¿Hablas Otro Idioma? – Why Learning A New Language Is A Good Professional Move

Aside from the personal fulfillment learning a new language gives, it can also provide a professional reward, as there is a bigger demand for bilingual or multilingual manpower to bridge the communication gap between cultures. In a research provided by the New American Economy, the number of online listings targeting bilingual job-seekers in the US increased by 15.7% from 2010 up to 2015 and is still on the steady rise. The case is the same here in the Philippines, as most multinational and local companies have offshore clients they have to provide services to.

You don’t have to work as a full-time interpreter or translator to score a job, as there is a need for bilingual and multilingual employee in various fields:

• Customer Service and BPO
• Healthcare
• Tourism
• Education
• Human Resources
• Sales and Marketing
• International Banking and Business
• Social Services

Bilinguals also have a financial edge amongst their monolingual counterparts. According Salary.com, the leading consumer and enterprise resource for compensation data, the average language differentials typically range between 5 and 20 percent per hour more than the base rate. You can earn as much as P45,000 up to P120,000 per month depending on how big the demand is in relation to the existing talent pool available. The bigger the demand, they higher the pay is.

Learning a new language is an important thing to consider if you want to climb to the top of the corporate ladder, especially for companies who need to negotiate with foreign businesses. 62% of Asian Managers and Executives speak at least two languages fluently, and they are people mostly tasked to ‘globalize’ key elements of Asian companies such as Samsung, LG and Huawei, among others. It is interesting to note that while Facebook is banned in China, Mark Zuckerberg once challenged himself in 2010 to hold a public Q&A while answering entirely in Mandarin, while Bill Gates mentioned in one of his Reddit AMA’s that his biggest regret is not knowing any foreign language. Being bilingual can definitely make you a valuable corporate asset.

The benefits doesn’t just end on the professional-side, it helps you mentally too! Linguistic fluency makes your brain more flexible as your brain has to maneuver between multiple grammar rules and vocabulary. This applies to one’s ability to shift between different tasks making better multi-taskers with great adaptability. Your language skills can also help you understand certain cultures and adjust to foreign customs and etiquette faster.

Do you want to start the path to linguistic fluency and boost your career further?

Decide which language you’d like to learn. It can be a language that could be most useful to your career, or a language that interests you the most. Then you can try looking for universities or language schools near you that offer the language you plan to learn. You can also opt for online courses if you want a more flexible study schedule. There are also mobile apps that offer peer-to-peer language coaching for free!

Studying a new language is a commitment. Make sure that you have the motivation to fully study as learning doesn’t just end after you finish a course. It takes years of adapting and practicing to gain 100% professional fluency. Only then you will be able to make full use of your new skill to your advantage.