I would like to hear your opinions of my HS junior son’s current choice of college major - German and Russian language.
He says he’d like to be a translator. I looked up the language programs at the state school he is likely to attend, and saw that both languages offer a business minor, which he said he is not averse to. Or else he might be interested in some government service. Another possibility would be to get a teaching certificate.
I really don’t know much about the hiring market, but it seems to me that getting out of college fluent in a couple of other languages would be a skill that would distinguish you from other grads, and open some doors not available to others. As with most parents, my main concern is that my kids be happy, and I think happiness can be made more likely if you are doing something you like (or at least don’t hate) and that provides a sufficient income to pursue your other interests.
If you asked him, he’d probably say he would most like to be a writer or an actor. In all honesty, the idea of him majoring in theater or creativewriting does not thrill me. Whereas if he majors in languages, he should be able to take a lot of electives in those areas, or even as minors. Heck - if he is attending a state school he could even stick around for an extra year or two. And while I’m not thrilled with the prospect of his supporting himself as a writer/actor, I think his chosen major will likely support a lifestyle that will allow him to aggressively pursue them as avocations.
Any thoughts from other parents or those of you who may be closer to the college/job search/languages scenes?
Translation does pay huge amounts, but there is always demand. You know, it might be worth it to line up some tutors now for the summer. A head start would not help and it might chase the idea out of his head.
Most people change majors anyway. Nothing to worry about.
Despite an aptitude and an interest, I never took foreign languages in college. I was already fluent in one when I got there and tested out. One thing to keep in mind is that pretty much all Germans are already fluent in German and English. And lots of Russians know German and English. Realizing how many Europeans are fluent in 5 or so languages is what made me decide against it. What is your son’s current level of proficiency in the languages? Adding an Asian language or Arabic might add to his marketability.
However, I will say that those I’ve known who did major in languages have typically wound up doing interesting work and learning interesting things.
He’s taking German in HS - seems to really enjoy it as well as having some ability. And he recently was teaching himself some Russian/Cyrillic to use in one of his SF stories.
Since he was a little kid he was a huge fan of military history - with a strong interest in WWII ETO. For a while he wanted to attend a military academy - but a visit to West Point and out current leader’s escapades cured him of that!
Then he thought of pursuing engineering - which I liked because it required that he keep taking science and math and get excellent grades. But as math has progressed, he really doesn’t want to do anything that relies to heavily on that.
As it is, he’ll probably be in the top 7-10% of his HS class. And he tests phenomenally, so he should be able to get into the state LAS school no problem. Hopefully some AP credit will give him more flexibility in choosing electives and/or pursuing a minor.
And pursuing languages would give many opportunities to study/work abroad - which I feel is very valuable.
Heck, I could see the guy ending up being a published author. He’s written several stories, a play, and is on his secong novel. But as a parent I’m hesitant to see him put all of his eggs in that basket.
I agree, Harriet. He might be better off picking up Mandarin, Hindu, Arabic, etc. And I might suggest he look into such things. But you know how it is with kids - the main thing is to encourage them in a general direction that isn’t harmful. Then worry about the specific route they take.
I saw a site describing Russian as the 5th most popular language of business - after (IIRC) English, Mandarin, Hindu, and Spanish. So it seemed like if he gets a business degree - or an MBA, the languages would at least distinguish him from the bulk of US business grads. Like I said, he really likes German and Russian history and culture, so it is a tough sell to try to get him to pursue something as different as Arabic.
He is currently in his 3d year of German. Next year he intends to take AP. Over winter break his HS band went to Disneyworld. When in Epcot, he went to the German pavillion and talked to them in German. According to him, he was able to communicate adequately and they complimented him on his accent.
It’s true that virtually all Germans learn English in school, but I don’t think that this really limits the market for translators. Perhaps it’s even the opposite. Many Germans can survive in an English-speaking country and can communicate with their business contacts reasonably well, but in many contexts professional translators just play in a different league. e.g. only a madman would draft a contract in high school English. Also translated literature, both fiction and non-fiction, dwarfs the amount of English-language literature on the German market.
Okay - fill me in. What is the extent of the market for translators? I’m thinking about folks whispering into headsets at the UN or the like, but I gather in practice the field is much broader.
I have a friend who is very smart like your son - interested in a lot of topics including language. When he did his undergrad, he did a minor in French and also studied Russian - his major was computer science and he also had another minor (music?). Then his masters was in Library Science and now he’s going to his THIRD school for uhm…musicology?
Anyway, seems like Library Science is a good field for someone who has a lot of interest in many topics and can keep that interest up throughout his school career. Seems like a degree like that, at least in my friend’s case, can afford him the opportunity to take concentrations in several areas as minors and qualify him for a Library Science major.
There’s a handful of people with LS degrees here on the board - they might want to weigh in and see if i’m off base.
I’d assume that he doesn’t really know. He’s just at that point where he is going to have to take the ACT/SAT this spring, and will be applying to colleges next fall.
Just over the last year or so he firmly decided the military/engineering weren’t for him. Whatever profession he pursues, attaining fluency in one or more foreign languages just impresses me as giving him some marketable skills that will help him stand out from the crowd. And a part of me thinks it is great if he pursues educational/career options that will make him more of a “citizen of the world.”
I guess I can do my part by teaching him how to drink beer and vodka!
Just googled translation/career and found a lot of stuff. As Paul observed, he could change his mind any number of time. Heck - he could even freelance as a translator/writer if that was the lifestyle he desired. I’m a big fan of keeping your options open.
Maybe you could suggest Japanese, with the WWII connection? Also, the marketability isn’t 100% based on the most common languages. A translator will get paid more for an in-demand language with few qualified translators (currently, Arabic).
I think the translator option and the “use your language in business” option are two quite different things. I have an in-law who is qualified to do simulataneous translation, and I looked into it. My sense is that is not just a question of studying the language, but also of being someone whose brain works a certain way. It is a real challenge. Kind of like being able to sing vs. being tone deaf. And I would think it would be much easier for someone who spent time as a child living in a foreign country speaking the second language. So I’d say don’t count that as a definite option, although it’s cool if he could make it happen.
Then there is translating written documents. My sense is this is generally amenable to extensive study, being detail oriented, and having a sense for good prose in both languages.
There is an organization, ATA, American Translators Association, that may be able to give you better info on the actual market for both types of work.
Then, of course, there’s just using the language in business by being a company’s go-to guy for Germany. In business I haven’t seen too many people held back by lack of multiple language proficiency. But I agree it can be an asset. It just needs to be weighed against the other skills he could be working on.
He may want to connect with Concordia Language Villages, either to attend a summer program or to look for work as a counselor. I found them to be a great organization and he’d probably meet a lot of creative, bright, like-minded folks. Their German program is one of their strongest and most established.
I am on my bajillionth career option, so I agree he’s not setting a path in stone. Best of luck to you both.
Interpreters (the people whispering into headsets) != translators (people who translate written matter). I gather a good translator isn’t necessarily a good interpreter.
BTW for translations into English a native English speaker with good German/Russian will have a large advantage over German/Russian native speakers with good English as translating into one’s mother tongue always gives better results.
One caveat: I don’t think learning German + Russian will have a lot of synergies - there are almost no common roots in the vocabulary (less than between English and German), and the grammar of Russian has a lot of complexities that German does not have. OTOH if German grammar did not put him off foreign languages that’s a good sign wrt Russian grammar.
BTW there is one thing about foreign languages that isn’t connected much to earning potential and very much connected to citizenship: you get unmediated access to the other culture. I read English-language and German-language media extensively, and reading about Germany in the former (and about the US/UK in the latter) the selection of what’s noteworthy looks very much different. Journalists/authors with their biases and agendas are a big choke point for the understanding of monolingual people.
I wish I had taken some foreign language classes in HS and college. I would take such classes now, but don’t have the time for more credits before my planned Grad date.
I think being a translator would be cool though, you get to meet some interesting people. Not sure what kind of money is in that kind of job, or how many jobs are open to those languages here in the U.S, but probably not as much as say English - Spanish or English - Spanish - Portuguese.
I have a BA in Russian (no German, though). Language skills are not (edit) just for interpreters/translators, in fact of the people I went to school with, most who use Russian don’t work as translators.
I used to use Russian in my work a lot more than I do now. I work in international development, foreign aid, humanitarian assistance, etc. When I started my work, I worked in countries in the former Soviet Union or for organizations working from the states in those countries. Russian is also a handy language for a surprising amount of other countries. I’ve used in in Asia, Iraq, and all over Eastern Europe.
It’s early in his academic career, who knows how he might change his mind. He should certainly plan on studying abroad. A good place to start is ACTR (www.actr.org) the conduct US government funded exchanges between the FSU and the US. They are also were a lot of Russian Study geeks get their first job, they have a huge number of offices in the FSU and they are always looking for people to fill spots either for a year at a time or a couple of months. The money kind of sucks (or it did back in the day) but it will get you invaluable experience.
Also Peace Corps used to be looking for volunteers after college for the FSU, but that might have changed. That’s another good starting place after you get your degree.
My friend graduated with a degree in German. This was because his school did not teach Norwegian. He constantly gets “dirt looks” because he has this habit of “mocking” people-repeating back to them what they say in their own accent/voice exaggerated to the umpteenth degree. He also has a degree in Accounting. He finally went to school as a Court Reporter.
I majored in Russian. I tested out of many hours of it and thought I wanted to get into international business, foreign relations, or espionage.
I finished the language requirement in the middle of my second year. I took a few Russian Lit classes but didn’t enjoy them. I picked up government as a second major.
I was probably quite marketable in those fields I mentioned. I could have got a pretty sweet internship with the NSA if I had wanted. But I didn’t want to. Studying Russian and Goverment (concentrating on foreign affairs) had completely turned me off of it. I went back to the career I’d been nuturing since Jr High: I’m now a director of computer application development. My Russian is very rusty beacause I haven’t spoken it in years.
I don’t know if any of that helps. Keep in mind that BA degrees are more about “learning to think” than getting job training, so he should major in something he is interested in. BS and BBAs are more about job training.
