a VTech grade that went this route if it's not on the list already.

[Anonymous]

I think he should add JMU to the list and look at the IA with one of their concentrations and become a border control agent. With being fluent in Spanish this is a plus. Once in at Homeland Security then try to transfer to a different position. This could be done at Towson too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here, also with a kid pursuing IR at a well regarded but not top 20 university.

I am one who typically thinks you can find a path to anything if determined enough, but this thread is making me rethink it in the IR space (with which I have no familiarity). Several of you are making it sound like the only employable people in the field have ivy league degrees. I know someone who graduated JMU who is an FSO. Now I am wondering if they are a unicorn …

Does the person who went to JMU have hard to find language skills or some other attribute? I think IR is about as snobby as you get for career fields, but a US citizen who can get a clearance and is natively fluent in Mandarin/Arabic/Hindi/Russian... is going to get into the foreign service ahead of an Ivy classics major whose taken a bunch of French classes

they do not!

what did you get on the fsot
critical language skills are massive

[Anonymous]

OP - it seems like keeping the Spanish up is going to help in the long run as much as anything else. I'd recommend whatever they decide, to double major in Spanish. I have a friend who has made a career out of using Spanish. Working abroad in Spain/Latin America at jobs that require english/spanish translation - being a tutor locally later in life. If an IR degree isn't an option - there's also ungrad business degree (and disciplines like communications, econ, management). And I agree with others re Public health and Environmental Science. And in a broader swath - degrees like econ, poli sci, applied science or data analyses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Let me clarify. I KNOW my kid won't excel in IR, that is why I am asking what OTHER major should someone with this profile look at besides hospitality.
He's not a Stem kid, he has high social intelligence, interested in social justice, and travel, and is a mediocre student but a hard worker and very practical.

I'm trying to understand what do you mean by saying you know your kid won't excel in IR? This is a curious statement.

Do you mean in IR classes? (why not - these don't seem particularly onerous)

Or do you mean they won't in an IR career? (this is a broad swath - not everyone in IR is a diplomat or high level policy negotiator - there are many international non-profits out there and USAID etc.)

Side note - another option (probably not life long career option) is to work with tour companies that travel to Spanish speaking locations. The leaders of these groups need to have top level social skills to deal with both the families on their tour and manage all of the local logistics in the country being visited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think he should add JMU to the list and look at the IA with one of their concentrations and become a border control agent. With being fluent in Spanish this is a plus. Once in at Homeland Security then try to transfer to a different position. This could be done at Towson too.

Sigh. A 3.0 doesn’t get you into JMU. Where do you people come from??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Let me clarify. I KNOW my kid won't excel in IR, that is why I am asking what OTHER major should someone with this profile look at besides hospitality.
He's not a Stem kid, he has high social intelligence, interested in social justice, and travel, and is a mediocre student but a hard worker and very practical.

I'm trying to understand what do you mean by saying you know your kid won't excel in IR? This is a curious statement.

Do you mean in IR classes? (why not - these don't seem particularly onerous)

Or do you mean they won't in an IR career? (this is a broad swath - not everyone in IR is a diplomat or high level policy negotiator - there are many international non-profits out there and USAID etc.)

Side note - another option (probably not life long career option) is to work with tour companies that travel to Spanish speaking locations. The leaders of these groups need to have top level social skills to deal with both the families on their tour and manage all of the local logistics in the country being visited.

OP here, I mean excel careerwise. We live in DC and have friends in UN, State, IMF... I'm fully aware of what he'll be up against, even for super entry-level jobs. So I asked what else he could consider studying and making sure that he applies to schools that offer that. For example, he liked a school but later realized they didn't offer Spanish as a language. This has been a helpful thread. I know it's hard for DCUM to think lower than most. I really wish more here would talk about CC and 2 tier State schools. Not all of our kids can/need to go to top schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think he should add JMU to the list and look at the IA with one of their concentrations and become a border control agent. With being fluent in Spanish this is a plus. Once in at Homeland Security then try to transfer to a different position. This could be done at Towson too.

Sigh. A 3.0 doesn’t get you into JMU. Where do you people come from??

No true! My DS with 3.0 was accepted. She turned it down because she wanted to go further from home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS loves to travel, has lots of friends whose parents are UN & State Dept. he likes politics but doesn’t want law. Thinks he wants to major in International Relations/Global Studies. Is curious about Peace Corp and will definitely study abroad.

However, he’s not a strong student. His target schools are in the Towson range. Note: we’re in DC so all choices are OOS but wants to stay mid-Atlantic/NE area.

What other degrees would a kid like this look at should he change his mind? We want to make sure when choosing college that he has options if IR doesn’t work out.

And any school suggestions welcome.

OP - Our son sounds like your son and we have friends at State Dept. and a few Embassies.

He's going to be majoring in International Business with a minor in Psychology.

It's all about connections in the end!

[Anonymous]

He should apply for the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), a free State Department program for high school students learn critical languages overseas. This would be a prefect gap year and would increase their odds of getting into a great IR program and future career prospects. https://www.nsliforyouth.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Let me clarify. I KNOW my kid won't excel in IR, that is why I am asking what OTHER major should someone with this profile look at besides hospitality.
He's not a Stem kid, he has high social intelligence, interested in social justice, and travel, and is a mediocre student but a hard worker and very practical.

Your kid might enjoy working on a political campaign. You need to be practical and hard working with a strong sense of mission. I travelled to several states with a presidential campaign in high school and had a blast!

[Anonymous]

OP, what does you kid do well in? You say he’s a hard worker, what has he applied himself in? That might be a good starting point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think he should add JMU to the list and look at the IA with one of their concentrations and become a border control agent. With being fluent in Spanish this is a plus. Once in at Homeland Security then try to transfer to a different position. This could be done at Towson too.

Sigh. A 3.0 doesn’t get you into JMU. Where do you people come from??

No true! My DS with 3.0 was accepted. She turned it down because she wanted to go further from home.

Farther.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think he should add JMU to the list and look at the IA with one of their concentrations and become a border control agent. With being fluent in Spanish this is a plus. Once in at Homeland Security then try to transfer to a different position. This could be done at Towson too.

Sigh. A 3.0 doesn’t get you into JMU. Where do you people come from??

No true! My DS with 3.0 was accepted. She turned it down because she wanted to go further from home.

Farther.

OK grammar police.