Career Possibilities with French
Now that we know how expansive French is, let’s look at how you can use it to your advantage in a career. In addition to its global presence, French also has a solid history. It was the governing language during some of the most formative periods in history, which means it still impacts careers in law, business, and international relations.
learn French because it will open doors to European jobs where English is not enough, most of these jobs requiring French.
- If you want to work in Finance in Luxembourg, for example, you will need French and English.
- If you are looking for a job in Luxury goods in Paris, you will need French and English.
- If you want to work in wealth management in Geneva, you’ll need to speak French and English.
- If you want to work in manufacturing in Brussels, you’ll need to speak French and English.
- If you want to be a reporter on the European Union in Brussels, Luxembourg City, or Strasbourg, you will need French and English.
Working in Philosophy or Literature
Because of France’s extensive history, philosophers and authors writing in the language have written a huge collection of works that have heavily influenced the Western world’s perception of logic, thought, purpose, and science. This is one of the main reasons why so many people choose to study philosophy and literature in their native tongue. But there’s a huge advantage to studying French texts in their original text.
If you plan to be a professor, or you simply want to read these texts for your own benefit, there is a huge power that comes with primary document research. Especially in academia, the possibility that nuances get lost in translation can be critical. Let me give you an example.
Working in International Relations
If you are American and would like to work in international relations, whether as a Foreign Service Officer, an ambassador, a Fulbright scholar, or any number of representative political roles, then learning a second language is a huge advantage.
If you speak French fluently, you will be a much stronger candidate because the primary job of an ambassador is to reflect positively upon his/her home country, and a bilingual American will do just that. This is one of the reasons I won my Fulbright Fellowship.