<p>I am a Middle Eastern Studies and History major at UT-Austin, and upon graduation I want to work in the State Department/CIA. I currently have a 3.6 GPA - is that high enough? What is considered a “good” or “great” GPA in the major?</p>
<p>I’m not sure what the hell the government looks for. I had a 3.5 GPA in Economics, applied to dozens of government jobs and didn’t get one single call back.</p>
<p>bump for more</p>
<p>a) Most agencies in the district require at least a 3.5 to get serious consideration. (FBI and CIA both say you need a 3.0 to apply for just internships, but you’d need some serious credentials on top of that). State Department says good academic standing for internships, and they base their hirings (for real jobs) off your score from the Foreign Service Officer Exam (FSO) along with GPA – and your ability to get Secret or Top Secret Clearence. (Major Tip: If you ever find an internship where they’ll pay for you to get Secret Clearence, take it. You’re SEVERAL times more valuable to a company if you’re already cleared and they don’t have to pay for it)</p>
<p>b) Know the DC environment. As the economy stands right now – DC is hiring people either currently enrolled in Masters/MBA/JD programs or that already have their degree. Also know that you’ll be competing against students from Georgetown, GWU, and AU who have done between 1 and 3 internships each of their four years of college and have one foot in the door. DC is all about connections, and if you’re still young enough (which your profile says you are), I’d start looking for DC Internships. I think you’re too late already for the CIA, I KNOW you’re too late for the State Department. But the FBI is still looking for people and the Department of Homeland Security starts looking for Summer Internship people in January/Feb. USA jobs is a great resource for summer internships, also ask your career office. You WILL get passed over if you don’t have job experience that doesn’t extend beyond your University (unless it is research based work).</p>
<p>c) When applying to DC jobs and internships, don’t get discouraged. I applied to 85 last summer, go five interviews and three offers. It takes persistance.</p>
<p>That’s so much more than you asked for…but hopefully it helps you out.</p>