IR Master for Private Sector (Finance / Consulting)

[007]

Hey all!

I will be enrolling in one of the top IR programs next fall and although I thought that I had made up my mind, one thing is crossing it all the time:

Does a IR Master's degree enhance my career prospects in the private sector?

I have a law background from Europe and I always wanted to do banking or consulting. However, going to business school is no alternative to me because I am looking for something more thrilling and intellectually demanding and I do not have any substantial work experience.

I have been admitted to SAIS and I am currently applying to SIPA and maybe Yale. Do you have any recommendations for me? Just deriving from the brand name, I would think that Columbia might be the best choice for my career plan. On the other side, SAIS might be the slightly better, more personal and financially more appealing program (I might very well get a free ride there due to scholarships).

So my general concerns are if such programs a) lay ground for a job at top private sector firms and if they do, which of them would be the best for me?!

Regards

007

[Batignolles]

Does a IR Master's degree enhance my career prospects in the private sector?

I have a law background from Europe and I always wanted to do banking or consulting.

...

So my general concerns are if such programs a) lay ground for a job at top private sector firms and if they do, which of them would be the best for me?!

Regards

007

As someone who works in consulting for a top private sector firm (and plays a major role in recruiting), I can't say that a pure IR master's degree really sets you up for consulting any better than your background in law. In other words, if what you're looking for is to make a career transition from law into consulting, the IR program is not really a great investment of your $120,000+.

I guess that you posted really elicited two big questions for me:

1. You mention that pure business school is not thrilling or intellectually demanding. Have you stopped to consider that if you don't think business school programs are engaging (and there are a very wide variety of them out there), then you might also run up against the same limitations in the business world itself?

2. On a related note, if what you always wanted to study was IR, don't you also want to consider jobs in that realm? There are a huge number of private sector consulting companies that work for all branches of the government, a number of them touching the foreign policy space. A lot of the best ones aren't broadly considered "top" companies (they're more like specialized "boutique" firms) but are awesome at what they do.

But if you're really dead-set on consulting or banking (which are really two very, very different pursuits...), combined with academic study of IR, I would stop and consider what those companies want from you once you're done: rock-hard quantitative skills, business acumen, and problem solving abilities. Any quant-oriented program where you could take business policy / international financial system courses would probably do for building that skill set. That encompasses most of the more quant-focused programs out there, so you've got a broad choice of schools but will have to be quite careful and focused in your course selection. A good alternative in that case might be Fletcher's Master of International Business, which combines MBA and IR studies into one two-year degree useful for both fields.

But to be perfectly honest, beyond testing your ability to do the work, consulting and banking companies that are interviewing non-MBA master's degree students are really going to care a huge amount about the big name at the top of your diploma (yes, we are shallow like that). You'd really be better off going to Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Berkeley or the like in that case, since big names like that are the main places where consulting companies have a substantial recruiting presence.

Hope that helps!

Edited December 12, 2009 by Batignolles

[greendiplomat]

I generally agree with Batignolles about looking into Business Schools that allow for coursework tailored to your academic interests. Off the top of my head, Yale's School of Management might be a school you'd want to look into. With the motto "Educating leaders for business and society", it might be a good fit given your desire to take IR-related coursework, and it has a super flexible curriculum in that, apart from the Core Curriculum, there's no upper limit on how many classes you take in other schools at Yale (including their international affairs program). While I'd also suggest you look into the MBA/MA-IR 3-year program at Yale, I don't think the MA-IR program there would be a very attractive option as a standalone degree if you want to get into finance/consulting, since it's more academically-oriented than most IR degrees.

If, however, you're set on a Master's in IR, I'd say that SIPA has the strongest presence in the private sector, with their employment statistics indicating that about 45% of graduates go on to take jobs in the private sector. The general strength of the school in this regard was reflected at a holiday party I was at earlier this week (at my company's CEO's place in NYC), where a good number of people that I talked to graduated from SIPA, went on to work in finance for a few years, and then started their own companies. They also have a concentration in International Finance and Economic Policy, which might be something that would be finance-oriented without being completely non-academic (if that's what you like).

[007]

Thank you for the advice. There seems to be a lot of knowledge in this forum which helps me a lot!

2. On a related note, if what you always wanted to study was IR, don't you also want to consider jobs in that realm? There are a huge number of private sector consulting companies that work for all branches of the government, a number of them touching the foreign policy space. A lot of the best ones aren't broadly considered "top" companies (they're more like specialized "boutique" firms) but are awesome at what they do

Yes, I already have considered some of these alternatives and they might be a good fit as well. However, since I want to return to Germany after my degree, they might not be the most realisitic options and here, the field of governmental consulting isn't as evolved as in the US.

The Yale Business School program indeed looks quite interesting to me but won't be an option as I lack the work experience. So I will most likely stick to SAIS / SIPA. The only thing I have to resolve for myself is if SIPA is worth the extra money I'd have to pay (living in NYC, no tuition reduction for the first year compared to a full scholarship at SAIS).

[Cornell07]

At Yale, we can apply for dual degree programs once we here. Getting into the law school is pretty difficult and tacks on two extra years. The b-school, on the other hand, seems to be easier to get into (usually one or two people end up doing the MA-MBA degree per class) and it only requires one extra year.

[greendiplomat]

The only thing I have to resolve for myself is if SIPA is worth the extra money I'd have to pay (living in NYC, no tuition reduction for the first year compared to a full scholarship at SAIS).

Bear in mind, though, that the vast majority of 2nd-year students get scholarships at SIPA (i.e. everyone with above a 3.2 or something).

[riz1]

Just to confuse you further, James Bond, let me add one more option for you: Fletcher's Master in International Business (MIB) program. It sounds like you want to take a middle road between b-school and IR, and this program might be a good fit. Read up on MIB student profiles here, and check out the BusinessWeek ad on Fletcher's "MBA Alternative" here.

Applying to the MIB does require taking the GMAT, not the GRE, so be aware of that.

Good luck!

Edited December 15, 2009 by riz1

[007]

Just to confuse you further, James Bond, let me add one more option for you: Fletcher's Master in International Business (MIB) program. It sounds like you want to take a middle road between b-school and IR, and this program might be a good fit. Read up on MIB student profiles here, and check out the BusinessWeek ad on Fletcher's "MBA Alternative" here.

Applying to the MIB does require taking the GMAT, not the GRE, so be aware of that.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice! I have been aware of Fletcher and their new MIB program. Besides it being highly attractive and interesting, however, I do not have relevant work experience and I might add a MBA - if at all - at a later stage. In so far, the degree is not the ideal thing for me now, neither in terms of qualification, nor in terms of academic interest (at the moment).

It seems as if my choice remains a difficult one...