<p>Son has a love of all things french. He is thinking of double majoring in international relations/studies and French, with maybe a minor in Arabic. What sorts of jobs would be available to someone with this type of undergraduate education?</p>
<p>Professeur de fran</p>
<p>Many jobs in business require or benefit from being bilingual. Friend and a nephew both work in mgt. consulting in the financial sector in Arab- and French-speaking African countries. The former earns enough working 6 months a year to support a comfortable life not working the other six. Brother is bilingual and works for the US govt negotiating trade agreements where his language skills are critical. Many friends at the IFC, IMF and World Bank are not just bi-lingual but often speak 4 languages or more. Another friend’s daughter (French/Spanish/English) works for an international insurer with a focus on shipping and transit. All of these individuals have also lived and worked in countries besides the US which is part of their value, so make sure your son gets overseas to work and study.</p>
<p>Even if he doesn’t end up in a job that uses his language skills, he’ll find his life is enriched by his bi- or tri- lingualism.</p>
<p>French may not be the most useful of foreign languages, but it is one of the languages of the UN and it’s spoken on several continents. In my experience becoming fluent in one language makes all the other languages come more easily. My son is majoring in IR and is required to take at least 8 semesters of a foreign language (he’s taking Arabic and is in Jordan now). Possible future jobs/careers:
Peace Corps
Foreign Service
CIA
Non-governmental Agencies
Charity Work
Work on preventing Nuclear Proliferation
International Business
International Law
World Bank
World Health Organization
UN</p>
<p>I agree completely that experience abroad, and becoming truly fluent are essential.</p>
<p>My S was a French major. He just graduated, and is currently spending a year in France. I’ll let you know in 15 or 20 years whether it was “practical.” :)</p>
<p>Study abroad opportunities is probably the only hard and fast requirement in his college selection. He would attend a foreign college if darn ol’ mom would just cut those apron strings! Living overseas is his dream/goal and he is trying to find a career that will allow him to do that. </p>
<p>Consulation, is your son employed while in France? I meant “practical” as in “will son be able to get a decent job after graduation and not live in mom’s basement” practical. :)</p>
<p>He was officially employed there during the summer, using his French skills. Now he is unofficially employed there, while attending university.</p>
<p>Have friends whose child was a French Studies major. This does not relate to the International Relations component but this gives an idea of some of the things that kids studying French might do.
[Smith</a> College: French Studies](<a href=“http://www.smith.edu/french/alumnae.php]Smith”>http://www.smith.edu/french/alumnae.php)</p>
<p>International Relations is a ‘hot’ major right now. Sure, there are some jobs for this major. Enough jobs for the number of people majoring in IR right now; doubtful. You would certainly increase your chances with fluent skills in Arabic.</p>
<p>You have to treat it like any major in the liberal arts; there will be a good chance that the first job will have little or nothing to do with your actual academic preparation.</p>
<p>Re-phrase your thinking, and you can do this with any major that’s considered “useless” by “those who know everything”…</p>
<p>Instead of asking “what do you do with a French major?”, ask “what do French majors do?”</p>
<p>You’d be amazed. My Dad, in his mid-90s, speaks six languages fluently, and throughout his working life, he never had fewer than three jobs at once, and only one was part-time. He still, to this day, receives requests to translate, to teach, and to talk.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your son. The world is a big place, and he’s making it just a little more familiar. Smart guy.</p>
<p>My high school French teacher, who had been a French Literature major in college, wound up as President of a major artist-management company, having personally managed the careers of a small squadron of top-line classical musicians. Life takes weird turns.</p>
<p>To the poster who thinks chances are increased with fluent Arabic skills - the focus will be, and is, shifting to the African arena, where for the most part, French is the language of record.</p>
<p>French is the language of record in a small number of African countries, and is the language of the educated elite in a few others. It is nowhere near as important as English and Arabic as a language of commerce and politics, and the three countries that more or less dominate Africa economically and culturally (Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa) speak English or Arabic (or both).</p>
<p>^^ and that is why the US Army is actively “pushing” French at the service academies…</p>
<p>French is being pushed at the US service academies because it’s spoken in a few places in Africa? I don’t get it.</p>
<p>my interpretation had been that the Arabic knowledge is of the moment and they are thinking of conflicts ahead… Im guessing that the areas where French is spoken are identified as potential hotspots. But I havent made a study of the subject(the reason, not the language).</p>
<p>There are definitely a few places where French is widely spoken that are screwed-up enough to maybe someday get to a situation where U.S. military intervention would be considered: Haiti (sort of), Chad, Mali, Algeria, Congo, Ivory Coast, Quebec (insert smiley).</p>
<p>Fluency in a foreign language is a bonus, but probably not as large as one might think in corporate America. Further, bilingual or more is often easier to acquire for people who learned English as a second, third, or fourth language. Equating taking a few semesters in a foreign languages or even majoring in it in a US college with fluency is a matter of interpretation. </p>
<p>One might have to complement years of living or working abroad to a degree before claiming more than minimal fluency. There are exceptions but in this arena, native English speakers have a tremendous handicap because of the lacking opportunities and competent teaching.</p>
<p>I think most people can achieve fluency with a year or two of the language in college PLUS a year long immersion experience in the country. (At least that was our family’s experience.) My husband had only one semester of community college German before going to work in a German lab where plenty of English was spoken and his German was close to fluent before the year was up. My brothers and I also spoke fluent French after a school year in France.</p>
<p>Re: people studying French at the service academies –</p>
<p>[U.S</a>. Africa Command Home](<a href=“United States Africa Command”>http://www.africom.mil/)</p>