Samuel Ludovici

2/22/16

Jobs I want and How to Get Them

There are five particular jobs that I genuinely feel would be challenging yet satisfying
and intellectually stimulating to the point where I could see myself doing any of them or all of
them for a life time. Those jobs, while not all equally realistic or feasible for me to obtain are the
following: a diplomat for the United States government, a foreign service officer for the United
States, a private consultant for the United States Department of Defense, a fellow in an
internationally-focused think tank centered either in the United States or around the UN, and
lastly a researcher at a public university with a focus on international disaster management.
These are my dream jobs in that they are my ultimate aspirations for my career in life, and I
will attempt to study whatever I need to study in order to be successful in that career.
All of the aforementioned jobs require additional schooling following a successful
attainment of a bachelors degree, whether it be a Masters degree or a Doctorate of law degree.
So my first plan of action in order to attempt to achieve these jobs would be to apply to graduate
school or law school, specifically with a focus on something related to international affairs or
diplomacy. I am looking at universities both domestic and foreign to obtain a Masters degree in
either International Studies, War Studies, Terrorism Studies, or International Disaster
Management. In order to best complete some of these jobs, it is necessary for me to obtain a
doctorate degree in one of the previously mentioned topics.
Either way, additional schooling will provide me with certain skills, knowledge, and
abilities that are paramount to the successful carrying out of any of the careers I am looking at. I
will ultimately refine my ability to research a topic, analyze it, and summarize it to the point

where someone outside my field of expertise will be able to comprehend it. I will learn to
recognize truly academic sources and I should be able to successfully be able to understand any
such articles in my field of study and understand their influence to the field as a whole. For most
of these careers, inter-personal communication is also extremely important, in that I will need to
learn ways to best communicate with people in a professional environment to ensure a smoothly
running workplace. In general, knowledge about the state of the world and how states relate to
one another nowadays, and how that is affected by past events, is extremely important in the jobs
I have looked at. The more shrewd, educated, and insightful my commentary or understanding of
the world is, the better I will be able to perform in any of the careers.
In speaking to people such as my father who worked for a Department of Defense
contractor, or my uncle who was a professor at various research-heavy universities, I found that
networking is also extremely important to success in most of the jobs I was looking at. Knowing
someone is not only extremely helpful in landing a job, but having connections to people in
different bureaucracies would also be beneficial to the carrying out of said job. So connecting to
people is an important ability I need to manifest in order to get the job, as well as to keep the job.
Whether it be through connecting with a professor via Facebook or LinkedIn, or networking and
socializing at a formal event, knowing people in various places can be extremely instrumental in
finding a job or successfully landing that job.
In conclusion, graduate school should hopefully instill such skills in me as proper
researching abilities, refining my critical and analytical thinking, knowledge about the various
states of the world and their cultures, interpersonal skills, proper networking, professionality, and
a sense of worldliness that will help me to get one of the five dream jobs I want.

Ambassador of the United States

http://www.geni.com/projects/Ambassadors-of-the-United-States/12942
http://diplomacy.state.gov/discoverdiplomacy/diplomacy101/people/170366.html
Foreign Service Officer
http://careers.state.gov/work/foreign-service/officer
Depart of Defense Consultant
http://www.boozallen.com/consultants/defense-consulting/defense-agencies
Fellow in International Think Tank
https://www5.apply2jobs.com/CSIS/ProfExt/index.cfm?
fuseaction=mExternal.showJob&RID=126&CurrentPage=1
https://www.wilsoncenter.org/fellowship-application
Federal Researcher at a public university
http://mup.asu.edu/research2012.pdf
http://www.research.psu.edu/about
http://www.hcri.manchester.ac.uk/