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What job could I get with an International Relations / Political Science degree?

I'm in Year 12 atm, wondering about my career path. Not completely sure about if I would want to study International Relations at uni or not. Any international relations students would be preferred!
Well you can join research think tanks (perhaps do a language germane to your area interests), go into journalism, do business consulting, go into publishing, get into the political advisory business, work for the foreign office, work for international NGOs or go into further study to get into academia and research (may be needed for think tank gig). You may also consider the world bank/United Nations/EU or you may join an NGO as corporate HR, Marketing or Corporate relations person. Its basically up to you to prove you can kick ass in the job. Your degree choice is apt for these positions and will not go against you.
Probably a job at McDonalds I would guess......sorry I'm so pessimistic. It's the economy as well as supply and demand.
Reply 3
Original post by The Owl of Minerva
Well you can join research think tanks (perhaps do a language germane to your area interests), go into journalism, do business consulting, go into publishing, get into the political advisory business, work for the foreign office, work for international NGOs or go into further study to get into academia and research (may be needed for think tank gig). You may also consider the world bank/United Nations/EU or you may join an NGO as corporate HR, Marketing or Corporate relations person. Its basically up to you to prove you can kick ass in the job. Your degree choice is apt for these positions and will not go against you.


Thank you so much! You've enlightened me into the endless possibilities of IR, I think it could be the course for me.
Reply 4
Original post by marco14196
Probably a job at McDonalds I would guess......sorry I'm so pessimistic. It's the economy as well as supply and demand.


Studying IR in no way has any correlation to working in McDonalds??,,
Original post by hyelloh
Studying IR in no way has any correlation to working in McDonalds??,,


You missed my point? Sure there are plenty of career paths you can chase(as with any degree) but it comes down to simple supply/demand economics. Is there a market and demand for those jobs in the market. I'm willing to bet that demand is quite low relative(that's the keyword here) to the supply of graduates with those degrees. That's my issue with degrees as a whole, the number of people doing them. It oversupplies the market with too many people who then are chained down by debt for the next 30(maybe more if the govt retroactively tries to screw ya over) and end up in jobs where their skills don't really get utilised. I'm only warning you before hand because you could very well land yourself in a nice self dug hole. Don't do a degree just because you have a "passion" for it. You should be aiming yourself at something that has market demand that is greater relatively to the supply of graduates.
Reply 6
Original post by marco14196
You missed my point? Sure there are plenty of career paths you can chase(as with any degree) but it comes down to simple supply/demand economics. Is there a market and demand for those jobs in the market. I'm willing to bet that demand is quite low relative(that's the keyword here) to the supply of graduates with those degrees. That's my issue with degrees as a whole, the number of people doing them. It oversupplies the market with too many people who then are chained down by debt for the next 30(maybe more if the govt retroactively tries to screw ya over) and end up in jobs where their skills don't really get utilised. I'm only warning you before hand because you could very well land yourself in a nice self dug hole. Don't do a degree just because you have a "passion" for it. You should be aiming yourself at something that has market demand that is greater relatively to the supply of graduates.


I'll say what I think he is trying to say:

You could end up doing pretty much anything

Good or bad.
Original post by hyelloh
Thank you so much! You've enlightened me into the endless possibilities of IR, I think it could be the course for me.


You're welcome :smile:
Original post by hyelloh
I'm in Year 12 atm, wondering about my career path. Not completely sure about if I would want to study International Relations at uni or not. Any international relations students would be preferred!


as others have said, there are many things you can do with an IR degree and work experience during your degree is crucial to help open those doors.

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