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What are the highest paying jobs that an international relations major can attain?

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Austin’s Answer

Hi Thomas,

Really good question. I was an International Relations major in college and I just graduated May 2017. Many International Relations majors go into government service in a variety of facets; think Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of Defense etc. These jobs are not going to make you 6 figures a year out of college by any means but they can be lucrative jobs over your lifetime. They are extremely stable jobs where you can easily stay for the rest of your life if you prize stability in a career. There are definitely other benefits to the job that can make saving money easy to do (State Department officers live overseas for free) so try and factor those hidden benefits on top of your base salary.


I would challenge you to think broadly about the applicable jobs that a person majoring in International Relations can attain. When I graduated college, I worked in government for about 7 months before I left it for the private sector. The company that I landed with, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, highly valued my skill set and experience that I had with the government and kindly extended an offer to me. I have found many IR majors only think of public sector jobs as a viable option but I would push you to think of the private sector as well. The writing and collaboration skills that you develop as an IR major are definitely relevant in the private sector, especially consulting. At 23, I now get you enjoy all that the private sector has to offer while at this same time am able to utilize my background in IR. Nothing wrong with the public sector as it can be a great career, but for me personally the private sector was a better fit. You are going to be better compensated financially in the private sector, the culture of the private sector is usually better, and it is overall much more nimble and streamlined.


I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck!!


Best,

Austin

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John’s Answer

It's hard to give an exact answer for a question like this. There are so many factors like the current market, country/city you live in, and the exact job that you'd be working after getting your degree. This is because you can work any number of jobs with just one degree. I would suggest using a site like Glassdoor (https://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm). Sites like Glassdoor are basically an anonymous form of social media for professionals to discuss salaries and the workplace environment. Doing a job shadow might also be a good way to learn more information.

John recommends the following next steps:

Visit Glassdoor! (https://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm)
Search for your jobs that meet your required pay rate.
Read about other people's experiences and see salary ranges.
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Ria’s Answer

Hey Thomas! I would imagine that working in a government job, such as the UN or World Bank, would be a high paying job. The roles within these firms can vary quite a bit, but typically entry level positions would be "analyst" jobs that have you primarily researching information or analyzing data.
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