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International relations, what are they good for? If you mean the interactions and foreign policies among countries, then quite a lot. If you mean the academic discipline of studying such relations and future job prospects, well, that’s a different story.
In my last column, I went into detail about how I ended up dropping out of my doctoral program in IR at Ritsumeikan University after navigating the pitfalls of academia for nearly five years. It surprisingly became one of the most-viewed articles on this Substack, so it must have resonated with enough people who are familiar with postgraduate education or perhaps have even gone through it themselves.
But what about international relations as a subject? While I wasn’t able to get my Ph.D, I’ve had a master’s in it since 2021. It’s something, right? Unfortunately, that piece of paper on my shelf has about as much use in Japan as a bicycle does on the frozen tundras of Siberia. Sure, it technically could help you navigate the desolate landscape if you’re lucky, but why would you choose such an inefficient means of transportation in a largely unsuitable environment? That’s basically what my IR degree is here when it comes to career advancement.
I previously explained why I wasn’t suited for the academic world of international relations. In this second part, I’ll dive into the main reasons why being an IR major is unlikely to help me outside of it, either. While IR may have some application overseas, it’s a very small field that few are really aware of in Japan. In the past, I’ve spoken to other foreigners who thought that studying IR might help them avoid the typical bottom-of-the-barrel English teaching route which pays peanuts. Let me be the one to burst that bubble: unless you have other qualifications or an existing path to employment with the right connections, it probably isn’t.
There really aren’t many IR jobs in Japan
In a vacuum, international relations is a fascinating field which plays an important role in explaining the major geopolitical problems of our time. If you’ve ever wondered why some countries are close allies and why some countries are seemingly eternal enemies, then you already have some familiarity with IR. Scholars have dedicated their entire lives toward studying various conflicts across the world, and a handful of them like Henry Kissinger and Condoleezza Rice even went on to occupy considerably high positions of political power. As I elucidated last time, however, the academic track was a dead end for me and you won’t see me advising the President of the United States anytime soon.
To begin with, there are actually relatively few international relations departments at Japanese universities. The one I was admitted to at Ritsumeikan University here in Kyoto is considered among the best, while Waseda University in Tokyo is the other most notable one. You might find a political science program at a handful institutions throughout the country, but it’s not a popular major among Japanese students. Ritsumeikan’s own website reporting where its IR undergraduates go to even lists that the majority of them enter manufacturing, services, IT, finances, or trading companies. You obviously don’t need an IR degree for those. What’s more useful is demonstrating marketable skills.
Additionally, few Japanese undergrads move on to graduate school unless they want to specialize in academia or research. When my original plan was to finish my Ph.D., hopefully do a postdoc, and move on to becoming a full-time professor, then sure, my plan made sense. Now that I’m an ex-academic in the wilderness, all I have is a piece of paper which proves I could do two years of slightly advanced research on Japan’s North Korea policy under the Shinzo Abe administration. The name of the school I graduated from holds far more value than what I actually studied since a university like Ritsumiekan has some prestige among Japanese employers.
