In today’s highly connected world, it often happens that you have to deal with customers or partners from other countries. In most cases, a good knowledge of English is sufficient. However, communication in another language can strengthen customer loyalty and thus provide an excellent basis for successful collaboration.
Being able to express yourself selectively and clearly has numerous advantages. If you can do this even in a foreign language, you have hit the jackpot, as more and more jobs require knowledge of a foreign language. Languages can be used in many ways and give you a unique insight into foreign cultures. This is precisely why more and more companies are attaching importance to ensuring that their employees know at least one foreign language. Although English is considered the lingua franca in the world of work, languages such as Mandarin and Arabic are becoming increasingly important. Here we present five careers that incorporate languages.
Translators and interpreters
As a translator, you translate documents from the source language into the target language. Usually the latter is your native language, but this is not always the case. The types of texts that a translator deals with are diverse: everything from novels to websites to scientific brochures. It’s even better if you have specialist knowledge in a specific area. This allows you to specifically search for orders within a specific industry, because, according to the experts at easytrans24.com, specialist knowledge “requires targeted know-how”. Translators work both in companies and on a freelance basis.
The interpreter is a language mediator. “Communication takes place directly between people,” says the agency fachdolmetschersuche.de. An interpreter orally translates texts from one language to another. Interpreters are in demand in many places: in courts, in politics, at conferences or in the TV industry. Since you hardly have time to think about oral translations, as an interpreter you have to have a very good command of the languages used and also have a particularly high level of responsiveness.
Air traffic controllers and pilots
Air traffic controllers ensure airspace safety by communicating with pilots and coordinating flight paths. Since, statistically speaking, the air traffic controller and pilot do not come from the same country, communication takes place in English. It is also important to master the NATO alphabet. The same applies to pilots, as they must be able to address their passengers and communicate with air traffic controllers in English.
astronaut
For most of us, flying into space remains a dream. But some people make this dream come true – by training to become astronauts. The term space traveler is also common in German usage, although “astronaut” occurs more frequently. The Russian equivalent of the astronaut is the cosmonaut. The word was also used in the GDR. It can still be found in the new federal states today. Astronauts who work on the International Space Station must speak Russian in addition to English. This can be explained by the fact that the crew of the ISS is transported to the space station using the Russian spacecraft “Soyuz”. The commands from the flight control center are transmitted in Russian.
fashion designer
The fashion world has always been international. Today the most important fashion events take place between Milan, Paris, New York and London. Anyone who speaks English, French and Italian has a good chance of being welcomed into the world of fashion with open arms. In addition, the fashion scene is increasingly shifting to Asia, especially to China. The market for luxury brands is particularly large here. Anyone who speaks Mandarin can act as a buyer or designer and conquer the Asian market for themselves.
diplomat
As a diplomat, you meet with high-ranking political representatives abroad and represent the interests of your own country. You can be asked to go to any country on the globe. The more languages you know, the easier it is in the diplomatic service. In Germany, the minimum requirement is a command of English and French.
Conclusion
There are many exciting and unusual professions in which foreign languages are essential. The list goes far beyond the usual professions such as translator, interpreter, language teacher or journalist. This also includes the numerous professionsthat we offer at EF. Knowing one or more foreign languages can also be an advantage in everyday situations.
