Career Advice/Path

K09

Hi,

I hope you can help me out some bit. I have reached a point(again) where I am really not sure what path to take.

Here's a brief background overview....
I have been working in IT for the past 4 yrs. I did a BA(Hist/Pol) in university. I lost interest in it in my second yr and my college lifestyle also meant I only got 2.2

After the BA I had no idea what to do and someone encouraged me to do a Post Grad course in IT. From there I went into IT as a career.

The past 2 years I have developed a keen interest in History and politics again. I have become enthralled in reading about conflicts and cultures in Africa and the Middle East. I have visited countries in these regions that some people I know would never dream of going to. I love to learn about other cultures and understand them. I enjoy meeting new people from all over the world and learning about their lives and countries.

I have started to reassess my career path. I am considering applying for a course in something similar to my interests such as International Relations.
However, I am not sure where I could do it - Ireland/UK/Europe and if I would be accepted - 2.2 degree and worked in IT - maybe this would hinder.

I am not even sure what job I would love. I guess I love to help people and to visit new countries and experience new cultures. I want something exciting that can make an impact on the world and help improve peoples lives.
Maybe something in the UN or EU but no idea where to start or how to even begin. Is there a helpful website helping to get started?

I am a couple of yrs off 30 and am wondering if I should stay in IT. Am I too late to change career again??

I would love to hear of anyone's experiences and am very grateful for any advice.

Thanks!!

Esmereldina

K09 wrote: »

Hi,

I hope you can help me out some bit. I have reached a point(again) where I am really not sure what path to take.

Here's a brief background overview....
I have been working in IT for the past 4 yrs. I did a BA(Hist/Pol) in university. I lost interest in it in my second yr and my college lifestyle also meant I only got 2.2

After the BA I had no idea what to do and someone encouraged me to do a Post Grad course in IT. From there I went into IT as a career.

The past 2 years I have developed a keen interest in History and politics again. I have become enthralled in reading about conflicts and cultures in Africa and the Middle East. I have visited countries in these regions that some people I know would never dream of going to. I love to learn about other cultures and understand them. I enjoy meeting new people from all over the world and learning about their lives and countries.

I have started to reassess my career path. I am considering applying for a course in something similar to my interests such as International Relations.
However, I am not sure where I could do it - Ireland/UK/Europe and if I would be accepted - 2.2 degree and worked in IT - maybe this would hinder.

I am not even sure what job I would love. I guess I love to help people and to visit new countries and experience new cultures. I want something exciting that can make an impact on the world and help improve peoples lives.
Maybe something in the UN or EU but no idea where to start or how to even begin. Is there a helpful website helping to get started?

I am a couple of yrs off 30 and am wondering if I should stay in IT. Am I too late to change career again??

I would love to hear of anyone's experiences and am very grateful for any advice.

Thanks!!

Hi, I'm a big history nerd so I understand where you're coming from! Generally you would need a 2:1 to get into a Masters course, but this can also be flexible. I think the fact that you've developed such an interest in the area and really want to go back to study it should help you, so I'd try and get talking/emailing some of the lecturers for the courses you're thinking about, and convincing them of your genuine interest. The only thing though is that International Relations tends to be very popular with students in general, so masters would probably be oversubscribed. The 2:1 requirement would prob be more flexible for less ahem popular courses like maybe medieval history*.
There is also in UCD something called the MA qualifying exam. Not sure exactly what it involves but it seems to be a year long part time course that you can do to qualify for a masters if you didn't get a high enough grade in the BA exams. Might be worth looking into... not sure if other universities do it too, or if it's just UCD.

As regards jobs afterwards, I'm sorry to say I'd imagine there are quite a few International Relations graduates (and humanities MAs in general) who work in IT too... :-) jobs in the areas of international law/UN etc don't tend to be too easy to come by. That's not to say that you won't get your dream job after finishing, and the fact that you have such a great interest in the area and have continued to pursue this yourself over the years might give you the advantage over someone who goes into an MA straight after the degree but doesn't have any non university experience. However, I'd just keep in mind (as someone who has recently finished a history postgrad :-) ) that you shouldn't necessarily expect to get a job related to your postgrad afterwards.
I don't know much about international relations jobs myself as I do a different type of history, so maybe someone else can give you more specific job advice. All that said though, if you are genuinely interested in the area, you should probably go for it anyway :-)

*No offence intended to any actual medievalists :-) Random though: are there any medievalists on boards?

pow wow

K09 wrote: »

Hi,

The past 2 years I have developed a keen interest in History and politics again. I have become enthralled in reading about conflicts and cultures in Africa and the Middle East. I have visited countries in these regions that some people I know would never dream of going to. I love to learn about other cultures and understand them. I enjoy meeting new people from all over the world and learning about their lives and countries.

I have started to reassess my career path. I am considering applying for a course in something similar to my interests such as International Relations.
However, I am not sure where I could do it - Ireland/UK/Europe and if I would be accepted - 2.2 degree and worked in IT - maybe this would hinder.

I am not even sure what job I would love. I guess I love to help people and to visit new countries and experience new cultures. I want something exciting that can make an impact on the world and help improve peoples lives.
Maybe something in the UN or EU but no idea where to start or how to even begin. Is there a helpful website helping to get started?

I am a couple of yrs off 30 and am wondering if I should stay in IT. Am I too late to change career again??

I would love to hear of anyone's experiences and am very grateful for any advice.

Thanks!!

I considered IR for postgrad (aswell as Conflict Resolution which tends to be slightly more vocational if you're interested...) but have settled on politics, which actually does cover a lot of IR content. I have NO idea what to do after, everyone I know wants to work for the UN/Red Cross etc. but I think, as with you, this has something to do with not really knowing who else to work for!

A 2.2 is not the end of the world at all. As the other poster said you have the added bonus of age, experience AND a genuine interest you can prove (through the travel you've done etc.). IR at UCC for example is flexible with the entry reqs but as the course there is taught through the History Dept it's more about the history of IR than the theory and practice which would be most useful from a jobs point of view.

My best friend is graduating with her undergrad in IR and has a job lined up with the red cross. She's 27 and I'm 26 so your age is only a number

As regards where to study it, pretty much all universities offer some version of it: peace & conflict studies are very current in Ireland (and there are some jobs at the end of it!), International Studies, International Politics, International Security, Terrorism & Violence, Politics, International Politics etc etc. Take a peek at the modules offered under each course and you'l find a course that interests you that way.

K09

still confused as to where to begin and what to decide on, etc.

does anyone know of a career guiidance counseller in Dublin?

or anyone got any more advice?

thanks!

petethebrick

Hey,
I'm currently doing the MA in International Organizations at DCU. I had a 2.2 as well but put a good bit of work into my Cover Letter etc. Loving the course so far and definitely happier to be doing this one than the straight IR. The optional modules are all the same anyway. The school of law and gov. here is pretty progressive and the courses are structured so that you can tailor your studies to meet your needs and interests. There are 5 different MAs offered, you should check them out on the dcu homepage.

dory

You're definitely not too old! My dad found at 30 that he hated teaching, he wanted to be a sports commentator. Everyone told him he was mad but he's now being flown all over the place commentating for RTE. So definitely GO for it!

I'm starting Development Studies in DCU in September. It's pretty much the same as IR, just a few core modules are different. I have experience in development so know that's what I want to do. I'm not bothered about jobs yet, just doing what I can (like learning Spanish) and hoping for the best.

The UN have loads of openings. They only pick the best but have trouble keeping people because it's really not a job for a married person. And few people seem to pick job over happy family. They have openings for 3-10 month temps as well in Geneva. I found a website about that the other day. That might give you an idea. Also the Irish government have been putting a lot more emphasis on their aid programme lately, so more openings there. They have the centre in Dublin and they send interns to the UN for a year.

Also the Irish foreign service might be an idea. Also not the best job for someone wanting a brood of babies but it looks like fun!

One last thing; you very well might get offered a place on an MA course. But you could also apply for a higher diploma in some of these courses and then do the MA in your second year if your first year marks are good enough.
Good luck whatever you do!