Is learning a foreign language a good way to get a job?

[sydlee]

Originally Posted by valsteele

Would being fluent in a valuable language like Arabic, Chinese, Russian or Spanish be enough alone to get into the door of a decent paying job?

Si.

[sydlee]

Originally Posted by yellowsnow

There is no downside to being fluent in other languages. And there are good jobs out there for SOME. Especially languages like Chinese that are very difficult.

But the majority of positions that require language skills are poor paying customer service/retail positions. And the support people for those positions.

The job where I used my language skills most was a fun but crappy retail position. We served people from all over the world and I loved having the chance to dust off my skills.

It must've been cool being able to speak with people from around the world.

Side note: Chinese may be difficult for some, but considerably easier for others, depending on what your strengths are. Each language has its challenges. German, for example, was much harder for me to learn than Chinese because of all those cases, inexplicable gender patterns, and plural forms. Chinese may not use an alphabet, but it lacks the very things that make German hard for an English speaker, so you could just as easily say German is harder to learn than Chinese.

[2nd trick op]

I worked for several years in a call center for a Cable TV/Internet company which had a large Spanish-speaking customer base. I can easily "get by" in conversational Spanish, but was told to say no more than "Voy a buscar para interprador", and turn the customer over to a paid interpreter service; I could easily understand why because the customer's language obviously became more fluent and idiomatic once a fellow country(wo)man was handling the call.

So I wouldn't pin my hopes on an interpreter's job unless the applicant is either a native speaker or very good.

[1stTiger]

Foreign Languages are not useful to learn for work in the USA as it is assumed that every business speaks English. Now, if you were planning to work in Japan, then learning Japanese would be very useful because it is assumed that all businesses there speak some sort of Japanese. People talk about interpreter jobs but those are few and far in between. Most locations in the US do not have interpreter jobs or they are very hard to find. Plus they usually require you to be a native speaker in that language. One way that you can get a considerable amount of money is doing text-based translation from a source foreign language to target English (I wouldn't recommend translating into a non-native language). However, you usually have to find clients online and it is very competitive. Plus there are very few full-time translation jobs out there because by nature translation is a one time deal.

[boxus]

I use a foreign language in my job, it is one of my job functions, so I have a little insight to this;

- Knowing a foreign language can be good when it is combined with another skill set, however, these positions are not common at all, and a person needs to be more than just fluent in the language, they have to be functioning fluent in the skill set as well. For an example everyone will see daily, just because a person is a native English speaker does not mean they know legal and business terms used in many positions.

- The translator field has very few good paying positions, and these positions usually have the requirement of a translator certificate which is the equivalent of a master's degree, in which only a few universities offer. A master's degree in the language, or plenty of experience can also be used, but these are not things you can just pick up quickly. Most translating positions are low paid, random work.

- Even in my own position, everyone uses English, it is just the language of business, and more often than not, the translator if there is one, will be on their end, not the US side of the house.

- All that aside, jobs will have different level of proficiency needs for a position, depending on the testing they use, they will evaluate you in reading, writing, and speaking. Different positions will have different proficiency requirements. I know people who have studied a language for years and still not meet the proficiency requirements of positions, or score extra points for knowing a language.

But as for the question "is knowing a foreign language a good way to get a job", no, your time is better spent on obtaining a skill that is in demand. You can either put in hours upon hours, year after year of studying a foreign language, all to be out shined by a native speaker, or you can put those same amount of resources into a skill that is in demand and get a job that way.

[boxus]

Originally Posted by Listener2307

When I was a trucker I met a young man who was studying Spanish. He told me that the best landscaping company in East Georgia required everyone to understand basic Spanish.
He wanted to go to work for the landscaping company because they paid a lot more than the company that unloaded my truck.

I bet you thought the worked for 50 cents and hour, didn't you?

Not 50 cents an hour, but just a little past minimum wage. Here in the S. FL. area, they get up to $10 an hour or so depending on their experience, a foreman can get upwards $17 an hour depending on the experience and company of course. A large company scores bigger and better contracts, like federal contracts, and can pay more, while the five person company do not land such contracts and pay less.

[Me1313]

Yes. And you will be smarter because you're using both brain hemispheres when you learn a new language.

[Sydney123]

I work in the travel industry and speak fluent English, Spanish, French ( raised with), and conversational German. I got hired pretty much on the spot... When can you start? I get paid more than my counterparts who are not multilingual, get first pick on overtime, and job assignments and am often pulled for " special assignments".
When traveling.. Even if the people speak English, you will fare much better if you can speak in their native tongue. I am often privy to places to stay, eat, shop and visit that aren't the normal tourist destinations. People tend to trust you more and are more willing to open up and be friendlier, and you are less likely to be taken advantage of.
One of the really cool aspects of my job is that they offer travel benefits that allow my to visit other countries and use my language skills.
Next on my list is learning to speak Japanese... I just ordered an immersion course to do just that.

[guawazi]

Studied international relations and minored in Chinese in college. Spent several years in China learning the language and teaching. Got fluent and came back to the U.S. and looked for nearly a year for companies that would see this skill as an asset. Didn't have much success with the ones I did find. Passed an interpreters exam and worked for $15/hr for a very brief period of time, before being overwhelmed from by the sheer difficultly of medical interpreting. Granted, I am not living in a place where there is a high need for Mandarin speakers.

For Mandarin, there are businesses out there that want people who can speak the language, but you'll need other skills and experience on top of that. Often times, however, many of these jobs are specifically for native speakers of that language as they are assumed to be the only ones who can speak the language fluently. The vast majority of people I have met seem to think that with this particular background, I would be able to easily find work with any business that has tight relations with China. That is what I believed to be true. Not so easy in reality.

The two places you'll find that really like people who can speak foreign languages: government and international education. Most federal agencies including the State Department want American citizens who can speak languages like Chinese and Arabic. But you'll need other skills and experience, and need to be all-around pretty intelligent on top of that. International education also likes people who can speak foreign languages, but these jobs are few and far between, and also quite difficult to get.

To answer the OP - No, language by itself is not good enough for a (decent paying) job, unless you want to solely do interpreting/translating. You'll need other skills and experience, and your other language will be seen as merely icing on the cake. It does help in the fact that people will think you are intelligent. Even if you don't find a use for the skill right away, it shows employers that you are hardworking and smart. This is something that will be a given for any job that you apply to down the road.