Despite the increased interest in counterterrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks, the job outlook for graduates interested in international development has not changed significantly in the last few years, several AU advisers said.
"While there has been an increase in the number of jobs related to counterterrorism, the job market for international development has not decreased, but rather stayed about the same," said Katherine Stahl, executive director of AU's Career Center. "AU graduates are still getting a lot of job offers from international aid organizations."
One group that regularly recruits on campus is the Catholic Relief Fund, Stahl said.
David Hirschman, director of AU's international development program, said that while interest and employment opportunities in international development have not decreased, the main focus in the field has changed.
"Military force is not the only way to combat terror. The U.S. is also using foreign aid to fight terrorism, which has shifted the area and focus of some jobs in international development," Hirschmann said. "There continues to be much interest in international development within the Bush administration since 9/11. ... Bush has pledged $15 billion to combat AIDS in Africa, for example."
Career Center adviser Lochlann Boyle said the increased interest in counterterrorism has not led to a large increase in jobs. Because of this, she said, counterterrorism has become a more competitive field since Sept. 11.
Stahl said that the United States' fight against terrorism has created a lot of overlap between international development and counterterrorism. However, the job outlook for SIS graduates is good, Stahl said.
"We have the lowest unemployment rate of university graduates in the D.C. area," she said.
Still, she said, students must work and prepare to get jobs in counterterrorism.
"Students work very closely with us at the Career Center throughout the year trying to get employed at various government agencies," Stahl said.
Sophomore SIS student David Blum considered working at the CIA and the State Department before 9/11.
"Initially, I was interested in the Middle East, but then I realized that it's not an economically viable place to learn or have to deal with, so I chose to focus on Russia and East Asia," Blum said.
Boyle said that graduates interested in counterterrorism tend to seek employment with the CIA, Defense Department and Defense Intelligence Agency.
"These agencies are primarily recruiting graduates who are fluent speakers of languages such as Arabic, Pashtun and Farsi," she said.
Theresa Johnson, a senior in SIS with a concentration in politics in Europe, is unsure where she would like to work after college, but does not rule out the possibility of working at the Defense Department.
"I was a freshman here at AU when 9/11 happened," Johnson said. "I had no specific career goals then but I'm sure if I were a senior at the time, it would have made a big difference."
It is unclear whether AU students' increased interest in counterterrorism is only because it's seen as a timely field, Stahl said.
"The subject matter seems to be of great concern at AU," Stahl said. "Only time will tell, but those who aren't actually interested will eventually get weeded out"
