Considering careers involving languages? Très bien! In an ever-growing global economy, the demand for foreign language speakers continues to grow in just about every job sector.
By knowing a second language, you have a stronger ability to strengthen relationships, solve problems creatively, and overcome many challenges. Those are some serious skills, amigo. U.S. employers are particularly looking for those who can speak French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Japanese, and Russian.
Your language skills can take you to new places!
You’ll be delighted to know a number of cool foreign language job opportunities are available that involve travel. (Psst, many regular jobs will also pay a higher salary for bilingual speakers.) If you’re still learning, don’t worry; you can vastly improve your language abilities while communicating with others on the job.
Ultimately, knowing a second language can take you to new heights, from speaking French in Switzerland for the United Nations to interviewing others in Spanish for Amazonian research!
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Are there jobs that pay to learn languages?
If you’re looking for jobs that pay to learn languages, you’ll find many of them are government-associated roles.
For example, if you join the military and you’re needed in a certain country, you would learn the necessary language and get paid while doing so. You could also look at joining the Peace Corps, where you’ll have the chance to get your foot in the door with other languages while earning a monthly stipend.
However, if you’d like to have the final say in what you learn and where you go, you can learn a new language indirectly with many of the following jobs while making some dough!
READ MORE: Why is it Important to Learn a Foreign Language?
14 jobs that require foreign language skills
1. Interpreter
Helping others communicate will test your language skills daily.
As an interpreter, you’re the voice for those who cannot communicate their wishes or needs without you. Whether helping someone close on their first home or understand an illness, interpreters must bridge the conversation quickly on their feet.
This is one of the top foreign language careers in high demand, and it’s also one of the most rewarding. Most interpreting jobs require the interpreter to have a bachelor’s degree, speak the target language fluently, and in some cases, hold a certification.
2. Translator
Translating is about converting written text into another language. With this job, you’d never be short of work! Those in this foreign language career often work behind the scenes—and so, they could even live the life as a digital nomad.
As a translator, it’s more than just knowing the grammar of another language, it’s about understanding the audience’s culture. If you’re naturally curious with good attention to detail, this may just be the job for you!
READ MORE: How to Become a Digital Nomad
3. Foreign Language Teacher
If you love learning other languages, how about sharing that love with students as a foreign language teacher? It’s another one of the top foreign language careers in high demand!
As a teacher, you’ll open up a whole new world to your students where they can learn about cultural customs, traditions, festivities, and more. If you’re not yet a fluent speaker of two languages, you can improve exponentially by living with a host family abroad.
4. Field Researcher
Field researchers entail a wide scope of careers; they range from anthropologists and archaeologists to geographists and environmentalists. Plus, these are all jobs that involve languages and travel too.
As a field researcher, knowing other languages is crucial because you’d need to gather information from the locals in ways such as surveys and interviews. Just imagine the discoveries you could make!
5. Foreign Service Officer
Using your language skills to help your country’s diplomatic missions can be immensely fulfilling.
As a foreign service officer, you’d be representing your nation in a variety of ways, such as protecting borders or managing embassy operations. This job entails great benefits, good pay, and plenty of travel opportunities.
And good news! This is one of the top jobs that pay to learn languages, because it involves international relations. If you find that you’re resourceful and good at adapting to new situations, this may be the job for you.
6. International Travel Coordinator
Whether it’s helping others study, teach, intern, work, or volunteer abroad, you’ll need to know more than one language as an international travel coordinator. This position entails reviewing applications, developing programs, and assisting program participants with their needs.
Many people in this position work in a university or for a non-profit organization. You could even be the one living abroad and leading programs in multiple countries!
7. Product Localization Manager
You’ve probably heard that McDonald’s menus are different in certain countries, right? As companies extend their products to other countries, they need someone with bilingual skills who can make that happen.
As a product localization manager, you’d be responsible for managing a team of translators, understanding the needs of the new market, coordinating product launches, and more. This is a job that requires a keen knowledge of cultural trends and sensitivities to create a successful campaign.
8. Hotel Manager
There won’t be any shortage of interesting people to meet!
As a hotel manager, you get to meet new people from all walks of life. In this line of work, it’s all about providing exceptional service for customers. By knowing another language, you can identify and address international visitors’ needs accordingly.
Many who work in hotel management love that this position requires a diverse range of abilities, from training staff to coordinating events. And if you’re looking for jobs with languages and travel, hotel management offers a lot in that department!
9. Au Pair
One of the best jobs for foreign language majors? Taking care of children who speak your target language! Au pairs (French for “on par” or “equal”) live with a family and help take care of the little ones. The family typically pays for the room and board and provides a monthly stipend.
In many cases with work visas, you can stay with them for up to two years. Score! During this time, you’ll have a chance to explore the country on your days off or maybe even travel with the family on their vacations.
READ MORE: How to Become an Au Pair Abroad
10. Community Health Worker
Community health workers help people in both rural and urban areas receive medical information and resources. They’re also advocates for social change without formal medical training.
As those in this position demystify healthcare for others, speaking the local tongue is essential in order to communicate between doctors and community members. The need for community health workers continues to grow all over the world.
11. Tour Guide
People from all over the world travel to other countries to visit historic landmarks, famous museums, and modern marvels. Tour guides often need to speak more than one language to give those visitors a memorable experience, provide directions, answer questions, and more.
This role often entails lots of socializing, memorization, and maybe even acting. Plus, it’s another one of the best jobs for foreign language majors because they can practice their skills while having lots of fun!
12. Flight Attendant
We doubt this view will ever get old!
If you have a map of the world on your wall, you’ll soon have it covered in pins with a career as a flight attendant! International airlines look for flight attendants with multilingual skills to attend to passengers and treat them with the utmost care.
Many flight attendants love that the role gives them the opportunity to meet new people and explore new places. And since they’re in need all over the world, you can spread your wings and fly—and often, for free!
13. Human Resources Specialist
Many organizations understand the importance of having a diverse staff that bring various skills, talents, and knowledge to the table. Human resources are the gatekeepers when it comes to interviewing and recruiting new employees to create such a dream team.
They also discuss matters around pay and benefits, and they help resolve any conflicts between colleagues. In today’s world, they can achieve these matters more effortlessly by knowing a second language.
14. Social Worker
Social workers help children and families cope with a variety of problems, such as abuse, addiction, and mental illness. They often need to know a second language to connect with their clients and interpret their emotions more accurately.
In addition, many families in need are non-English speakers. In this profession, you could work for a school, university, hospital, or government agency. The need for social workers continues to grow faster than average than all other occupations.
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Learning a foreign language (or two) will open new doors!
And new borders!
As far as foreign language job opportunities, this article only covered the tip of the iceberg. While you may find that many careers involving languages are in the hospitality or government sector, almost any path you take will have a need for bilingualism.
You can bet that knowing another language will for sure stand out on your resume. If you’re passionate about a second language and you’re dedicated to practicing it, your dreams of getting paid to know a foreign language can come true!