Language courses - is there a future?

mixery

Hello people, I've been thinking about doing a language based course, possibly in UCD, either the International languages(pref.) or International German. I'm really good with languages, and enjoy learning them also.

However, how is it with jobs in the sector? Except call-centers:rolleyes:. Is it possible to get into government job(possibly the european one) through such a course?

Thanks in advance.

playedalive

Hey Dude, as somebody myself who studies languages in College (French and Spanish), I would totally recommend that you pursue it. Otherwise, you would always wonder 'What if'. Of course, you have to think about your future but do not let yourself believe that what you study now will always dictate your future. People do study one thing and work at something completely unrelated.

I study Spanish and French through an Arts Degree. So what I study is Language, Literature, Cultural History and Linguistics. With a Business and Language Degree, you would be learning how to effectively communicate in that language but also in the context of Business.

If you really are career focused, a Business and Language would probably be better as you get the best of both worlds. The language you like plus Business skills is great for getting into companies/ applying for Graduate Programmes.

But if you don't feel like studying Business and would like to study Languages, maybe an Arts Degree is the way to go? But, you do need to llike reading Literature and/or reading in general. Then, if you want to focus in another area with or without those languages, There is always the opportunity to do a Postgraduate Diploma in another area.

mixery

Thanks a lot for the answer. It cleared up my mind a little. I'll probably stick with it. I do like reading, so that's not a problem.

spurious

I would have thought good Irish would be a door opener re a govt job in Europe.

mixery

I don't do Irish so that's not an option. But yeah, that's true. A few years ago one of the Irish teachers in my school left to work in the EU Govt. From what I hear he just translates documents into Irish.

ArseBurger

Learn Chinese.

mixery

Haha, that's what my granny keeps telling me(and all my cousins as well). Nah, if I get into the course I'll do German and Italian.

ArseBurger

China will be the dominant economy within five years.

German - ok. Italian, why?

mixery

I always wanted to learn it, besides it still is quite an important language in Europe.

Huckster

I'm really kicking myself for not pursuing a career in languages- a great deal of the jobs I see cropping up in the business sector require proficiency in at least one European language.

Personally, I would advise against Italian. It's a very small market with high unemployment and not particularly in demand. If you're really keen, keep it as a hobby. German, French and Spanish are much more in demand. Chinese is an extremely challenging language, as are Russian and Arabic, so I wouldn't really recommend them unless you have a very strong interest in a specific country or culture.

Evenstevens

I studied German in college and I love the country and learning the language but I found that it was very difficult to get to speak German while I was there. A lot of Germans have pretty good English and you tend to be spoken to in English as soon as they hear your imperfect German. Got really annoying after a while. I don't regret learning it but I think I'd have done Spanish in hindsight, such a useful language and used around the world. Also, the Chinese thing really seems to be taking off too.

I'd always recommend studying languages though. It really broadens your horizons.

PhoenixParker

Here's an idea.

Why not pick a different course but go and study it in a country that speaks the language you're interested in?

Depending on your current level, either take a year or the summer to go and work there while taking every opportunity to practice first.

Yes it's daunting but in four years time, you'll have a degree in something specific and an excellent language skill to go with it.

juan.kerr

ArseBurger wrote: »

Learn Chinese.

Yes, I hear their Confucius Institutes are great places to learn the Chinese.

SLOS2006

From my experience, if someone is interested in languages and using them for career progression choose a course like business, education, or engineering with a language (or two). There are a lot of people with not just two but e or even 4 languages, especially in Europe, that you're competing with when it comes to languages only. However, you can use languages in Ireland in a growing number of fields such as customer service, financial services, HR, IT or manufacturing engineering, localisation, among others. These jobs are based in multinational companies with offices in Ireland serving the European market, or Irish companies exporting their products who require staff with languages to deal with partners / customers in the respective country.