The Department of National Defence (DND) hosted an informational session Monday afternoon at Thomson House for McGill graduate students interested in career opportunities within the organization.
This was the first time such a high-level event had been held at Thomson house in at least eight years, claims Bliss Ward, the building’s House Manager.
The session was part of the Policy Officers Recruitment Program, a nationwide DND initiative seeking graduate students looking for post-graduate employment. The purpose of the program is to prepare these candidates for senior positions in the Canadian military and elsewhere in the federal government.
The recruitment drive was aimed at students in the upper echelons of policy study – specifically MAs in political science or international relations with concentrations in economics, statistics, or sociology.
“Ideal candidates will have an interest in national and international defence and security issues,” according to their website.
The elite recruitment program offers a base salary of $50,000 for the first two years and can climb to as high as $70,000 within a few years. The program also provides candidates a $5,000 “relocation allowance” for those who move to Ottawa to work for the department.
McGill’s Career and Planning Service notified graduate students of the session in a broadcast e-mail from Graduate Student Career Advisor Susan Molnar, obtained by The Daily. Neither Molnar nor officials from the DND could be reached for comment Wednesday.