Why do people major in languages? What jobs can they get besides Spanish teachers?
An important thing to remember is that very few bachelors degrees actually translate into a specific job title. Bachelors degrees are important, but more in the way that you learn skills that could be relevant to the field you plan to work in.When you learn another language, you are learning communication skills and how to interact with different cultures. In today’s society, those are incredibly useful skillsets to have.Of course, if you’re going into accounting or economics, a languages degree is probably not the right direction for you. But employers are looking at the totality of your skills and experiences to judge whether you have what it takes to succeed in a given job. If anything on the job touches communication or diversity, a language degree could give you the angle you need.
Is it wise to double major in two foreign languages in college?
Hi, i'm soon to be a senior in high school and I am trying to discover what I would like to do in college. I am fascinated by languages and I would like to learn new languages because they would allow me to communicate with people that I would normally not be able to communicate with and my dream job is to work at the UN as a translator. But, my question is would it be wise to double major in two foreign languages? my first choice is japanese and my second choice is one of the romance languages. because japanese is so different from the romance languages, would i be pulling my hair out trying to get my degree? would i be locked in my dorm room all day studying? answers and suggestions would be appreciated.
What is it like to major in a foreign language?
I’m currently majoring in Polish Philology in a university in Brazil. It’s the only Polish Philology major available in South America.I just finnish the first academic year, and I’m loving it!There is a big difference between majoring in a foreign language and simply attending to a foreign language course. Learn the language is just a small part of it - and even so, it’s more detailed then most language courses, because we have to understand WHY the caracteristic x work like this, and y like that, instead of just learning HOW to use x and y.In total, we have to attend a minimum of 2420 hours of classes to finnish the major. 540 hours of Polish Language classes + approximately 400 hours of other classes related to the language itself (like the one that did this semester, “Oral Comprehension and Expression in Polish Language I”).We also have classes on polish literature, polish culture, translation techniques, linguistics (semantics, phonology, syntax, etc), and so on…Most people who major in Polish Philology want to teach polish language in middle and high schools (the city of Curitiba, where the university is located, has one of the highest population of Polish decendents in the world, so a fair amount of schools teach polish too).Some other people - like me - don’t want to do this. Instead, want to stay in the academy, doing research or teaching in the academy itself.Probably it’s not going to be a major that lead you to becoming rich. On the contrary - even if you choose a more popular language. Even so, if you not only love studying foreign languages but love studying language itself, as a science, it’s very rewarding.
My College major and minor choices with language and business. What should I choose?
Businesses like to hire people with degrees outside the business major. If you plan to get that MBA and M.A. later, then your original major won't be as important. The two semesters abroad will have much more influence with people you want to hire you than will your domestic internship, or a BS in Business. And if you plan to go into international business, demonstrating fluency in those languages will be extremely helpful. Semesters abroad do wonders for fluency. I suggest you look at some job listings out there that interest you, or some companies you might wish to work for in the future. Contact their human resources department and talk to the person in charge of hiring for the area you are interested in. Ask them what they would prefer. Tell them you are a college student interested in working for them in the future, and then ask the question. Good luck and enjoy your time abroad.
What do you major if you plan to be a translator/interpreter?
This is one of those questions that has multiple scenarios. Consider the following situations:Double Major in Business and “X” Foreign language. The rationale behind this is that business will offer you subjects in a range of areas such as economics, accounting, finance, and maybe some IT. Having knowledge of these subjects plus “X” language will help you in the corporate and or government level of translation/interpretation. Many people who interpret for the UN and European Commission need some type of background in these subjects to be able to think on their feet at these world conferences.Major only in “X” foreign language. If you go this route, please ensure you study abroad. If this is your only educational qualification, then please ensure potential employers that you have a deep understanding of the language, region, and culture as you will have to be able to adapt these things to whatever needs to be interpreted/translated.You can always go the route of major in “X” language and get a masters in translation/interpretation studies. This route is very good for people looking to translate/interpret at the highest echelon’s and is also a requirement. The European Commission is a great example where having a degree in the language plus a masters in interpretation/translation is crucial and 99% a requirement. They want proof that you have been trained to do this job to a high degree.
I LIKE THE FRENCH LANGUAGE.. But what is a useful major?
Hi, Cade It's so hard and so much pressure that you feel right now to decide the path for the entire life. Practically impossible. Remember that in these times, an average person changes careers about 4 times. Also, more and more entrepreneurs create their own businesses and there are more and more domains created by people during their solopreneurship. When doing this ANYTHING you learn is important and the more the merrier. My recommendation is to do what you love NOW, without worrying about the future, which you have no idea how will turn out anyway. When I was in high school, planning to do a major in French, my French teacher told me not to do it, because I would have no future. I then went for History (and dropped it), then I got myself a MSc in Engineering, got a programming Diploma, learned business, and now I use ALL of this doing my own solopreneur French business online, while also being an actor. Very convoluted, not at all straight forward or easy, but I don't regret any bit of this journey. Go for your heart right now and it will make sense later! Hope this helps!
What kind of classes should an undecided major pick for the first semester of college?
You want to try out different subjects to see what interests you. You also need to take courses that fulfill your general education requirements. Happily, those exploratory courses will count towards the gen ed requirements!You will need a freshman writing course, unless you’ve gotten credit from an AP exam, so take that. You’ll need it to do well on your papers in other courses, so take it as soon as possible.I strongly recommend taking basic logic, which is usually in the philosophy department. It will help with any course requiring reasoning and in fact is something you’ll use throughout life.I also think an intro psychology course is very helpful. Knowing why people behave as they do can be very useful in all kinds of situations, and besides, it’s fascinating!So, a freshman year might look like this:Fall SemesterEnglish CompositionIntroduction to LogicIntroduction to PsychologyIntroductory Biology - Botany with LabSpring SemesterIntroduction to AnthropologyPopular Novels of the 20th CenturyIntroductory Biology - Zoology with LabIntroduction to Computer ScienceObviously, you may prefer other things, such as astronomy over biology or economics over anthropology. You might want to hold off on the social sciences to fit in some math. You might need to complete a foreign language requirement.If you know you’ll want to take certain advanced courses that require pre-requisites, get those done in your first or second year.Try to include one course in a subject that is easy for you. That will allow you a little more time to focus on the harder ones.
Can someone explain college to me?
Let's start with the undergraduate and graduate thing. When you go to college, you will be going toward a bachelor's degree first, and until you get that, you will be an undergraduate student. That will take about four years. You can't become a graduate student until you have a bachelor's degree. After that, you will need either a master's or, very possibly, a doctorate degree, and those are called graduate degrees. While you are studying for those you would be a graduate student. A "major" is what you are studying while you are an undergraduate. So if you become a psychology major, or something like that, it means that this would be a big part of what you learn in college (you would still take what are called "general education" or "core" classes too, which will include things like composition, literature, history, math, etc.). Every undergraduate student has a major in college, but not all of them have minors. A minor is a secondary field of study. At most schools it is a choice and only some students choose to have a minor; at a few it is required. So you could have a major in psychology and a minor in something else, like business or philosophy or art. People do minors (when they have a choice) for a few reasons. Some choose a minor related to their career goals. So someone might major in biology, minor in business, and go into pharmaceutical sales. Or they might major in accounting, minor in information systems, and go into accounting information systems. Others choose a minor in an area in which they have a strong interest. I've had students whose parents told them they had to major in something practical, like business or engineering, but they loved something like music or art or dance, so they would minor in that thing. I should also tell you that the most common major among college freshmen is "undeclared", which means that people haven't decided yet what they want to do. There is no problem with this, as long as students make up their minds within the first year or two so that they don't take longer than necessary to graduate.