<p>Hey Guys! I just had a couple questions i wanted to major in international business i graduated in 2011 and just now finally decided on what i really wanted to do! I am taking chinese 1 and my local community college and im doing well in it. So my question is is it worth it to actually go to Beijing (Thats the school i would be attending) and learn Mandarin Chinese and go for international business? I thought about going for software engineering also but i guess you can just call that a plan b if all else fails.. I really like culture though and no matter what i wanna study abroad and go to some country to learn a foreign language. If someone can throw there 2 cents in i'd really appreciate the help! </p>
<p>Thanks in advance
Sonny Sheehan</p>
<p>Nope not at all anymore.</p>
<p>why do you say this?</p>
<ol>
<li>Chinese Proficiency - The amount of time needed to became proficient enough in Chinese to use it as an asset for business is more than just a semester or a year. Going abroad to China is a great idea for “international experience” but assuming you can honestly write down Chinese as a language on a resume is far fetched and dishonest. I’ve spent most of my working career in both local and multinational firms in Beijing and the environment has changed. Because of the population of skilled workers in China hiring foreigners in entree level positions is unnecessary and impractical. Big multinational firms like Unilever still allow foreigners to apply but basically none get hired because of the Chinese proficiency needed is nearly native level. Chinese is a great language to know but many people, not just you, make the mistake in thinking that Chinese is a key ticket now. But you have no experience in Chinese business culture or a strong grasp on an extremely alien culture environment compared to the US. There is a famous story amongst expats about this very thing. When GS decided to open up a new section in their Beijing operations they interviewed 3 people. A Hong Konger, an American with a Wharton MBA with years of experience in the sector that could speak Chinese, and a Chinese-American. None were hired because they did not have a grasp of the business culture.</li>
</ol>
<p>Okay I gotcha I see where your coming from I’m in chinese 1 right now and let me tell you it’s a killer… What language or country would you reccomend for international business?</p>
<p>If you want a language that is “wild west” economics right now Brazilian Portuguese, Indonesian to get the jump on everyone since that is one of the new economies GS is bullish on and it’s a relatively simple language.</p>
<p>Okay I’ll for sure take a look into it! Question though why this language? Is it really taking off like that? Thanks!</p>