23.11.2024 Today’s Insights on the Virtues of Bilingual Careers (and the Industries Seeking Such Talent), from Preply.com
Dear Students,
You know who we mean.
Your friends – or even you – who enjoy(s) communicating with foreign peers in English, just because you think it’s fun. You may try to learn a new word a day, like the estimated 20% of Americans who are trying to master another language at any given point (according to Lingoda).
But an ambitious international student like you may wonder why it’s worth trying to take your spoken English to the “next level,” however. Since you feel understood most of the time, and you are able to communicate pretty much whatever you want to say in a majority of cases (minus a word here and there), doing so may not feel necessary.
Yet, there’s no question about it – bilingualism pays. It’s basically “supply and demand” – according to The HistoryofEnglish.com, “Most Chinese people don’t speak English at all, and just 5% have any degree of fluency.” This statistic bodes well for candidates like you who may feel motivated to use your English communication skills in an international environment, and every MCI candidate hailing from outside the U.S., which likely includes you and your friends, deserves to be commended for your efforts to date to manage daily communication.
For aspiring talent like you who our coaches and team “touch,” and who delight in regularly using two or more tongues, it may be helpful to know that some industries are especially inclined to bring on grads with strong bilingual skills, per the list in the article below.
Since multilingualism builds confidence and helps students like you to forge new relationships, as well as fostering career opportunities, our coaches would like to encourage candidates like you to intentionally build your verbal skills, a little at a time, on a progressive basis. Your fluency in English may just “translate” into that extra $I0,000 or $20,000 (roughly 5-20% above the salaries of your monolingual peers, according to WorkforceEssentials.com) in your compensation down the road.
Wishing you a pleasant evening that requires no “interpretation.”
Best,
Amy-Louise