Travis Pender ⋅ San Diego , CA U.S. Marine Corps, Corporal ⋅ 4 years served

That's a good point, I don't have any specific country in mind. I suppose aiming for Chinese wouldn't hinder me overall for locations. I'll continue to do more research on this, hey thanks for the advice on this!

Li Tian ⋅ Carlsbad , CA Transamerica Financial Advisors ⋅ 5 years experience

Hi Travis,

How are you doing? If you need to find someone near San Diego to practice Chinese or expand your career opportunities, please feel free to drop a note, I have tons of connections locally.

All the best and thank you for your service!

Li

Travis Pender ⋅ San Diego , CA U.S. Marine Corps, Corporal ⋅ 4 years served

I would like to work in Europe but having to choose a specific country would be difficult overall, since there are so many different countries. All together I am leaning towards learning Chinese Mandarin, seems like it would open more opportunities for me. I would like to experience Europe but I can always travel there. I appreciate all the advice everyone commented on, it was helpful in narrowing down my choices.

Thank you.

Tim Keefe ⋅ Washington , DC U.S. Army, Specialist ⋅ 6 years served

i also forgot to mention the following:

1. For the Middle East, Arabic is a must, followed by Persian (Farsi). But be aware that there are different flavors of Arabic spoken. What they speak in Saudi Arabia is different from Egypt, Jordan, etc. And, the Arabic the Koran is written in is "classical" and not spoken. Think of the comparison between ancient Greek and Latin and the modern languages, and you get the picture.

2. There are some languages out there, of course, that would garner you a higher salary because they're specialized languages and there are few speakers compared to the rest of the world. Examples off the top of my head are Armenian, Romanian (though, as a Romance language, you can pick it up easier if you already have a background in Spanish and French), Finnish, and Tagalog. Turkish has several million, but they're confined to Turkey and the area of Asia Minor. Finnish is quite difficult, as is Hungarian. But, Finnish would be somewhat useful for learning Estonian.

The point is, as I mentioned before, you have to decide where you want to work and what languages would be the most useful. As a native English speaker, you have the advantage because most of the rest of the world wants to learn English because it has a higher economic value to them. Not so the case with we Americans, so we're more limited in which languages have the highest rate of economic return.

Po Wong ⋅ Orlando , FL Johnson & Johnson (retired) ⋅ 40 years experience

Hi Travis,
Both Tim and Gene are quite accurate.
Mastering Chinese as second language will give job candidates a major competitive advantage. The growth in China no matter in what GDP % will be significant compared to the rest of the world in the next 20 years. I know in certain field (integrated circuit manufacturing) candidates get $30K more because they speak and read Chinese. You need to decide where you like to work.
Po

Travis Pender ⋅ San Diego , CA U.S. Marine Corps, Corporal ⋅ 4 years served

Wow I did not expect for this to get that many responses, so this is great! This is all great input and defiantly help me later when I do make a decision on which language I want to pick up. Thanks for everyone's advice!

Tim Keefe ⋅ Washington , DC U.S. Army, Specialist ⋅ 6 years served

As I see it, these are the most valuable languages to learn:

1. Chinese
2. Russian
3. Spanish
4. French
5. German
6. Brazilian Portuguese

Each of them cover each of the continents, but each of them are also representative of the number of speakers in the world and what position they have respective to English in being a lingua franca of the area. Chinese is the biggest for Asia and Russian is the biggest for Eastern Europe. Etc.

My advice is to first pick an area where you'd want to be and then focus on the language. You want to be in South America? Then Spanish is a must. Spanish is also the easiest one for English speakers to pick up. Once you've mastered Spanish, then French and Portuguese are easier. Once you master Russian, then other Slavic languages come easier. Etc.

The hardest are Russian and Chinese.

Gene Wu ⋅ New York , NY U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Corporal ⋅ 6 years served

Hey Devildog. Speaking from someone who was born in Beijing and looking at the current employment landscape as well as my own business travels to China( I currently work for a Chinese media firm), Mandarin is hands down the most valuable second language you can learn right now and well into the foreseeable future. The growth there has slowed but they would be hard pressed to go any lower than 6% GDP and to put this into perspective, only roughly 15-20% of the nation is modernized(with factories, corporate HQ/jobs, etc.). Just imagine the opportunities there will be when they modernize just 30-40% of the country, much less the entire country. And at the pace they're building out the national infrastructure, that imminent reality won't be too far off. Your Mandarin skills will be very valuable.

Jamie Doud ⋅ Houston , TX JRD Consulting; (Prior): Easton Sports ⋅ 20 years experience

Hi Travis, thank you for your service to our country, my Father was in the USAF.

I have 30+ years in H/R & recruiting, accounting and finance, including an MBA.

Suggestions: First of all, prior to thinking about a foreign language, please realize English is the business and scientific language of the world. I have been in business for 30+ years, and traveled all over the world, and most business people in the world speak a decent level of English (that doesn't mean that that you shouldn't learn some foreign language to some extent, because people from other countries like when English speakers can at least speak a basic level of their countries language, and shows a level of respect, which is very important outside of the USA).

I recommend that you initially focus on identifying "specifically" what you want to do with your BBA degree after you receive it Then make sure you have any proper "emphasis" in your college program to match that goal. Make sure you have the highest GPA possible, and join any relevant groups, etc. at college that may help you network after you graduate.

It sounds like you don't want to go back/work in Asia, so I wouldn't not bother with Mandarin, it is not easy for an English speaker to pickup (I know just enough to get me in trouble). If Europe is your goal, then determine the particular country, and realize that if they are part of the EU, people and business cross borders frequently, so you may be transferred at some point. But if you can learn the language of the home country of where the company has it's HQ, that may make sense.

I personally speak an intermediate level of Spanish, because all of Latin America (except Brazil), Mexico, Spain, Phillipines, and other Island nations speak Spanish (and once you learn a "romantic" language like Spanish, French and Italian have a similar base, and have many common words etc.).

But Travis, you ultimately need to make your mind up based on where you want to work, etc. That is why I strongly recommend you really plan out your career path now (the best you can), so your college education and focus is aligned ASAP.

Good luck with all (Adios Amigo)...........

John Lightfoot ⋅ Winter Springs , FL Verizon ⋅ 4 years experience

I know you may not want to hear it, but Chinese may be your best bet. Unless you are looking to move overseas to a perticular country or for a company with offices there. I learned Japanese with the intention of going there to work but have yet to find a position.

Even a limited working proficiency for a language listed on your resume will stand out to potential employer, showing your willingness to learn.

My advice would be to test the waters with a few languages and see which one works for you. It is different for everyone. If you find one that is good for you, you can look for jobs then. But first and foremost, you have to start learning!