Job market outlook

[Shannon1222]

I am considering the new masters in Middle East and Islamic studies program at George Mason. One of the biggest reasons is because I am a Virginia resident and don't want to go into massive debt for a degree. I have a degree from a top tier university with a double major in history and religion. I have a high level of ability in Arabic (MLA and Egyptian colloquial) and Persian.

I have a couple of reasons for my hesitation. It seems with the lack of government jobs, it's very difficult to get employment in this field. Is that true or am I getting false information? I would probably be more interested in pursuing an academic profession but am not ready to commit to that at this point. That is why I am only looking at masters programs. I don't want to get a degree with dismal job prospects.

I also wonder about the prestige of Mason. I know most current masters programs are at highly ranked universities. Will this hinder job prospects? In all honesty, I don't feel my highly regarded undergrad degree has been very helpful and probably not worth the cost. I feel fairly confident I could get into a program like Elliot at GW but can't justify the cost. The reason for my hesitation with Georgetown is because it seems very Arab centric. I am increasingly interested in Iran and Central Asia. I also want to stay in the DC area because my husband has a very good career here.

I appreciate any responses to my myriad and somewhat disjointed questions.