SAIS - Job Prospects

[jbhdiamond]

I'm currently trying to decide between law school and a master's in IR/foreign affairs, and am finding increasingly that it all boils down to jobs for me.

 

On the one hand, I feel confident based on my stats that I could get in to a T-14 law school and do well enough in law school to secure a biglaw job and be more or less set, at least for a time.  While the predictability and security of this approach appeal [greatly] to me, the work itself generally does not.

 

On the other hand, I could pursue an MA in IR, and SAIS would be far and away my top choice.  I also feel reasonably confident based on my stats and experience that I could get in (in any case, let's assume for the sake of argument that I could).  The key appeal of SAIS is that it would likely better position me for the type of job I really want--i.e. an policy analyst-type position in the national security space.  And unlike with law school, which could conceivably lead to the same place, I wouldn't be (as) tempted to take a higher paying but less appealing job right out of school, just to pay off all the debt.  The potential downside to SAIS (I think) is that that job would not be quite as guaranteed as a biglaw job would be to a top T-14 grad.

 

Bottom line: from an overall job satisfaction and quality of life perspective, SAIS wins--but only insofar as I could reasonably count on getting a job I'm decently happy with.

 

My question then is this: in your experience, roughly what percentage of SAIS graduates get full-time jobs they're decently happy with right after graduation?  How many are in jobs they're decently happy with, say, two years after graduating?

[KenBesonders]

SAIS has a really good reputation for job placement, but it really boils down to utilizing a network.

That being said you should aim to go to for what most perks your interests and not the assumptions of career prospects associated with a brand name.

[crisisdiplomacy]

SAIS seems to have very good job placement rates. I spoke with a current student recently who told me that they send out employment surveys, where students write the most desirable firms/organizations they want to work fore and SAIS Career Services brings in recruiters from those firms to speak or hold workshops at SAIS. Again, this is just what I've heard. I'm starting at SAIS in the fall so I don't know for sure. 

 

Additionally, it depends on what you want to do. According to the charts SAIS places a significant portion of graduates into private sector jobs, and many in World Bank/IMF. I'd recommend checking out this link: http://www.sais-jhu.edu/sites/default/files/SAIS_EOR-2014-Final.pdf