Seeking input: Foreign Language Degrees?

College Majors
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<p>Hi guys!</p>

<p>I am planning to double major in English and Romance Languages/Foreign Languages (I know Spanish and want to learn Italian and Arabic) in college. I had a few questions (answer whichever one's you feel like):</p>

<p>1) Ideally, I will get a PhD and teach at a collegiate level (I'm passionate about teaching), but if I choose not to, could I get a job as a translator? I'm not a native Spanish speaker, and I know little to no Italian and Arabic. I think my Spanish is pretty good... but would I be competitive / are they hiring translators?</p>

<p>2) It would also be really cool to work for the UN or something abroad. Would a degree in Romance or Foreign Languages benefit me in getting a job in an embassy or something, or would something else be more appropriate?</p>

<p>3) How can I make myself competitive with these degrees? (I have already lot's of experience in various fields of Journalism btw.)</p>

<p>4) Is it better to get a Marketing, Communications or Journalism degree instead of an English degree?</p>

<p>5) What are the best schools for this.</p>

<p>Thanks for your input :-) I'm new to the forum btw, so sorry if I mess something up.</p>

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<p>My understanding is that your language degree is probably not going to land you a job unless it’s a [Category</a> II or III](<a href=“http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikibooks:Language_Learning_Difficulty_for_English_Speakers]Category”>Wikibooks:Language Learning Difficulty for English Speakers - Wikibooks, open books for an open world) language. Think of how many millions of people in the U.S. are fluent in both Spanish and English. Now think of many people in the U.S. are fluent in Arabic. Probably a lot less. In my opinion, your best choice is Arabic.</p>

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<p>If you are serious about studying a demanding language, this is the website for you:
<a href=“http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/students-a-parents/critical-languages[/url]”>http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/students-a-parents/critical-languages&lt;/a&gt;
It will direct you to some if the strongest language programs in the country as well as other resources. If you can, try Arabic during the summer through StarTalk programs in the U.S. or NSLIY abroad to see if it is a good fit for you. Nows the time to apply for next summer:
<a href=“http://www.nsliforyouth.org%5B/url%5D”>www.nsliforyouth.org</a> !</p>

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<p>@ Dryerlint: Thanks! I never thought of them that way. I can see how less competition is helpful. Do you think there is a high demand for jobs in Cat. 2 & 3 languages? </p>

<p>@ Apollo: This list is really helpful as well. I should definitely consider Portuguese b/c of it’s similarity to Spanish.</p>

<p>Thanks for your input!</p>

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<p>Translators/Interpreters do not need a degree in the language(s) they offer. Rather they have to pass professional exams showing their level of fluency. That level of fluency after a 4 year degree can be surprisingly low, especially if you haven’t had a year immersed it in abroad. </p>

<p>Certainly, in the UK, foreign language grads have found themselves being sidestepped as companies hire foreigners who have a native level foreign language and decent English and who accept much lower pay. Having a skills based major like business, law, accounting etc gives you a hook and reason for the company to hire you. </p>

<p>Have you considered doing TEFL? If you got a job in a Spanish speaking country, or Italy or a Middle Eastern Country or even a series of these, they’d massively improve your language skills (so long as you don’t go all expat).</p>

<p>Or do volunteering before/during/after college in one or more such countries?</p>

<p>Oh, and the UN hires Russian, Arabic, French, Spanish and Mandarin interpreters. There’s an exam to pass and they can pick the best of the best.</p>

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<p>Thanks highland_poppy, this is really helpful. Maybe I should focus less on the degree and more on the language. Tbh, I’m taking some Spanish dual enrolled at a local college, and the material we are covering doesn’t seem quite as prevalent to fluency as I had hoped. Either way, I’d really like to take another more uncommon language, like the other posts have mentioned.</p>

<p>Do you think an “English” major would be strong enough to get me that hook so I can be hired?</p>

<p>I’m apply for a program to go to China next summer and learn the language, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed. (This might sound random, but I really like languages/cultures/traveling, so even though it wasn’t on my list above, why not?)</p>

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