<p>Hi!
Im a sophomore in highschool and Im trying to build myself up for a job in the United Nations. (or World bank, UNICEF, etc). I am taking most of the government/social studies/history courses at my school, but I was wondering what else I could do. I'm taking AP Spanish 5 and French 1 next year. (Is French a good choice?) I want to major in International Relations with a minor in economics in college. Is there anything I can do to make myself a more competitive candidate? Any advice is helpful, thanks!</p>
<p>Not sure much about French, but my apes teacher says that if you are doing anything related to international business. Learn German because they are the economical power house of Europe. Un meet in Switzerland where French is spoken, but to my understanding a German hybrid Is spoken. For this reason French would be better. History focus should help in high school as well as the social sciences. I found when I went to Germany that you can get a lot of mileage out of knowing English, French, and German.</p>
<p>Language preparation would be the most measurable thing for you to work on right now. The UN’s official languages are English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, and Russian. (English, French, Chinese, and Russian are official because they’re the languages of the five permanent members of the Security Council; Arabic and Spanish were later added because of the significant number of countries that use those languages.) However, official only means that all things coming out of the UN are in those languages and that someone who speaks one of those languages can expect it to be translated into another one of those languages. </p>
<p>The working languages are English and French. Working means that those are the languages used for communication and day-to-day functioning. I would assume knowing both English and French would make one significantly more useful, so keep taking French.</p>
<p>German would be good to learn for business purposes for- if anything- rapport building with German clients. I don’t think it would have much of a practical use as someone working in international matters. Although German is one of the most widely spoken languages in Europe, the number is a bit deceiving, because the “dialects” are so vastly divergent. A Berliner could not understand what a German-speaking Swiss person was saying in their language.</p>
<p>As far as preparing yourself in college, please, please, please take something along the line of anthropology, sociology, or any other race-critical classes. Westerners and other Western-educated people have done enough damage to the rest of the world for long enough. Being aware of the intricacies as best as you can will probably help yo do the most good.</p>
<p>Would AP Human Geography be considered a “race-critical” class? Thanks for that advice by the way!</p>
<p>French is great because nearly all of Africa speaks it, and some of Southeast Asia. Spanish, as you know, is spoken in a lot of places. International Business (if offered) would be better than International Relations… But a lot of business degrees in general have a lot of international trade classes that would be great to supplement as a minor, perhaps. This varies greatly by school. International Relations/Foreign Affairs at my school is based strongly on policy and is considered a Political Science major, which would not be the most optimal major for the World Bank.</p>
<p>Personally, I would major in Economics and then minor in International Relations. They (UN, World Bank, etc.) would view the Economics degree as more “useful”, probably.</p>
<p>BeachyPeachy’s right. The utility of your major/ work experience to the mission of the organisation is what will help you the most. Its about what you can offer them. </p>
<p>Someone I went to college with was Eastern European (non-EU) so had to go back to her home country after graduation. She was a psychology major. Good but not outstanding grades. Spoke her national language and English plus perhaps 1 or 2 more (I can’t remember). She was stuck in her home country until her family paid for her to do an MBA in English in Switzerland. She did her internship with the UN and now works for UNICEF. Contacts really help too. </p>
<p>As for languages, I’d pick one and study it as much as you can to as high a level as you can. Unless you have a real aversion to Spanish or a real love of all things French (and remember than French is still very important in west and central Africa as a lingua franca), I’d say stick with the Spanish and keep working towards functional fluency or better. In four years, unless you have a year in an immersion environment after getting the basics, you’re simply not going to have a useful level of French and your Spanish will be rusty. Think jack of all trades, master of none.</p>
<p>Occidental College has what I believe is the only UN internship program in the US. Also see what summer options you can explore this coming year.</p>