Languages

sahun

I am sorting out my university options and have decided that i want to take french, but with another language. the problem is that i dont really know what language i want to take!
Also i do not know where i could really after studying the languages at university, i.e the job prospects!

If people can suggest suitable languages for this modern world and also give ideas of what kind of job i could be expecting to apply for after the university course, i would be very grateful

Sahun

wigginsmum

I did French & German and am in investment banking (antimoneylaundering).

Although European languages are always popular, you might want to look at Mandarin, Japanese or Arabic. If you can offer an unusual combination, it'll stand you in good stead.

sahun

well they were the 3 languages that i was looking at, as i do not really fancy taking a european language. but still i am unsure of the job prospects, apart from the obvious translator/interpreter or [teaching (which i do not really fancy doing)]

does anyone know what kind of links into business are available from these options, without having done any sort of business studies in advance??

wigginsmum

China is currently a big opportunity in the business world now it's opening up a little - a lot of banks are opening branches over there now. I briefly studied Mandarin at work's behest, then they pulled back out of the country. Basically there will be openings with a lot of different international companies - if you go onto a graduate scheme, you won't necessarily be expected to have relevant work experience (although any holiday work would look good on your CV).

I had a friend who got a top job with Mitsubishi, not purely because of her economics degree but because she spent a lot of time in Japan growing up and spoke fluent Japanese.