The Vitruvian

I've been following this board for quite some time, and although I have seen a couple of threads from people basically telling prospective IR grad students to stay away from these programs, I thought I'd outline my own experience to show you just how perilous going down this road can be. I few years ago, I graduated from a top private university in New England and gained acceptance to one of the Top 3 IR programs in the country that people on this board salivate over. I went in with what traditionally is thought of as the right pedigree for entrance and future success in the foreign policy field. I had a flawless gpa, had tons of overseas experience working and volunteering with prestigious agencies and was a polyglot. I studied for a semester overseas in which I gained a certificate and made even more connections. I was only able to obtain a modicum of funding, but was happy I got in to my what was at the time dream school. I cheerfully racked up over 120K in debt to attend as I thought with my experience and the degree I'd be a shoe-in for top jobs with the government or private sector. Here I am two years later with no job and colossal debt, writing to you from an internet cafe in Argentina where I am currently hiding out from creditors in the states so I don't have to pay my debt. There's a lot of us on the run from our school debts in South America. They call us "debt dodgers". All my loans were private, so I'm relatively safe from debt collectors. I've made a living for myself down here teaching English and "Historia Norteamericana" to private school twits for a pittance. I've also managed to do some free-lance consulting with some banks as well. Someone I know at an NGO has promised me once the Maduro government is toppled in Venezuela, I can go to Caracas to maybe get a fulltime gig. If I had known what I know now, I would have just tried to get my foot in the door with my undergraduate degree instead of shooting for the stars and getting an overpriced Master's degree. Even with all of my experience and credentials I wasn't able to break the Adamantium ceiling that only the most ferocious and well off of candidates can seem to break. If you aren't somehow connected to a high ranking military officer or career diplomat, you are never going to be anything more than a government paper pusher in this field. If you are okay with that, then I plead with you to consider other avenues to enter this field. Join the Peace Corps, and try to join an employer that's willing to foot the bill at least partially for your degree. If you have a relative or close friend that can guarantee you a job before you go to get your Master's, that'd be ideal. If you have none of these connections, I suggest you find some other line of work and take the State Department's FSOT exam. It's the best way, although long and drawn out in my belief to enter this field as anyone from any background can get a job if they jump through all of the hoops. I wouldn't suggest you join via the military as they are treated rather poorly and in most cases are no better off than their non-military colleagues. Hopefully I will get a job in the field back home, and my debt will be somehow discharged so that I can return soon, but until then, I lament ever going to grad school.