Foreign Languages (French, German, Spanish)

Career and Major Information
Related Career Titles
Web Sites
Salary Information

The Associate of Arts degree in a foreign language (French, German, or Spanish) at Walters State Community College is designed to fulfill the freshman and sophomore level course requirements of a bachelor’s degree; however, the curriculum is not specific to a particular college or university.  A student will need to consult a WSCC faculty advisor or an advisor at the intended transfer institution to determine individual course requirements for that four-year school.  The link to the Humanities Division at WSCC is: http://www.ws.edu/humanities/default.asp

 

Career and Major Information:

 

With today’s international business climate and current concerns about homeland security, a foreign language degree prepares students for careers in several different employment categories.  Careers that are considered language intensive include translators and interpreters, high school foreign language teachers, professors of languages, and regional or area specialists.  Students who are interested in these careers need to also take courses in the culture, literature, and history of the countries whose language(s) they are studying.  Geography and political science courses are also useful.

 

Related Career Titles:

 

Knowledge of a language other than English can be useful in many careers.  The following careers may require courses in additional areas.

 

Advertising

Art Dealer

Airline Attendants

Archeology

International Businessperson

Missionary

Consular Assistant

Customs Inspector

Diplomatic Service Agent

Drug Enforcement Agent

FBI Agent

Foreign Correspondent

Hotel/Resort Management

Import/Export Agent

Intelligence Specialist

International Telephone Operators

International Banking and Finance

Journalist

Law Enforcement Officers

Health Services

Tourist Guides

 

Web Sites:

 

Careers in Foreign Languages

http://www.oswego.edu/student/career/careersin/foreign.html

 

Careers in foreign languages (from Indiana University Purdue University Indiana

http://www.iupui.edu/~flac/FLCareers.html

 

Department of State

http://www.state.gov/employment/

 

Best Bets for Working Abroad

http://www.uci.edu/~cie/iop/work.html

 

Foreign Language Associations (links to associations)

http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Language/DF_lang_assn.shtml

 

American Translators Association

http://www.atanet.org/bin/view.pl/181.html

 

Salary Information:

 

Median annual earnings of kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers ranged from $39,810 to $44,340 in 2002.  The lowest 10 percent earned $24,960 to $29,850 while the top 10 percent earned $62,890 to $68,530.

 (Occupational Outlook Handbook 2004-2005)

 

The salary range for listed jobs as a translator through the Yahoo web site was $30,000 to $75,000.

 

Salary figures quoted are based on national figures.  Local or regional salaries may be lower.

 

Citation: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2004-05 Edition, Social Scientists, Other, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos054.htm