Foreign Language Careers

Foreign Languages and Job Opportunities

 
What can you do with a foreign language major? In the article, "Foreign Languages and Job Opportunities," Lucinda Branaman offers some ideas ...

Fields in which foreign language skills are an asset:

Customs
Diplomacy
Foreign Service
Immigration Services
Intelligence
International Banking/Finance
International Business
International Development
International Import/Export Trade
International Law
International Marketing/Sales
Interpretation/Translation
Military
Peace Corps

Education-related jobs that require proficiency in a second language:

Bilingual Classroom Aide
Elementary School Teacher (foreign language, bilingual, ESL)
Language Program Administrator
Language Trainer (workplace program or executive training program in businesses and industries)
Librarian
Overseas Instructor (English as a Foreign Language)
Secondary School Teacher (foreign language, ESL, bilingual)
Teacher Educator (training language teachers)
University or College Professor (foreign language, ESL, linguistics)

Other fields in which second language skills may be useful:

Advertising
Arts Administration
Career Counseling
Customer Service
Education Sales/Marketing
Engineering
Fire Fighting
Hospital Administration
Hotel & Catering Services
Information Technology
International Education Organizations
Journalism/News Media
Law
Law Enforcement
Library Services
Market Research
Medicine
Missionary Work
Multimedia and Computer Game Design
Performing Arts
Politics
Public Health
Public Relations
Publishing
Restaurant Services
Sales/Marketing
Scientific Research
Social Services/Social Work/Counseling/Casework
Travel and Tourism
University/College Administration
Volunteer Organizations (for example, Red Cross and VISTA)

(source: Branaman, Lucinda, "Foreign Languages and Job Opportunities. The ERIC Review" 6.1 (Fall 1998): 67-9.)