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Not going to repeat what has been already said. I have posted on another forum my thoughts on these degrees HERE. These MA degrees in IR/IA/Security Studies are not practical degrees. They are academic in nature and it will not prepare you for a job. The degrees are not worth the debt. You are better off getting a STEM degree, even an undergrad one, to get a job in the government. Computer science, cyber, information systems, and GIS are in high demand.

I was in the military for 13 years. 6 non intel and another 7 doing intel. Went to undergrad at a small liberal arts college in the southwest and graduated with a BA in poli sci and econ. Went to a top 15 grad school and got my MA in international security. Fortunately I received a full ride and did not have to worry about debt. Been a govie for 5 years. 2 at the pentagon and the other 3 with current agency where I am a team lead with 10 contractors underneath me. To get a contractor gig, networking matters. Not so much for government positions because everyone has to go through USAjobs or the respective agency's website. Your resume better meet the point requirements or the match the key words in the position in order to get a review from a real person. Once past that, you must past additional testing and get a security clearance, which networking will not help you get through the process. All that you must do on your own. Those agency recruiters who attend hiring events will all point you to the website and they really cannot go into detail about their work since it is all classified. They best they can offer you is when they think a position will be posted but expect no leg up or an advantage from speaking to a recruiter. I work with people who have no military experience and straight from undergrad. People with an MA in history or English. People with a degree from American Military University, online school, University of Phoenix, and lots of state schools. People with 30+ years of military experience. I have run into people with degrees from the top 15 schools. No one cares where you went to school and what you studied. They want only one thing: get the job done and don't be a liability. People love to talk about their degrees but when asked if it prepared them for the job lots of people say no. That is because these MA degrees in IR and security are not practical degrees. They are all academic programs. The programs do not teach you how to write an IIR, write a collection plan, write a cable, conduct an interview, conduct source operations, military planning, etc. These programs make you write lots of papers and read books and other academic works. None of that is used on the job. Everyone will receive training on how their respective agency writes and operates. Learning about the IR system is really of no benefit for someone starting off at the GG10 level. That level of analysis is not required and is more expected of people at the top positions of government and even then they usually reach out to PHDs to get that stuff done. These security and IR degrees really prepare people for think tank jobs. I was speaking with some people from GT SSP and I asked if they thought their degree helped them get a job. They said no. Internships were the key and they got in when the government went on a hiring spree. Most of them were in debt and one compared his education to the cost of an Audi that will take him 10 years to pay off. The only degrees that do prepare you for an intel job and will give you a boost are STEM degrees and GIS. Those courses suck but if you can get through it, you are pretty much guaranteed a job, unless you have a devious background and questionable character. Either way the private sector will be hunting you down to hire you.

Nico, Been meaning to respond to your posts, but been on vacation. I can't speak to attending grad school with a family since I do not have one. I think the bigger question you need to ask yourself is why grad school and what do you want out of it. Sounds simple but it requires a lot of soul searching. You say you want to work in foreign policy, but that is a huge field. narrow it down and really think about where you want to be in 5 years from now. It is like people saying they want to work in intelligence or security or public policy. Huge fields with different career paths and outcomes. As far as living standards, it is going to suck since you have a family. Something is going to give and it may not be pretty. There will have to be sacrifice. I went to grad school with bills and I had to cut out social life and eat PBJs for a year to save money. I did a paid internship and was very lucky that it lead to a full time job in the field I wanted. Now for the veteran thing. It does not make a difference. I am a veteran and was unemployed 9 months when I graduated from undergrad. I majored in economics and poli sci and had the full clearance thing plus 10 years of military experience. Yet no job after undergrad. The same can happen and does happen to veterans who attend grad school thinking that all those experiences translate into tangible job skills. Guess what it does always work that way. One of my classmates graduated with a dual degree JD and MPA and still cannot get a job. Yet I am working with a lady straight from undergrad with no military experience and no clearance. She landed a govt position. One of my buddies has 10+ years military intel experience and can not get a govt job. Luck of the draw. I read that you applied to two graduate programs. Both are very expensive and may not offer sufficient aid. Again, ask yourself what you want to do after graduate school. I know of people who graduate from the top ten schools but carried lots of debt. They now work for the government. The government does not care where you went to school or what you studied. All they want to see is that you have a degree. any type of degree. This includes intel. I work with people who have a BA in theology, BA in English, MA in History, MA in Human Resources, MA in Fine Arts. The govt did not care where they went to school or what they studied. It has not influence on promotion. All that is based on what you have accomplished, not where you went to school. This brings me to another point about these degrees, MA IR, MA IA, MA Security Studies, etc. The programs do not prepare you or train you for a job in the security or foreign policy fields. None of them will teach you how to write an IIR or conduct a interview for someone applying for a visa or teach you how to plan for joint operations. The only place to receive such training is through the military war colleges, NIU, or military schools. No one who I work with uses IR theory to analyze anything. Mostly everything was learned on the job and the government paid for training. You mention joining the national guard or reserve. If you are serious about working in the intel field or security, then yes you should do it to increase your chances and network. Networking is very important when it comes to contracting jobs. Contractors do not want to pay for training. They expect their workers to be trained and ready to work on day one. The guard and reserve can give you a leg up if you decide to go down the MI field. Plus there are education benefits too. Nothing wrong with joining for those reasons. Lots of people do it. Joining the military is not guaranteed to get you a civilian or government job. There are plenty of unemployed and underemployed vets to illustrate this. If you are really serious about this option, then PM me. There are other opportunities that can pay for grad school. Robertson Fellowship and Rangel come to mind, but they are competitive. Only you can answer if now is the time to attend grad school.

JHU AAP and JHU SAIS are not the same. They are completely different programs. I took some economic courses through AAP and their economics program is legit. As for their MA in Government Affairs and MA in Global Security Affairs, the classes are offered at night. It is an evening program with the majority of their students working full time in government, think tanks, etc. The only financial aid that AAP will offer are loans. AAP's employment statistics, this applies to all programs too, can be misleading because they count students who are currently employed as success stories. So if an AAP student has a job and completes the program, the school will count the person as being employed within six months of graduation. Most career services do this and it skews the employment numbers. As for the quality of the program, I took a strategy class and it was a complete joke. Lot of their professors work at think tanks or for government agencies. One of their professors has written some really good books on intelligence, but I am unsure if the classes are any good. These security and intelligence programs do not prepare you for jobs within intel. If you really want a degree that prepares you for that field, you must attend a war college or the national intelligence university, which are only open to current government employees. Sometimes NIU will have open admissions to external students but it is rare. There are people with MAs in fields other than security and IR/IA and they are doing fine. All of the agencies send their government employees, not contractors, to get trained on how their specific agency conducts intel. Networking will not get you a job with an intel agency. You must go through USAjobs or directly to their website. Networking works for contractors and think tanks but not so much for getting into intel agencies. And the truth about contracting is that contractors are treated horrible. The firms expect you to arrive ready to do the job and have the qualifications and certifications for it, which are only offered through the military or existing government employees. Don't believe, then go check out the major defense contractors and see what they want for entry level positions. They do not want to spend money to train you to do the job. Now if you are a directly employee of the contracting firm, then it is different. Go to a school that will offer the most financial aid. The government does not care where you went to school or what you got your MA in. All you need to do is check off the advanced education box. Your degree does not mater for promotion either. Besides, most agencies send their people to receive additional education at no cost to you.