What is the value of learning foreign language?
Language and consciousness walk together. They open corridors for us we never knew existed.
The ability to communicate across borders expands career options along with higher salaries. It not only makes one comfortable in multiple social situations, but also help us create opportunities for ourselves.
We’ve assembled a list of careers for multilingual and bilinguals that swell their range of career options.
l. Interpreter
An interpreter brings words to life. They build meaningful bridges between the two parties speaking spontaneously and colloquially, while being equally accurate themselves. Facilitating important communications between two heads of states, in hospitals, universities, immigration, finance, international companies, legal testimonies, healthcare deciphering 911 calls, and many other diverse avenues, interpreters have a vital role to play.
It’s rather impressive the way interpreters bridge cultural and linguistic barriers with interpersonal abilities to get the job done right.
Employment of interpreters and translators is projected to grow 20 percent by 2029, much faster than the average for all occupations and more than double the level of all careers tracked.
Having the power to influence an economy and the business world, interpreters get paid a handsome deal. Interpreter jobs also offer flexibility in work environment and schedule. An effective language interpreter has
an exhaustive vocabulary
excellent written and verbal skills
superior grammatical knowledge
an ability to interpret idioms, and nuances in conversation
specific industry knowledge (if applying for an industry-specific role)
accreditation from a reputable interpretation institution
a good, compassionate, empathetic listener
ability to connect to a wide range of people
ability to handle intimidating situations
a strong cultural understanding of the languages they interpret to detect customs and non-verbal cues
skills at business and marketing (if going freelance)
Rightly said,” A machine does to words, what an interpreter does to a language.”
It’s a challenging job indeed, however, if the love for challenges, personal and financial rewards excites you, go for it!
ll. Translator
A multilingual writer has significant advantage in terms of the ability to conduct thoughtful research on the topic in discussion.
Copywriters, fiction writers, children’s book writers who are multilingual have considerable high ground, in fact a more fertile ground to find their niche and explore aspects, social issues and arrangements from a wider lens.
A multilingual write brings flexibility, cognitive tolerance, and altruistic viewpoint to the table, which in turn helps significantly to the development of the project.
lll. Teacher
Probably the first career to consider would be the ability to pass on their knowledge to others. A career with longevity and perpetual usefulness, teaching can be done in classrooms, private tuitions, or online teaching.
i. Classroom Teaching
If you love interacting with students in classroom environment, having discussions on topics that concern learners, you’ll adore teaching as a classroom teacher knowing you are contributing to the intellectual and emotional growth of your learners.
As a pre-qualification for some schools and institutions, you’ll probably need a degree in the language with certifications as proof of your standing qualified for the job.
ii. Private Tuitions
A teaching option that provides control over methodology, technology, and the teaching itself.
This avenue, however, requires considerable marketing efforts. Sites like Craigslist, Monster, and others can help you post your business and services to get noticed and find clients.
Prepare a small Bio of yourself and the services you provide, important FAQs to answer your prospective learners and plan to save yourself some good time.
iii. Online Teaching
This approach helps you play with “Wherever Whenever” (of course, provided you the necessary essentials with you to deliver an immaculate lesson. You gain access to a vast marketplace and international user base.
You can play by your own rules that help both parties in the lesson achieve value for the time and money spent.
lV. Writer
A multilingual writer has significant advantage in terms of the ability to conduct thoughtful research on the topic in discussion.
Copywriters, fiction writers, children’s book writers who are multilingual have considerable high ground, in fact a more fertile ground to find their niche and explore aspects, social issues and arrangements from a wider lens.
A multilingual write brings flexibility, cognitive tolerance, and altruistic viewpoint to the table, which is poignant to the development of the project.
V. Blogger | Speaker | Online Content Creator
You like connecting to people? You like making friends? You like replying to messages? Try blogging! Share your genuine experiences, lingual vulnerabilities, whatever resonates with real people in real life.
Have a specific niche to begin with, so you may connect with the audience on clear grounds. Have a very clear call to action. For example, you like baking; you could start a blog like My French Pattisserie wherein you could help your audience learn French, talk about your journey to becoming a bilingual or a polyglot, while selling baking classes as well.
Or you could just talk about your experience becoming a multilingual, helping them overcome their sensitivities.
Vl. Customer Service
Just knowing another language would give you an edge in any job that requires interaction with the customers. A fantastic addition to your resume, international companies with their customer service centres based all over the world, highly valued and in-demand multilingual representatives to represent their brand and widen their customer base.
While its not a foreign language job per se, however, its worth mentioning as this job could give a hands-on real-time experience in dealing with versatile situations.
Vll. Liaison Officer
A liaison officer has an integral role to play, when two multinational companies that are culturally and linguistically different, agree to work together. Liaison officers from each party discusses vitals of the project like scheduling, management, expectations, etc.
Therefore, their role is of crucial importance in terms of relationship building and sustenance by facilitating meaningful communications. Active participants in the entire process they coordinate people, tasks, and situations, pretty much acting like a buffer between two extremely important financial set-ups. Pretty cool!
Vlll. Marketing Manager
International marketing campaigns are challenging yet extremely rewarding for the company as well as the team running the campaign. They not only require strong cultural awareness, but also linguistic potential to create a brand strategy that serves the challenges on foreign lands successfully.
Conveying a brand message across multicultural and multilingual countries is challenging yet extremely exciting as this career never runs out of steam.
lX. Localization Manager
Launching a new product in a foreign country reaches fever pitch excitement as it involves months and months of research, development, strategies, branding, labelling, marketing to make it an all-encompassing brand and product experience.
A localisation manager is part interpreter, part marketing manager, part conciliators. A bilingual who understands vulnerabilities of the local people, helps to create a viable, sustainable signature experience that truly differentiates their brand.
X. Researcher
A market researcher, a field researcher, an environmental researcher, or an archeological researcher, natural researcher, social researcher, the list is endless. To provide qualitative data collection aiming at observing, interacting and understanding people in their natural environment, multilingual make enormous contribution to the project’s goals.
Asking relevant, reasonable questions to local people in a manner that they effectively participate in the data collection process, a multilingual plays a fundamental role in opening in-depth discussions overcoming ethical dilemmas of people. They create a buffer zone where the research and the local people come in tandem with each other.
So if you’re thinking of learning a new language to pursue your dream career, there’s never been a better moment in time. Think about it!
You have great opportunity to barter your linguistic investments for economic capital. The financial incentives are big (until the multi-linguistic population supply increases throughout the world). the credentials inflate with being a multilingual.
Remember, you will always have an edge over your competitors with a repertoire of a multilingual or a bilingual.
We hope that the above will give you a few considerable thoughts to help you in your decision to learn a new language.
Tina Mittal Kashyap
Co-Founder: ihana lingua
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