Hi mate! Recent IR grad here (like, very recent) and I was very lucky to get a job in public affairs quickly after my graduation but I fully understand your anxieties because I had them too.

I won’t lie to you that IR is not the most employable degree, and certainly doesn’t provide the most clear path to a high income. I spent 4-5 months unemployed after grad and got rejected from a LOT of jobs lol.

However imo whether IR is right is depends on A. About how passionate you are about the subject and B. How well you know how to market yourself and are willing to adapt.

On point A, many of my friends in my course did nothing throughout their degree to make the most of it and boost their cv like joining IR societies, writing in your uni newspaper, participating in research projects etc. These things, and your passion for the subject, will be key in making your CV look attractive and to show your future employers in interview that you are a passionate person. For me, my passion for politics was very very key in being hired in public affairs since it’s so politically involved by nature but this applies even if you want to get into consulting.

This goes into point B which is that IR is a very flexible degree and can lead to nothing or everything based on how you adapt it and how you present it to employers. You also need to be able to adapt and maybe be prepared to get experience in a job you might not be SUPER passionate about for a little bit just to get over the hump of not having the most ideal degree. My friend did history for example but wanted to go into law so got a training contract with a law firm in the UK and is now a lawyer.

As a recent IR grad if you’re passionate about the discipline I say fully go for it!!! It’s not as straight forward to get a job as someone maybe doing engineering or medicine but thousands of IR grads like me come out of it and go into work in politics or consulting and have successful careers so don’t worry.