These Are the College Degrees People End Up Regretting

International relations draws students who are interested in diplomacy, global conflict, human rights, trade, security, and foreign cultures. Many picture themselves working for embassies, the United Nations, nonprofits, intelligence agencies, think tanks, or global companies. It feels like a degree for people who want their career to reach beyond one country.

The regret often comes from how crowded and specialized the field is. A bachelor’s degree alone may not be enough without language fluency, regional expertise, security clearance, law school, or graduate training. Students may love the subject, but the jobs they imagined can be rare, highly selective, and difficult to monetize early.