<p>I am in my second semester of a year-long study abroad program in Germany. I go to an American state school and am majoring in accounting, finance, and German. While I have certainly learned a lot during my year here and would not hesitate to do it all over again, I cannot help but wonder what the point is. The study abroad office and most people seem to say how beneficial it is, but on forums such as this one, it seems to be downplayed. If employers do not put much worth on it, what is the point of it?</p>
<p>This is probably cliche, but it really does broaden your horizons. It should show you how the other half lives and give you an appreciation for the fact that other countries and people from those countries have thoughts and opinions that do matter. Employers, by the way, do consider it an advantage (depending on the type of job you have), especially if you are able to converse in another language.</p>
<p>I also studied for a year in Germany, and I feel it was worth it. It’s hard to say what got me my jobs out of college—I had good grades, went to a school with a good reputation, and studied engineering. But I think it certainly differentiated me, and gave me a new perspective.</p>
<p>Second language, increased maturity, obvious sense of ambition, open to new ideas, knows how to deal with different people/personalities/cultures, and probably plenty of good stories to share in the workplace.</p>
<p>I’d say those are pretty solid qualities to look for in a job candidate.</p>
<p>You’re basically right – employers are not interested. See eg</p>
<p>[Study</a> Abroad’s New Focus Is Job Skills - International - The Chronicle of Higher Education](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/article/Study-Abroads-New-Focus-Is/124979/]Study”>http://chronicle.com/article/Study-Abroads-New-Focus-Is/124979/)</p>
<p>Although it seems to be expensive, I would recommend to everyone I know to study abroad if they can afford it.</p>
<p>I spent 3 years living in Spain while in the military and meeting people / traveling throughout Europe really changed my life. Not to mention opening me up to other cultures, traditions, food, language and more important the realization of how good we really have it in the US.</p>
<p>Whether or not employers consider study abroad important should be a moot point (same can be said for most of the ECs and travel/community service projects high school students undertake hoping it will help get them into a good college.) Students can be extremely myopic when it comes to global situations. Going abroad lets you know that the US is not the number 1 topic on everybody’s mind.</p>
<p>So what if jobs don’t care. Read Plato and Aristotle: learn for learning’s sake only</p>
<p>There’s no point being a German major if you’ve never spent time in Germany. I spent just a week in Belgium and immediately I noticed an improvement to my fluency in French. It’s so noticeable the impact that immersion in a language has!</p>