<p>Alright so my intended major is Asian Studies, I plan on studying Mandarin, Korean, and Japanese with possibly a dual major/minor in International Business.
The problem is that my family members are concerned that I will not be able to find work.
What do you think and what are possible career choices with suitable with my intended major.</p>
<p>if you are interested in teaching in Korea, China, or Japan, you’ll love it because you get paid more than any other teacher in Asia who are trying to teach English to students. They need people like you who can teach English at school or an institution. You could even be a lecturer at a university. Those countries welcome people who speak English, and know about their culture. Oh and study abroad would be great :)</p>
<p>Oh I definitely plan on studying abroad! It has been a dream/goal of mine for a while. For work afterwards I want to take some translating jobs overboard in one or three of the countries and I will go back to school. I honestly wouldn’t mind becoming a University teacher in either of the three countries. I love the cultures and I do love talking and I don’t mind working long hours.
I’ve been looking up people’s experiences on teaching abroad and the majority of them said that while they enjoyed their time, they could not deal with the amount of hours needed to put into the job, which I find ridiculous because you go to a foreign country to teach, or be a teacher anywhere, commitment and few more hours in a day should be expected.</p>
<p>"Alright so my intended major is Asian Studies, I plan on studying Mandarin, Korean, and Japanese with possibly a dual major/minor in International Business.
The problem is that my family members are concerned that I will not be able to find work.
What do you think and what are possible career choices with suitable with my intended major. "</p>
<p>There are limitless career opportunities in Asian studies, it just really depends how far you are willing to break out of the norm. On its own, Asian Studies is not suitable for the typical “corporate america” individual. I’ll be blunt and straightup. It is one of those degrees where you need a second degree to compete in jobs like advertising, banking, accounting, and other business-esqe areas, a minor will not do. If anything, you should major in International business and minor in asian studies if you’re looking to go down that path.</p>
<p>Now, if you are willing to break out of the norm, there are so many openings for someone out there with a degree in Asian Studies. California especially, which has one of the largest asian populations in the US. Poke your head around little tokyo in LA, little saigon in westminster or even in china town to find job oppurtunities. You really need to be self motivated if you’re going into this field as your only or primary major. </p>
<p>As for myself, I’ve worked with many international students over the years as a translator, taxi driver and friend. The job is CRAZY FULFILLING. I know I sound like one of those crackpots who seems like they’re bs’ing about their low pay volunteer jobs, but let me tell you it has been a ridiculous fun experience. The money isn’t great, but I wasn’t in the field for the money. </p>
<p>I personally have also invested some time into other work, such as web design, graphic design and photography to add some meat to my resume. This has given me many opportunities for networking with some very well known individuals in my niche field of photography (Cosplay), which have also linked me with many job openings. </p>
<p>Some other people I know who have this degree and a business degree are much more successful financially. Many of them work with investments into oversea businesses and help them network with places here in America. Others work as translator, embassy workers or teachers. Overall, the people I’ve talked to are very happy with their job. They get to travel and see the places they love, help others and live life the way they wanted to, rather than pick a more “corporate” type job out of normalcy. </p>
<p>I’m also transferring next year to UCR for Asian Studies, and most likely my other major will either be international relations or business with a possible minor in graphic design. So hopefully I will see you there!</p>
<p>I’ll say this, pick which language your best at and specialize in it . Most higher paying jobs that require you to know a language want you to be absolute master in it . Like for Japanese I know their is a high level literacy test required for any well paying position . I’m not saying don’t study all 3 languages( I salute you since French- in which like half the words are from english, is insanely hard for me ) , but keep in mind a potential employer will want someone with near native fluency in a language if its required for the job.</p>
<p>And If somehow you have native fluency in all 3 language, congrats you are a genius .
My sister has an Asian Studies degree from a great school( shes not me , so i can’t just put it out their) , she now teaches at a middle school with a subject that has nothing to do with her major .</p>
<p>To add onto what others have said already… Most people have jobs unrelated to their field of study after they graduate. Some professors have told me that some of their relatives have masters and they either work at low entry tech jobs (ie. doing engravings for plant specimens) or jobs completely unrelated to their field of study. </p>
<p>Scribbs suggested several careers you can have with an Asian studies degree. But mind you translator jobs are quite competitive. You can also get a job as a purchaser with an asian studies degree. As Scribbs said… “There are limitless career opportunities in Asian studies.” However, if and when you are looking for a job it will seem difficult because most (not all) corporate jobs in america are not looking for students with asian studies major. Generally, I would expect you to find a job with an international firm or a job abroad with an asian studies degree.</p>
<p>Oh I definitely don’t plan on working in a field unrelated to Asian Studies and I know while there are job opportunities here in America, it would benefit me more to work abroad which I plan on doing. </p>
<p>Quite honestly, I think that if anyone chooses to major in Asian Studies, like I am, they should be prepared to think outside the box and seriously consider moving to said countries. I plan on taking my degree in Asian Studies with me to find work abroad. It is part of my goal.</p>
<p>Wait, do you mean uc riverside or another ucr? Are you there yet? Do you like it?</p>
<p>Do you mean uc riverside? Please- tell us more about the program!</p>
<p>Okay folks- here’s the dealio- I was in the asian studies program for quite a while; It’s a great program, especially the east asian track. The southeast asian classes were also amazing as well! If you have the chance, take the class: south east asian short stories by Professor Maier, then another S.E.A. stories class by Professor Lam! Absolutely wonderful classes, though I thought Maier’s class was the most thought provoking and definitely one of the most influential classes I have taken in college. Other teachers I recommend taking are Professor Biggs, Baskara Wardaya and Ali, they are definitely among the better teachers you’ll get under the program. </p>
<p>As for the program itself, you learn all the basics of Asia in general such as the ‘who, what, when, where, why’; then you get to pick a specific location in Asia to focus on such as Japan, China, Korea, etc. This should be picked on the area you plan on working on in the future. Your required 2 years of foreign language should also be chosen this way as well. The most important thing you will learn under this major is probably your foreign language, critical thinking and also cultural empathy.</p>
<p>I really cannot stress enough how important critical thinking and cultural empathy is in this program. If you want to be truly successful in this major, you must obtain a firm grasp on both. For the most part, under this major- these two ideas are straight to the point. For critical thinking, look under the surface of the material you’re presented with. What you see is not always what you get. As for cultural empathy, I’ll leave that one for your professors to explain in detail, however the important bit about it is this: try and start looking at everyday life through perspective of other peoples culture -if something someone does, eats, drinks, etc… turns you off then you are not practicing cultural empathy. On the flip side, there are some things other people don’t like about culture in the U.S. as well. Know these things, understand them, and keep them in your notes or memory for future usage. They will come in handy if you decide to work at a company dealing with relations between Asia and the U.S. in some way.</p>
<p>Having said that, I still stand on my earlier point that in order to be successful with this degree you will absolutely need another major or certificate to rely on. Getting a TEFL or Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate is a great way to do this- and it is here that Asian Studies graduates probably have the greatest shot at finding at a job. It is also here that I think they will be able to implement much of the skills that they learn. Other than that, job prospects start getting much more difficult. The peacecorp, americorp and city year seem like the next viable path -followed by other International Organizations. If you are willing to work outside your field, the job fair often provides jobs like ‘insurance claim adjuster’ or whatnot… but who wants to do that?! Most likely you’ve picked this major because it’s interesting and you like it a lot; and because you like it, you’re good at it -or at least will be good at it; therefore don’t go looking for ‘insurance claim adjuster’ as your first choice pick out the door -take chances and try doing something that excites you. I’m not saying ‘boring jobs’ aren’t necessary, as everyone needs money, but don’t get stuck doing something forever that you don’t like! This is definitely not what this major is about! </p>
<p>Additionally, and this is somewhat of a random comment- but if you are interested in working overseas and are planning on majoring in Asian Studies right now -I sincerely suggest you look into South East Asia as it’s beginning to skyrocket financially, opening up many opportunities as the countries in that area are beginning to modernize and industrialize. Korea is also a great pick currently. Japan is an alright pick at this point, however their economy has not recovered just quite yet after the 2008 economic. crisis. </p>
<p>Lastly, I just wanted to suggest another major as an alternative to Asian Studies -and that is Global Studies. Currently, I’m majoring in Global studies with a focus on Asia (you have to pick an area of the world you want to focus on -aka, take classes on). To be ‘real’ with you, I feel that Global Studies offers all the same advantages of Asian Studies (as you can pick many of the same classes), however it also expands on areas, in great detail, that Asian Studies just doesn’t quite touch on -such as economics, politics, globalization- which I feel makes you better situated to work for International Organizations and many other jobs. However, if you have no interests in these areas, stick to Asian Studies -especially if your plans for the future are to receive your TEFL certificate and teach english.</p>