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Selecting Your Second Language

August 3, 2017

There are many reasons to learn a new language. However, before you choose one to learn for your career, you'll need to think about a few things. Why do you want to learn a certain language? Also, what do you want to achieve by learning that language?

Here are some points to think about:

Which industry do you want to work in?
How in-demand is the language for jobs? If you're learning for a specific job, is it in-demand for the job you want?
Where do you want to work location wise?
What kind of company do you want to work for?
What is the scope of the job? Is it local, national, international, etc.?

Also, remember that it's never too late to learn a new language. In fact, the common idea that it's harder to learn as an adult is actually a myth². No matter how far you are in your life and career, there's always room for learning a language.

Exploring Languages

To get you started, here are some examples of in-demand languages for U.S. citizens.

1. Mandarin Chinese

You may have heard that Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world. This is no exaggeration. According to Kiplinger, there were 848 million native speakers in 2015¹. Also, East Asia – especially China – boasts some of the world's largest economies. Because of this, the State Department describes Mandarin as a "critical language" for Americans¹.

However, Mandarin is known for being difficult to learn for English speakers. Be sure to keep this in mind before you decide to learn it.

2. Spanish

Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world, surpassing even English. And that's only counting native speakers. It's also commonly spoken in several areas of the U.S. It was requested in 314,891 job postings in 2014 in the U.S. alone¹. That's a lot more than any other languages mentioned in this article!

Better yet, Spanish usually isn't as hard for English speakers to pick up. There's a reason it's one of the most commonly taught languages in the U.S.

3. German

German-speaking countries have a long history with science and technology. Also, the median U.S. salary for jobs requiring it is considerably high¹.

However, not many Americans are learning it compared to other languages¹. Because of this, it can be a good way to "stand out from the crowd."

4. Portuguese

Portuguese is the fourth most sought after in U.S. job listings; less undergrads are learning it despite it being in demand¹. This means learning it can set you apart from the crowd, much like learning German.