What can I do with an Asian Studies major?

College Majors
1

<p>I think this type of thread has been posted before, but I want to start a new one.</p>

<p>I'm planning on majoring in Asian Studies because I'm very interested in foreign languages and cultures; especially East Asia. I'm an incoming freshman in a few weeks and I want to know what will happen in the next 3-4 years. </p>

<p>Once I complete college and graduate with a Bachelors in Asian Studies, what can I do for a living? I'm also interested in teaching in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China. </p>

<p>What classes must I take? Don't I have to complete or pass a teaching test?
I'm also interested in being a translator for a company or work as a travel guide. However, I'm not well-informed about which companies hire for translators.</p>

<p>Also, for interns, do I have to graduate to intern in an Asian Studies-related department? I really want to be prepared for everything so after I graduate, I'd be able to find a job faster.</p>

<p>Please reply with additional suggestions as to what I should do to prepare, etc.</p>

2

<p>You didn’t indicate whether the Asian Studies major you’re planning to enter is a language-focused major or an interdisciplinary major that only requires 4-6 semesters of a relevant language sequence. For the interests you describe, put your efforts into the language component, including at least a year abroad in a country where your chosen language is spoken. If practical to do so, I’d recommend combining your Asian Studies major with another field, such as, business, technical writing, journalism, economics, even if it’s only for a minor (though a second major would be better). If you want to take the teaching route (I assume for teaching English), then it would be useful to arrange to complete a TESOL certificate program, e.g., [TESOL</a> Certificate - ESL UW-Madison](<a href=“http://www.english.wisc.edu/esl/tesol-certificate.html]TESOL”>http://www.english.wisc.edu/esl/tesol-certificate.html).</p>