Specifically, I am curious to hear any examples of how speaking multiple languages (advanced and fluent in 3 languages and intermediate in 1 language) helped land internship or a job after an undergraduate degree with a non STEM major in probably Econ and/or Intl Relations? Although he likely could graduate with close to 4.0 GPA if he majors in languages, he will probably major in Econ even though he’s not that good in math and minor in Intl Relations even though it requires a lot of writing when he is not a great writer. So let’s assume his GPA will be 3.5+.
I am interested in hearing some examples to get some ideas at this point. I figure parents are good resources to get some ideas.
The specific languages are: Fluent or advanced: English, Mandarin and Korean. Intermediate: Spanish. His university is considered pretty decent and has some name recognition.
Honestly, I have not seen it except in social work. There are probably some high level banking jobs where it matters but I track this a lot and have not noticed being multilingual as an advantage in most fields (except social work).
This can be career specific. Does the organization do a lot of business in Asia? Then the Mandarin and Korean could be a bonus in hiring and useful on the job. Is the organization in a city or region with a lot of immigrants? Then multiple languages can be useful and might make the difference in hiring. I live in the DC suburbs. Lots of Mandarin, Korean, and Spanish speakers around here, and lots of interest in hiring people who are at least competent if not fully fluent in them. The county police department would be delighted to recruit someone with this set of language skills.
At the level I believe your son wants to work, this would be a plus. But not a guarantee. You might want to check into certification, to add to the resume.
Young friend, fluent in Chinese (mom is from Taiwan,) moved to SF and uses her skills for her company, in part, dealing with Chinese-speaking intl clients. But, her fluency extends to translating and writing, she was some form of Chinese and business dual major in college, born here but lived in Taiwan 8 years. The maternal family is college educated and beyond, so her exposure is broad.
Other kids I know of went to work in the foreign country, in a business setting, for a period. In some countries, working for the US govt or a US company is facilitated by having the full lang skills. Not just conversing, but the ability to stay on top of local events/reporting, etc.
In general, (eg, in US corporate banking, with intl clients,) it’s nice to have the skills in other langs, be able to converse. But so often, others already speak English.
There are a number of companies in the finance arena (various types) operating out of the US and active in Asia where fluency in a major Asian language is a plus or required. See these requirements fairly regularly for Bay Area-based jobs, I’m sure there are ones based elsewhere as well.
Check out the career development site at Brigham Young… companies that recruit there, typically do so because virtually all of its grads are fluent in a foreign language (due to their Mission work overseas). So banks, CIA, World Bank, a variety of NGO’s, consumer products companies with a big footprint internationally, etc.
In my experience, fluency in a foreign language is always a plus and never a negative… but it depends on the person and what they want to do professionally. Mandarin is a hook in the commercial sector if your son is willing to move to Beijing or Shanghai for a few years; Korean is a hook in government, security, and cyber.
The purpose of writing (in college) is learning to write well. Students who need practice SHOULD take courses that allow them to develop their skills in written and oral expression. Those are life skills. Take advantage of college, don’t shy away from things before you even enter college.
Also, sometime in college a student is going to hear about certain teachers who are known as inspiring or geniuses, but whose courses are demanding. Don’t avoid the challenge. Take those courses. The student might learn something important.
@lookingforward Certifications he has are: HSK Level 6 in Mandarin with around 97% in listening score which is the most important since HSK Level 6 doesn’t indicate speaking ability. For some reason, his pronunciation in Mandarin is very good, and I had some Chinese parents tell me my kid’s Mandarin pronunciation is better than some Chinese people. For Korean language, he has 800 in SAT Subject test. His weakest language is Spanish which he has taken 5 years in Middle School and High School, so he probably needs some immersion experience to take it another level. But he did get AP score of 5 in Spanish and AP score of 5 in English language or literary or something similar.
@mackinaw Yes, I agree with you about improving one’s writing. This is why I want him to take some courses to improve in the areas in which he needs to improve even if he will have to work very hard to improve. He is already taking a philosophy class as a general requirement in which he had to write 3 papers. In language classes, he doesn’t even try that hard and can still get As. I am really sending him to college to get a well rounded education, not just get A+s in language classes.
@blossom Brigham Young career development site is a good idea. Thanks. Do you think ability in these languages is a hook at Silicon Valley companies?
The hooks at SV companies depends on the type of technology, the size/growth trajectory of the product/service line, and whatever soft skills are helpful in dealing with the VC and investor community.
I don’t think language fluency is a particular hook, unless you find the one SV company that does not have someone fluent in Mandarin (i.e. heritage speaker) already on the payroll.
@blossom I was thinking of business development or marketing/sales departments of SV companies. Also, they might have branch offices in Asian countries such as HK, China, Korea or in Spanish-speaking countries. Anyway, thanks for the Brigham Young career development site idea. Maybe Middlebury College career development site also.
A very high percentage of folks in tech overseas speak English. That’s the issue with thinking that foreign language skills are a huge hook. I just met with some founders of an Israeli tech company-- some of them are better English speakers than I am (I am native, they are not). They are graduates of the Technion, the top engineering program in Israel, and the language of most of the instruction is English. I imagine that’s true in other parts of the world.
When my husband (an Econ major) was interviewing for management consulting jobs right out of college the competition was very stiff and he knew getting a job with the top firm he was targeting was a long shot. He thought he did well in his interviews but figured a lot of other people did as well. On his was out of the office he passed by the desk of someone he could hear struggling to communicate with someone whose first language was Swedish and who spoke little English. Since my husband speaks fluent Swedish he asked if they’d like him to translate. They said yes, he did, and he got the job. He was later told it came into play in the decision to hire him. Language fluency is seen as a bonus in many industries that do business internationally.
My son is a business owner in an industry that caters to a lot of tourists. He pretty much only hires people who are bilingual.
@lookingforward He gained fluency in Korean language because we put him in at a Korean school Korean natives in Korea instead of in a foreign school when he was very young for 10 years when I was based there. His Korean was better than native Korean kids when we moved back to USA.
@blossom, I understand better than most that many professionals abroad are fluent in English. Really, that’s nothing new. However, in your example, do the Israeli founders speak Mandarin? Or Korean. Or even Spanish? What if their company opened a branch office in China or Korea? I guess I was looking at the cross language fluency opportunities. For example, a Chinese company with a branch in US but who also does business in Korea or in Spain etc. That kind of situations.
@Sue22 Yes, that’s the kind of stories I was looking for. I guess he could work as a manager at some Las Vegas hotel. VIP gambling operation manager? My wife wouldn’t like that though.
Being fluent in another language is never a negative. But you asked if it was a hook in SV and I answered honestly- according to what I have observed, it’s a plus which doesn’t yet manifest itself as a hook. But I don’t want to debate semantics. The best way to try out the Hook Theory is to have your son start to network within companies in SV and mention his fluencies and see what happens! No need to debate when you can try it out.
My sister was a French major. Her first job was as a receptionist answering the phone at a French oil company in the US. She learned the business and moved into the business side, went to another company (not French) and they paid for law school. Much of her work was with multinational groups and her languages helped (French and German) but she was not working in the languages or translating as it was technical work.
The languages may open a lot of opportunities in business. What does he want to do? If he wants to translate, that’s a different job than working in the business.
Ok, here goes. Without giving too many personal details, I speak five languages fluently. Only one was taught by my parents ( English). I was interested in languages and started in that direction. Went to school abroad ( after studying a language in high school), learned another while living in a multi lingual country and another as well. Advantages: I have been hired several times for my languages skills. Once in banking ( where I spoke two unusual languages and became an analyst then trader at a very young age). Later in another field, I didn’t use my languages at first. Once someone discovered I spoke French fluently I got an opportunity to work in Canada. Worked there for several years replacing executives on maternity. I had opportunities at a very young age replacing others who were usually a decade older. I used my languages a third time to work in another nation at a level that would not have been available to me based on my experience and age without the language skills. The company knew I would easily adapt and learn the language. Took on a worldwide role. ( Able to speak to many people and that helps a lot). I later started a company using one of my languages where I manufactured a product and imported it into the US. Currently, use my languages in a totally different capacity ( research). My language study has enabled me to have amazing experiences that would not have been available, to enter field where I had no background ( but they knew I could learn quick). I was not, BTW, a language major.
The one thing I would say is, there is a huge difference between speaking a language fluently and stumbling through it. There is nothing worse than someone who says they are fluent in a language and cannot get beyond basic conversation. Also, if you know the language you also have to be interested in the culture and frame of reference. Studying a language means you must know how they conduct business and how they perceive the world. I would strongly suggest studying the language in a nation where it is spoken. Learning from tapes and classes is not the same thing. You don’t get a feel for the expressions and syntax.
@websensation While it’s true that many people worldwide speak English fluently, there is nothing people like better than someone who has bothered to learn their language because they are interested in their culture. You will never get the same conversation from a German for example in business in English that you would if you spoke German. Just won’t happen. Language is more than words, it’s syntax, jokes and even references to things. It’s human communication not just words in translation.
http://freakonomics.com/podcast/is-learning-a-foreign-language-really-worth-it-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/
check out this interesting podcast from freakonomics - basically, for Americans, the difference in lifetime income for someone that speaks a second language to someone that does not is miniscule (not worth the cost and effort of learning that language). For non-English speaking people around the world, learning English raised their lifetime income by 20% or more.