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It depends on the language. People with knowledge of E European langs, Central Asian langs, Arabic, Chinese and Spanish can get jobs with US gov't security agencies, like the NSA.
I agree with this. The FBI was looking for linguists a few months ago. There are also government contractors that hire linguists. Of course, there is the CIA, NSA, DIA, and other defense and intelligence agencies. Sometimes, they look for Spanish speakers; but most of the demand is for Middle Eastern and Eurasian languages such as Korean, Farsi, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Hindi, and Pashto.
For other languages such as French, you might want to look into international business, the Department of State, and NGOs.
I'm actually a French/Theatre double major. I'm about to begin my fifth language (German).
Anyways, My father is a lawyer, so I'd have something to go back to if I ended up choosing law school. I also have high enough grades that I could get into a top-14 law school, if not the top three, so I'd probably be able to enter a decent school with good job prospects or go to my university's law school without accruing any debt.
I know the requirements for becoming a teacher. I'm just not sure if that's what I want to do and that requires 1-2 extra years of school, which I'd be fine with if I was absolutely set on doing that. My university has a pretty good Foreign Language MAT and undergrad certification program that both currently have 100% placement. (The undergrad would be an extra year and the MAT would be two).
Anyways, are there any posters on this forum who actually are foreign language majors or graduated as one?
I'm not super concerned about the job prospects at the moment. My aunts both majored in Home Ec. One ended up being a MS Science teacher while the other ended up as VP of an Energy Company. I'm of the mindset that you can accomplish just about anything with any degree. It also doesn't hurt that I chose to go to a public university to take out as little loans as possible.
Anyways, are there any posters on this forum who actually are foreign language majors or graduated as one?
Yes, I was a Slavic Languages major, which is why I didn't answer your question directly. It's not comparable to majoring in a West European language. My job prospects at the time were the NSA, CIA (etc.), or working in a Slavic Langs. Dept. Or teaching. I tried teaching, couldn't stand the mediocrity in the public schools, nor the classroom mgmt. aspect. I ended up as an undergraduate adviser in the Slavic Langs. Dept that I graduated from. Then after the USSR crashed, I organized an NGO to do human rights work with Indigenous people in Siberia. I got an MA in Native American studies while I was working at the U, and combined the two degrees to do the Russia work. It was great. A challenge to fund, but very rewarding work.
Anyways, are there any posters on this forum who actually are foreign language majors or graduated as one?
I actually was a foreign language major, i have 24 credit hours out of either 31 or 33. The reason I got out of it wasn't because I thought I wouldn't have career options but because the school I go to is really small and they had us on a block schedule where if you missed one class, you would have to wait two years for it to come back around. I said F that .. in a time where college costs are going up and time is of the essence, i just don't have the time to be waiting around..
On a side note, it is cool that your aunt got that job and she is a home econ major ..i never saw that coming lol
I'm curious to meet some! I'm a French major and am just curious to see what others have done with similar majors.
I'm not really sure what I will do after college. I thought that I wanted to be a high school French teacher for a really long time (up until this year really). Now I'm not so sure. I'm still considering teaching because I think deep down, that's really my passion. Education has always been very important to me. Even when I was a little kid I wanted to be a teacher. It has been a lifelong dream. I also eventually want to open up my own schools one day. I'd love to start a secondary private school, especially if I could get funding for it so that all students could attend regardless of money. I'd also love to start an immersion elementary school in my hometown where there are limited public choice options.
At the same time, I'm also considering law school as well as work in the Theatre business (behind the scenes). I don't see French being particularly useful for either one. :-/
So anyone else? I'd like to see where others are going with their degree or what they have done with their degree.
Knowing a foreign language is great, but you may want to do as much research as you can now on what employment prospects will really look like for you when the rubber meets the road. Getting a decent job with that degree in this economy could be a serious challenge. Many solve this by just continuing to be career students and adding on debt, which may or may not work out...
One of my kids is currently a double major in international business with a supply chain focus and German. He'll be graduating next spring. Hoping to be able to go to work for some large German based international corporation, or at this point, anyone that will hire him.
I double majored in Japanese and hospitality management. This combo allowed me to secure a job in hotel management in Hawaii. Unfortunately the majority of Japanese visitors tend to go to other islands, but we still do get a good share of Japanese guests. The combination of knowing the language and culture really got me my job as it gave me an edge over other candidates. A lot of my fellow Japanese majors are either currently Japanese teachers in the US or English teachers in Japan. Some others are working for large financial firms in either Tokyo or NYC and having the Japanese major/minor on their resume really got them the job. I'm not sure if the same would hold true for French. The only French major I know is now a French teacher.
I would have loved to double major in Italian + French, or Italian + Spanish. The latter would have been easier since they are a little more similar. Talk about going to college to major in something that's already a HOBBY. I'm sure the end result would have been toward becoming a teacher.
I could have gone to an interesting public university in the Northeast like Rutgers or UMass. I would have had a blast, gotten close to straight As, and become less neurotic as a result of it. Just kidding.
Last edited by robertpolyglot; 06-11-2012 at 10:34 PM..
I would have loved to double major in Italian + French, or Italian + Spanish. The latter would have been easier since they are a little more similar. Talk about going to college to major in something that's already a HOBBY. I'm sure the end result would have been toward becoming a teacher.
I could have gone to an interesting public university in the Northeast like Rutgers or UMass. I would have had a blast, gotten close to straight As, and become less neurotic as a result of it. Just kidding.
UMass Amherst has a good languages program! My daughter looked at it and liked it. U Albany also has a good languages program and it was a few thousand a year cheaper, so that's where she is.
Mandarin and Linguistics major. She'll probably end up working for the government, but if not, she might go back to China and work there.
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