Wow – I can’t believe how helpful and in depth everybody has been, talk about making a newbie feel welcome!

I think my main worry about doing a JD is that I’m not sure I have the required passion for studying the law that I think you need. I’ve got a few friends doing law, and I know that they’re absolutely absorbed in it and I’m not sure if I have that level of dedication or could sustain it for three years. I’d never really considered it as a career, and while I know the cash incentives are huge, I know that I’d be more passionate about teaching politics than practicing as an attorney. As a non-US person I’d also be a bit worried about taking out $120,000+ of loan to pay for a legal education – I’m not sure whether you can get full scholarships as an international student, or how stellar you would need to be. It honestly wasn’t a route into a policy career that I had considered until very recently which means I haven’t really had a chance to properly research it. I kind of feel that I’d be doing a JD as a means to an end and would enjoy an MA/PhD a lot more – but the pragmatist in me says that a few years of discomfort shouldn’t necessarily put me off if it gets me where I want to go.

As for my rather undefined goal of a US policy career – I have to apologise for that somewhat lacking description! I think I’m fairly open to anything, which is why that description was so nebulous. In an ideal world, something at the State Department, Pentagon or working as an advisor to a senator/governor (if they run for president all the better) would probably be what I want. I’ve always had a deep interest in military affairs, and although I know as a civilian I wouldn’t carry the same weight as an ex-service person I’d like to be in a job where I could cross the divide of military/government/academia. Then there’s the world of CoFR, Brookings, RAND etc. which I would also be very interested in. I suppose my ideal job would be something that had me based in DC, with occasional trips overseas to conflict zones to get a hands-on look at situations. Public service is where my heart lies, so I would like to be able to eventually feed some of what I’ve done back (i.e. teach or work in veterans affairs).

At the minute my main interest lies in counterinsurgency and counterterrorism, but I’m very aware of the changing demands on security policy, so I don’t want to lose sight of big-picture and end up so specialised that what I know is irrelevant in 20 years. I guess this is why a PhD appeals, as it would also give me time to get some solid language skills under my belt – and getting my very basic Arabic up to a good level would hopefully be possible and useful.

My main worry with a PhD is that it’s a huge investment of time (I’m already 25) before hitting the somewhat beleaguered job market. My main reason for wanting to do a PhD stateside is it covers a lot of ground and would also give me some good stats/quant training and be more attractive for future US academic employers. The idea of using grad research to meet people I’d like to work with is a great one.

I think what’s clear is that there is no single accepted route into what I’m interested in, and so doing what I’m passionate about would be best – and I have to say that’s unfortunately not a JD.

US citizenship is something I’m more than happy to go for, my main worry is getting some sort of job straight after postgrad to stay in the USA, rather than go back to the UK as soon as I graduate – I’m not sure if an MA or PhD would help more from that point of view.

Thanks a lot for all the advice so far!