Foreign Language Proficiency Can Advance Your Science Career

by Alex A. Kecskes

If you’re looking for a job in the field of science, you need every advantage in today’s hyper competitive global economy. Let’s face it, universities are cranking out PhDs by the thousands and many candidates have field or lab experience. So how do you give yourself an edge? What’s the one thing that could separate you from the pack?

Fluency in a foreign language.

If your qualifications match those of several other candidates and you can speak a foreign language but they can't, you'll probably get the job. The reason is simple. Scientific minds need to communicate their findings, compare notes, and interact via the many channels of the new media. These days, countries and continents are only separated by language, not distance.

So which language should you learn? Chinese for starters. After China's entry into the WTO, scientific and technical personnel should have a good working knowledge of Chinese if they want to be successful in their careers. The country is making many scientific breakthroughs and their scientists are among the finest in the world.

Spanish can also be extremely useful, since many companies have South American branches. All South American countries speak Spanish except Brazil where the language is Portuguese. Another popular language widely adopted in scientific circles is German.

To meet this need, many colleges and universities now offer nontraditional, interdisciplinary foreign language courses. These programs have been created to meet the demands of international job markets. Foreign language programs have grown from predominantly literature-oriented offerings to those geared toward helping students entering scientific and professional fields.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions on this topic, feel free to share them in the comments section.