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Day in The Life: Day in the Life at the U.S. Commission On National Security Name: Rachel Schiller
Educational Background: University of Pennsylvania
Majors: International Relations, Chinese Studies w/ French minor
Age: 22
Title: Research Associate
Employer: U.S. Commission on National Security (www.nssg.gov)
"Generally I do not work past 6 p.m., but every now and then I am here really late. Basically, I work until I am satisfied with the quality of my work."
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| Rachel's Typical Day at Work |
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8:30 ?9
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I get to work between 8:30 and 9. The first thing I generally do is check my messages, drink a cup of coffee, and launch into my research.
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9-12
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I spend a lot of mornings conducting interviews with people so that I can get the information that I need. I do a lot of Internet research, read journals, articles, books, drafts, and working papers. I use the Pentagon Library and the Library of Congress for a lot of my research. In a lot of ways, my position is more like a field study rather than just a research position.
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12
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I eat lunch around noon. Sometimes I'll pack a sandwich and eat at my desk, but I usually try to get out of the office at least to see the light of day.
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1-5:30
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After lunch I come back and do more of the same - researching, interviewing, stock-piling massive amounts of information, and writing.
Some days I spend a lot of time at the Pentagon just talking to people, while others I spend most of the time sifting through materials, consolidating the info I've gathered, and writing short policy papers.
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CHECKING IN WITH RACHEL
What exactly are you working on?
I?m working for a commission called the United States Commission on National Security. The Commission is approximately a 2.5 year project tasked with conducting a comprehensive review of national security. The basic idea is that our national security apparatus hasn't evolved since the National Security Act of 1947 and given the end of the Cold War, it is time to reevaluate. There are three phases to the Commission?s report. The first phase was primarily descriptive - it identifies current trends that give us some indication of the range of possible scenarios that may define the 2025 environment. The results of the first phase were published in mid-September (just after I joined the Commission) and you can download them online. The second phase is drafting a national security strategy and the third phase is making recommendations towards the implementation of that strategy. The entire process will be completed prior to the next Administration taking office in March 2001. The idea is to give the next President a direction for foreign policy.
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Is there a way for the general public to access the report?
Yes, the first part is called New World Coming and you can download it online at www.nssg.gov. The web site also provides for public debate.
How did you get this job?
Somebody I had worked with previously knew the Executive Director of the Commission and suggested to me that I might be interested in the Commission?s work. I went through three interviews over an extended period - it was long and drawn out.
When did you start then?
I started in August 1999, a year into the project. I?ll be working on it full-time for about a year and eight months ? through March of 2001.
Do you have any advice for an undergraduate who might want to do something similar?
Internships are definitely key - not only for meeting people who can help you to the next step, but also in terms of gaining practical knowledge of applied government. You can find internship listings on the home pages of the different government agencies. The State Department has a well-developed internship program. The DoD [Department of Defense] internship process is a little more ad hoc. Their internship program is aimed at graduate students, but it is not impossible to get one as an undergrad. You basically just have to take out the DoD yellow pages and start calling offices to ask if they'll take you on as an intern. You need to start about a year in advance because you have to get clearance and there's an intense application process. And you should be prepared not to get paid (which kind of sucks and requires excellent table-waiting skills), but it's an invaluable experience.
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