<p>I plan on majoring in one of the sciences (likely a physical science) in college. Looking down the road, what would be the most useful foreign language for me to take?</p>
<p>What are your reasons for learning a foreign language? How do you want to apply that foreign language – to read academic journals, study abroad, etc.? Answering these questions would provide more insight to alleviate the ambiguity of your post.</p>
<p>I just want to learn another language for the sake of doing so, and believing that it will help me some way or another in the future. At this point, I do not know specifically how I would want to apply the language. I guess my main reason would be to open up career opportunities in the future.</p>
<p>If you want to open up career opportunities in many parts of the US, then Spanish would be a great option. It’s a fairly easy language and easily accessible considering the influx of Hispanic immigrants. My family constantly berates me for studying German, a language that is near ‘useless’ (although not at all in an academic context for research).</p>
<p>It’s funny because it’s pretty much reverse for the physical sciences. Spanish isn’t particularly useful but until recently, German or Russian were the required language. I suggest German.</p>
<p>I wholeheartedly agree that German would be the correct choice if the OP were interested in research in the physical sciences, but if he wants to ‘open up career opportunities in the future’ – meaning be a more marketable job candidate – fluency in Spanish will take him a long way.</p>
<p>German would probably be the best choice.</p>
<p>Can someone explain their reasoning in favor of German?</p>
<p>After English, German is the most commonly used language in scientific articles. Also, a number of renowned scientists (cough - Einstein - cough) spoke the language. It used to be mandatory for science majors to take German.</p>
<p>Many PhD programs require candidates to know a second language, or at least be able to read in a second language. I don’t know about sciences like chemistry or physics, but I do know that math programs usually require German, Russian or French – with German being by far the most common.</p>
<p>As soon as I read your post, German and Russian came up without a second thought. Most other people seem to agree.</p>