Career in foreign languages for youth

Engineering and medicine- are these the only popular career choices for today`s youth? Has studying masters in the United States and ultimately struggling for jobs become a norm? India is opening its doors to the outside world and with it opens up fresh avenues for its 100 crore population. An aptitude for languages and academic training in foreign languages opens up opportunities for well-paid assignments in diverse fields such as tourism, teaching, public relation, mass communication, publishing, entertainment or in a private enterprise. Liberalisation and globalisation have only bettered these prospects. As more and more foreign investment, multinationals and foreign tourists come in; experts in foreign languages discover more and opportunities to utilise their knowledge in increasingly remunerative ways.

Obtaining language skills opens several avenues for a student giving him/ her definite edge over other mono-lingual fellow students. In today’s world, being well versed in different languages is certainly an advantage, more so, if the person is well versed in one or more foreign languages. In fact, knowledge of a foreign language has definitely become an asset for most careers. Not only do new career avenues open-up, if you are proficient in a foreign language, in the so called language-centered jobs, but there are also a number of fields in which a foreign language can be used to advantage in combination with other expertise.

This would mean more jobs in the field of industry and commerce, information networks and in travel and tourism. Learning a language is not difficult. All you need is dedication and some hard work. In India, today, you have the opportunity to learn virtually every major spoken foreign language.

If you are well versed with a foreign language you can get a minimum salary of Rs 25,000 per month which is on par with what a fresh engineering graduate earns. Learning a foreign language can make you unique. The biggest question is where can you find jobs if you take up foreign language as a career. There are the different areas where people can find work.

Teaching is one of the jobs that is readily available for a student who has completed his course in a foreign language as most of the international schools have foreign languages like French, Spanish or Mandarin as their core curriculum. The other opportunities available are interpreters, language translators, travel and tourism, hospitality industry and most importantly air lines.

Rajesh, a student at The English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) said, “I’ve been learning Mandarin for a little while now. It is a different language and not many people opt for it. Moreover, the popularity of it in the world is increasingly steadily and multinational companies have a great demand for people well versed in this language.” There is a famous saying, WINNNERS DONT DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY, THE THINGS THEY DO ARE DIFFERENT. So learn a foreign language which will make you unique and give you an edge over your fellow competitors.