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Amerikanka

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  • Application Season
    2016 Fall
  • Program
    Russian/Central Asian History

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  1. Is anyone thinking of a MPA/Regoinal Studies MA? I noticed that many of the top ranking institutions don't have this combination. Those that do seem to hide the affiliation. I recently heard a Foreign Service Officer say that Regional Studies programs were worthless when he went to grad school but now they might be coming back. He said this with the implication that this was a bad things and why haven't they been crushed yet. So my question to grad school applicants with work experience and/or extensive knowledge of the field: is this true? P.S. I am interested in joint degrees with Russian or Central Asian Studies. These programs have FLAS funding for language learning. P.P.S. I am often attracted to useless things that require a lot of work. Would continuing Russian and learning Persian be a good move? I also plan to take statistics, economics and accounting coursework. I just love learning about the world! I'm trying to find a way to do that and still put food in my belly.
  2. On a related topic, how could I transition into environmental policy? I really like the idea of working at an NGO or the federal government to implement environmental and economic policies in Central Asia. I am a recent graduate with a BA in History and Russian. Until recently, I always thought I would pursue a PhD in History but now I am looking at more stable options. My main goal is not to make money but I do want to make more than 30k a year with reasonable job security (ie. not work as an adjunct). I just got back from teaching English in Russia on a Fulbright. I obviously need more work experience and hard skills. What is the best way to build this? Should I do a Peace Corps program in Central Asia? Combine Peace Corps with Indiana's MPA program (and take a lot of environmental courses? I don't have the science background to get in as it is now). Indiana gives out FLAS funding to study Russian and I could pay for an MPA that way. Would it be more marketable to try to get a Boren to do a Russian Flagship program in Kazakhstan? Finally, does anyone know the statistics for this line of work? Is it worse than the job market for professors?
  3. Sorry for the overuse of commas! There are different convention rules in Russian and I mix them up sometimes
  4. Can you describe what top management consulting is? What is your background? Did you have work experience and a strong quantitative background when you applied? As for my goals, I would love to oversee economic and environmental planning in Central Asia. I've heard that international development is a very narrow field and it seems like every university that offers masters degrees offers this program: this meaning there are a lot of unemployed MID graduates. I would also love to work with a nonprofit like American Councils that facilitates language education and international exchange programs. My career goals are still murky at the moment: it seems everything I want to do is a really tough market. I was preparing to apply for a history PhD program but after researching the statistics, (there are 100 new PhDs for every 16 new job openings) I am leaning strongly against it. Although I would love academia, I want to build a solid foundation in hard skills and gain at least 2-3 years experience in another market before taking that risk. What do you think would be a good career fit for me? I recently graduated with a BA in History and Russian, received several scholarships, and taught English in Russia on a Fulbright. My Russian was middle-of-the-pack on this program. It's about an ILR 2 (you need ILR 3 to work for the federal government based on language alone). I avoided math like the plague in undergrad, but I now recognize that economics, statistics, and accounting are valuable skills to accomplish nonprofit goals. In undergrad, I was attracted to direct service and social work. I even helped fund a new social work organization and organized a Human Trafficking Symposium. The FBI came! (I'm still incredibly proud of this) After taking a digital humanities course, I served as a research assistant to create an online Russian dictionary with computer tags for emphasis on certain syllables. The goals was to automatically highlight rhythm in large amounts of bad Russian poetry. (In the early USSR, men who had just learned to read, wrote poetry that was published every week in newspapers). The program sought to data mine patterns without looking at content. As you can see, I am strongly humanities and social service focused. Is it possible to be admitted into a strong program to gain quantitative skills? Should I start auditing these classes at the local university?
  5. Hi all, I just wanted some feedback on the correlation between MPP/MIA/MPA/MID programs and jobs. I assume the greatest benefit of a graduate program is the ability to secure internships and gain connections. What are you hoping to become? Are you willing to take an unpaid internship after graduation? I am considering graduate programs. I was a foreign language major (Russian) and Fulbright ETA and now I need to figure out a career path. One of the obvious sectors for me is government but I am not sure if I would like it. What are the opportunities with a MPP/MPA. Thanks in advance for looking at my question. I'd be happy to know what your career aspirations are!
  6. Hi all, I was a Fulbright ETA to Russia 2014-2015. In the ETA program at least, the head of the program said that they make an extra effort to give grants to return applicants. It shows dedication and perseverance that you are still applying for the same spot (I think you have to stick within the same commission though. Otherwise they will not remember you). I think most return applicants make their applications stronger too.
  7. Hi everybody! I was preparing to enter a history PhD program but while I was doing the cost analysis of that I became disillusioned. I am exploring other options. I want to use Russian, do research, have social interaction and feel meaningful at my job. My target is to make 50k within 5 years. Since this section of grad cafe is more career focused and includes experienced professionals, what are the industries and locations where I could do this kind of work? What are the requirements for these jobs? Should I get a masters degree? Which specialty and program? Program: Not sure, probably MIA, MPP, Security Studies Schools considered: States schools with NRCs (National Resource Center) for Russian (FLAS funding), Yale/Stanford (NRCs), and DC schools (close to NGOs) Major: History, Russian language & lit GPA: 3.7 GRE: Don't remember. I think my verbal was in the 89% and I didn't care about the quantitative at the time. I remember being disappointed. Undergrad school: Top 70, large state school Work experience: Mostly unrelated 4 month research assistant for Slavic (digital humanities related)1 year teaching assistant for Slavic (administrative heavy)3 month internship for international NGO (administrative)1 year teaching in Russia on a Fulbrightsenior history thesis: economics in Uzbekistan Secretary of student organizationorganized Human Trafficking Symposium, negotiated contracts, secured funding, booked room and publicized the event, speakers from the FBI cameimplemented new program at homeless shelter1 year tutoring 1-3rd graders5 months tutoring Somali immigrantsvolunteer at Holocaust museummany customer service jobs, I worked through undergrad/high school Abroad experience: Moscow: summer 2012, 2014 (Gilman, FLAS funded)Russian Muslim Republic: Sept. 2014- June 2015 (Fulbright)Coursework: Russian, Russian literature, Russian culture, digital humanities, history writing seminars, Russian history, a few political science courses Language: Russian (advanced), just shy of full professional proficiency Time since UG: 1 year SoP: I haven't done it yet. I have a written strong SoPs in the past. I want to go grad school to gain the statistical, political science, and policy analysis background I lacked in undergrad in order to secure a position in the federal government, FBI, or think tank. LoR: Head of Slavic department, visiting DoD professor in History department, Associate professor in History, Russian language instructor Pluses: I have written several successful grants, worked abroad, kept high GPA while working and interning Minuses: very little statistics/quantitative experience, few poli-sci courses The major question is should I get more experience before considering graduate school? How do I get an entry level job in IR/security studies? Do I need to go to grad school to get these entry level positions?
  8. Thanks everyone for the responses! The clarification of terms was really helpful! Although I'm still not sure about my decision, I've started looking at programs. I think I will aim high and pursue something else if I don't get into a very good program. My list so far is: UC Berkeley (FLAS funding, #1 program, strong specialists in Russian/Central Asia) Indiana Bloomington (some graduates get placements at Berkeley, they have a Central Asian PhD track) Michigan (FLAS funding, strong program) Stanford (FLAS funding, CA has a relatively large number of Russian speakers, plus Fort Ross) U Washington (large number of Russian in the state, decent program) FLAS? Ohio State (large faculty, FLAS) Georgetown (DC is a good place to get NGO/alt ac. jobs - very low on the list) I'm in the initial phases right now. I think I will send out less than 5 applications this season. Does anyone have any suggests? Information about these or other programs? Most important for me: strong fit for Russia/Central Asia, good career services and placements, preferably more research than teaching in grad school (this means Ivies, right?), geography: I'd prefer midwest/west coast. I don't think I would survive in a very large city like NYC.
  9. Hi telkanuru, I really like your avatar and your feedback. The difference between the enthusiasm on this board and the bitterness found in the Chronicle of Higher Education is quite striking. I think you serve as a much needed voice of reason and I'm glad you responded to me. What do you meaning by SLC (Salt Lake City?) and CC (community college)? I do not consider teaching at a small liberal arts college failure (however this might change during the grad school brain wash). It's unlikely that I could go lower than an R1 on the job market since my specialization is Russian/Central Asian History. I would actually prefer living in a more rural area, the people are more authentic. I am more comfortable with state school people. On Fulbright, I had a hard time relating to the Yale kids. I got along with the professors from Ivies at my R1 though. You're right it is more like 10/90. The TT new hires I saw were mostly concerned with research. The one year visiting professors were very bitter and spent more time teaching. It's the harried grad students who were more concerned with teaching. I am seriously doubting the benefits of going to graduate school and I worry that I am hiding from the job market. I've only been looking for 3 weeks but after the positive feedback I got in college, I am a little shocked at how few Russian speaking jobs there are. I think I need a year of US job experience before I make the decision to pursue a PhD. I got absorbed into the PhD culture in undergrad and I only just realized how it has affected me. For example, thinking a 3.7 is an alright but not great GPA etc.
  10. Thanks navyblackmoroon! I was already a fan of Slezkine's work and I didn't even know it. I read "USSR as a communal apartment" in a an undergrad seminar. His other work looks very interesting, particularly Arctic Mirrors and Between Heaven and Hell! I am a little intimidated about applying to Berkeley, although they seem to have good placements. The prospect of having an Imperialist (Frede) to consult is also exciting. My R1 had a heavy Soviet focus.
  11. Hi everybody, I'm new to Grad Cafe and I want to evaluate my options. A 50-50 teaching/research tenure job at an R1 would be an ideal job for me. I know I would love it. I want to study the relationship between Islamic and Turkic speaking groups and the Russian Empire and answer the question how does Russia in the Imperial, Soviet, and post-Soviet model interact with Russian governed territories with a strong Muslim identity? What is encouraged and discourage and when? If Russia dealt with each territory on an ad hoc basis, what were the driving factors and criteria behind the decisions? And finally, are these actions indicative of a successful multi-ethnic land empire? Does the historical trend of Russia's relationship with large Muslim territories help U.S. national security interests? Is it an effective model to replicate for an overseas colonial Empire? I know I make several assumptions with this proposed thesis. These are the questions I want to answer. Whether I do it in a graduate program remains to be seen. I recently returned from a Fulbright ETA to Tatarstan, Russia. I earned degrees in History and Russian Language. In undergrad, I wanted to pursue a PhD and worked as a UTA and research assistant (digital humanities related) for the Slavic department. I wrote a senior thesis on Russian Imperial railroad construction in Uzbekistan. I passed the defense but it wasn't a very good paper. I don't think I can use it for a writing sample. It relies heavily on English language secondary sources. I wanted to go back and take Russian classes in the same city but my family talked me into looking for jobs in the States. I am doing self-research with the help of a job-hunt book and I have learned that: I am Social, Investigative, Artistic, Conventional (SIAC) - most post-secondary instructors are SIA and advisers are SIC I have a strong interest in Russian, foreign cultures, history, research, analysis, writing, teaching, social workI need a job environment with a strong support network and sense of communityI want to be given responsibility, respected, and do my job well (preferably something with strong analytical or verbal skills)I want varied tasks with a lot of social interactionI am only halfway through my self-inventory. I am worried about articles on the internet accusing grad school of being like a cult, the research that shows that only the 25 schools will get you a job, and the strong scholars I have seen leave the academy after a temporary post-doc appointment or when they didn't get tenure. The grad students in Slavic often had breakdowns and the teaching load was incredibly large for grad students. Although I need to do more research about what I want, do any readers see any red flags in my self inventory? Finally, does anyone have a list of competitive Russian/Central Asian PhD program with good placement rates? I hope to apply for Fall 2016, but I may even wait until Fall 2017. I want to experience the "real world" first so that I do not have panic attacks at the ABD stage because I have only prepared for a career in academia.
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