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Slowly realising how useless my degree is...

I'm about to complete a degree in international relations with political science. I don't have a job lined up, and the worst thing is i can't thing of a use for my degree!!! I would love any recommendations on what to do with my life next as i'm very confused!!!

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Reply 1
Political journalism maybe?
Reply 2
Join DFID and you get to see the world. Its a good degree and very suitable foe that field.
Reply 3
Original post by yaya19962018
I'm about to complete a degree in international relations with political science. I don't have a job lined up, and the worst thing is i can't thing of a use for my degree!!! I would love any recommendations on what to do with my life next as i'm very confused!!!


You can go into diplomacy, foreign affairs, wildlife organisations, humanitarian organisations. Quite a broad spectrum. Maybe take a Masters in Diplomacy or International Security. Graduates in those fields are in demand.
Get an additional degree in Diplomacy and you may not find a use to your degree now but certainly there is no degree more suitable to be the next Mike Pompeo
lmao literally no one should go to uni except for aspiring medics, lawyers and engineers. everything else is pure BS YO.
Original post by yaya19962018
I'm about to complete a degree in international relations with political science. I don't have a job lined up, and the worst thing is i can't thing of a use for my degree!!! I would love any recommendations on what to do with my life next as i'm very confused!!!


Most grad jobs dont require a specific subject, ie finance type roles, consulting, general grad schemes like the aldi one, law, civil service etc etc

Many more people have a degree vs the number of grad roles so getting one is very hard, you need to actively make yourself more employable by doing summer internships, developing your soft skills and making sure you can give good examples of where you used them (ie leadership role in a society, describing what problem you helped solve), developing your ability to write good applications, improving your interview technique etc etc. It takes preplanning and LOTS of applications (ie more than 20 say)

As for what you should do career wise you need to read up on lots of careers and decide which one is for you, no one can really do that for you

Also I completely disagree with what @Djerun said, doing a masters without a specific career in mind is a foolish move as
1. you dont know the thing your aiming for requires a masters (a very tiny amount do)
2. For the most part doing a masters wont make you more employable, its the things I mentioned above that most employers want to see once you tick the I have a undergrad degree at X grade box
(edited 5 years ago)
Have you had any summer jobs or internships?
Have you been to speak to your careers service?
Your degree isn't the problem. These days you don't need any specific degree to get onto graduate-level roles. You need work experience and lots of it tailored towards whatever industry you want to go into. Better to start now, anywhere you can, and then use that to get the jobs you really want. Good luck.
Original post by hereforthereps
lmao literally no one should go to uni except for aspiring medics, lawyers and engineers. everything else is pure BS YO.


Mathematicians
Scientists
Nurses

You sound like a fool.
Reply 10
Original post by yaya19962018
I'm about to complete a degree in international relations with political science. I don't have a job lined up, and the worst thing is i can't thing of a use for my degree!!! I would love any recommendations on what to do with my life next as i'm very confused!!!


Majority of graduate jobs don't require you to have studied a particular subject at university. For example public relation, accounting, business analyst, risk management and so forth.

Your degree subject isn't the problem, but rather you don't know what to do afterwards. I'd recommend researching a sector of interest first, and seeing what opportunities there are that interests you.
- Civil Service Fast Stream
- Diplomatic Service Fast Stream
- MP's Caseworker
- DFID Grad Scheme
- PA Consulting Government and Public Sector Grad Scheme
- Police Now
- National Graduate Development Programme (working for a local council)
- Mi5/Mi6 Intelligence Analyst
Original post by hereforthereps
lmao literally no one should go to uni except for aspiring medics, lawyers and engineers. everything else is pure BS YO.

Some are you’re right but even then there really is an increase in earnings seen with most graduates it may not be much for the ‘least well regarded’ degrees but it’s still something and just for the experience of university it can be really worth it.

However if you have a rubbish time a uni, make no friends, get rubbish grades, just pass and then turn around and say uni is useless unless you get a high 2.1/1st in law or medicine then it’s pointless well I think it’s likely their individual experience speaking.
Original post by hereforthereps
lmao literally no one should go to uni except for aspiring medics, lawyers and engineers. everything else is pure BS YO.


yeah true many degrees are worthless imo. only 10% of ppl should go to uni to study traditional degrees. op over there just got screwed over. which begs the question why did you pick it everyone picks a degree and thinks about post graduate opportunities
Original post by westsidemassive
yeah true many degrees are worthless imo. only 10% of ppl should go to uni to study traditional degrees. op over there just got screwed over. which begs the question why did you pick it everyone picks a degree and thinks about post graduate opportunities
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Honestly I picked it for the very reason that I didn't know what I wanted to go into. the university made it seem like this degree would keep you versatile in the labor market. It being so broad that it overlaps many sectors. Maybe this is just graduate panic....I just feel like I would've been better if persuing a stem subject. I mean how respected is political science?
Original post by yaya19962018
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Honestly I picked it for the very reason that I didn't know what I wanted to go into. the university made it seem like this degree would keep you versatile in the labor market. It being so broad that it overlaps many sectors. Maybe this is just graduate panic....I just feel like I would've been better if persuing a stem subject. I mean how respected is political science?


A degree's a degree. For a lot of grad schemes it won't matter what the subject is. Don't dwell on what you could have chosen as the grass isn't always greener.
Reply 16
Original post by yaya19962018
I'm about to complete a degree in international relations with political science. I don't have a job lined up, and the worst thing is i can't thing of a use for my degree!!! I would love any recommendations on what to do with my life next as i'm very confused!!!


No it's definitely not useless but as with any degree it's what you do with it that counts. Say how the things youve accomplished relate to the job you want and how it'd help in the job. Like it depends on other factors, not the degree itself. Good luck, don't feel doomed because you're not. Congrats on the degree!! And that in itself shows you can complete things and stay grounded.
Original post by hereforthereps
lmao literally no one should go to uni except for aspiring medics, lawyers and engineers. everything else is pure BS YO.


lawyers are greedy scumbags. They dont even deserve an education.
Its all about how you use it. Your degree isn't useless in that it opens some doors more than my Linguistics degree can. If you supplement it with vocations and little things in your everyday life, your degree can get you on some sort of career ladder. It sounds like you might just need to find a job you want to do to point you in the right direction.
Original post by hereforthereps
lmao literally no one should go to uni except for aspiring medics, lawyers and engineers. everything else is pure BS YO.


I mean all stem degrees are very useful

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