Foreign language major?

<p>I pretty much know what I want to major in. However, my true talents are in learning languages. I'm the only student in my school to have reached the most advanced tracks in two languages (Spanish and French) and I study Arabic locally on the collegiate level. Every teacher I've had has remarked on my proficiency in languages. I'm becoming very sad when I think about my limited options in pursuing languages while also taking a major--I have several other languages I would love to become more involved in and I'm an awful self-teacher. However, I know it's not realistic to take 3-5 languages while trying to complete a major in an unrelated subject. </p>

<p>Is there any real career to be developed out of a foreign languages major? I'm hoping to double major in Psychology and a self-designed major on the study of human sexuality buuuut I have my little linguistic fantasy.</p>

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<p>One option that you may want to consider is going in under the foreign language and looking into becoming a translator or something similar. If you would enjoy traveling, meeting new people, or even possibly studying ancient worlds and performing extensive research, translators can make great money and earn good positions on the social and economic ladder.</p>

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<p>Then major in Linguistics.</p>

<p>@clarkk: This was actually really helpful and interesting. I’m trying to look up wages and it doesn’t look like most interpreters/translators break 55,000 dollars a year at any point. I’d have to decide if that’s worth it/better than becoming a therapist. I really appreciate your post ~ </p>

<p>@ANDS: What would it do for me? How is it different and what other jobs would I be able to get?</p>

<p>Of course. Combine your languages with a minor or a double major in one of the behavioral sciences,such as policy studies,political science,psychology and so on. The National Security Council, the CIA,the foreign service, Homeland Security, the United Nations,various international non government agencies all employ people who major in foreign languages. My husband as an engineer has had greater success in his field because he also is talented in linguistics.</p>

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<p>National SecurityAgency also hires people with language talents. My daughter is majoring in applied math and will get a certificate in EastAsian studies that has a language requirement.</p>

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<p>^ NSA probably is as interested in her math skills as her language skills, perhaps more so since they specifically hire math and computer science majors. Math + languages is a particularly strong combination.</p>

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<p>OP, some comments:
-If your true talent is learning languages, there’s a lot to be said for sticking with your area of strength.
-If you did major in languages, it seems you might be at a choice point: If you want to achieve proficiency, you should focus on a language or a group of related languages and build on what you already know. So, for example, you might focus on Spanish + Portuguese or Romance languages. You might also focus on Arabic or Arabic + other Semitic languages or Arabic + French or Arabic + Spanish. Especially, if you continue with a difficult language such as Arabic, you should spend at least a year in a country where it is spoken. Studying abroad may pose some limitations in your ability to complete a major in an unrelated field.
-if you are primarily interested in learning additional languages, consider that a major in a foreign language might have a considerable focus on literature. Do you want to focus on literature? That would be a factor to consider in choosing a school. Some departments, especially in some languages (e.g., Spanish, Russian) might offer tracks with a primary focus on language and linguistics and a lesser focus on literature. Some departments increasingly have a focus on culture, business as well as on literature. Some departments offer joint programs, e.g., French + Business.
-Alternatively, you might consider an area studies major, which includes a language component, e.g., Latin American Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, African Studies, etc. International Studies/International Relations majors often require a country or regional focus, so that is another option. Of course, these options assume that you have an interest in the history, politics, economics, etc. of particular countries or regions. Such majors might lead to related careers in government, business, etc., but such careers go in a different direction than your expressed interest in becoming a therapist.
-You asked whether there is any career to be developed out of a foreign language major. The answer is yes, but it is a liberal arts major and doesn’t directly train for a particular career. Rather, languages are a tools that may be relevant to a wide range of careers. A background in languages is most relevant for careers in teaching, government work, business, journalism, translation, etc. There is some demand for people with proficiency in certain languages, e.g., Arabic.
-You also might ask whether there is a career to be developed out of a psychology major + self-designed major in human sexuality. You stated you wanted to be a therapist. To do this, you will need to go to graduate or professional school in clinical or counseling psychology, social work, or marriage & family therapy. If you choose graduate school in psychology, your career prospects are best with a doctoral degree. As a therapist, you may or may not do much better than the translator/interpreter in terms of salary. A lot depends on the type of setting in which you work, your credentials, etc. As an independent practitioner, it can be a difficult pathway.
-With a major in psychology + your self-designed major, it would be difficult to do languages, too. This is another choice point: Your proposed majors might not leave enough room to fit in languages. In addition, the coursework to prepare for graduate study in psychology goes in a different direction that the coursework for languages and related studies. It would be more do-able if you just did a a psychology major + a language major, without the self-directed major. That might keep your options open either for grad school in psychology or something involving languages. There’s no rule that says two majors or a major + minor combination need to be related.
-You didn’t mention a specific purpose in pursuing the self-directed major in human sexuality. I assume it’s related to your interest in becoming a therapist, but that could take any number of directions: working with sexual dysfunctions, working with sex offenders, sexual orientation issues, marital therapy, etc. IMO, getting a solid foundation in psychology as a discipline is more important in preparing for grad school than trying to emphasize a particular area of clinical interest at this stage of your education. If you skipped the self-directed major, it might leave some room for language courses. You could still take a course or two on sexuality as an undergrad, but clinically-oriented courses would have to await graduate study anyway and you could always do some specialization then.
-If you planned to do graduate study in a marital & family therapy program, you might be able to do a major in human development. Some schools offer this as a interdisciplinary major; others offer it in a college of human ecology or family & consumer sciences (depending on what a particular school call it). If this included some focus on cross-cultural aspects or anthropology, you might connect some language and area studies coursework and some human sexuality coursework that way. (To be on the safe side, you might need to take some regular psychology courses, too, depending on what type of graduate program to which you intend to apply.)
-Depending on what school you plan to attend, it might not be so necessary to do a self-directed major in human sexuality. Many schools have departments of gender/sexuality/women’s studies, which offer significant coursework in the area and which often accept related coursework from other departments. Still, I think getting a solid foundation in the discipline of psychology should be your primary focus if you’re planning to go to graduate school.</p>

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<p>Lots of good info, zapfino. Something I did not know before my daughter started language study is that languages have labs an recititations that require as much time as lab sciences. For example, for the first two years of language study, each language class was five credits and required seven hours in class. Ask lots of questions of the departments you are interested in. Different colleges use different methods to teach languages as well.</p>

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<p>I agree- excellent info zapfino. You too MD mom! That’s a great point. I’m a high school senior majoring in journalism communications, something of which very little payment can be a possibility. But you seem to be in the same place I was a few weeks ago- I was going to major in pre-law history so I could make more money. A good job, but it wasn’t the one for me. ALL of my friends and family told me that journalism and English was my true calling, so I followed it; it sure sounds like your calling is linguistics. I’m not telling you what to and what not to do, but it’s like a scouting college professor told me after hearing me speak publicly: “If you don’t do something with this, you would be crazy. You can’t leave a true talent behind.”</p>

<p>Clark, my masters is in journalism and there are lots of things people with good communication skills can do. Lots of people dislike writing and public speaking and if you are good, there will be jobs.</p>

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