tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post7796272264067230714..comments2023-08-14T05:29:56.847-07:00Comments on Multilingual By Choice: Do You Get Paid More For Being Multilingual?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15151848565365468678noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-1370471100285167892017-01-18T13:41:18.097-08:002017-01-18T13:41:18.097-08:00It was very enjoyable for the first two or three y...It was very enjoyable for the first two or three years... until the nature of the work changed :( I did work with really great people, though.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15151848565365468678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-65171375903573887612017-01-08T12:38:46.470-08:002017-01-08T12:38:46.470-08:00Your job as a braillist does sound wonderful. I wo...Your job as a braillist does sound wonderful. I would have enjoyed that job very much!twenty six lettershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12850570191610178146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-87854963901735955042016-10-17T18:21:20.120-07:002016-10-17T18:21:20.120-07:00Very true. The Quebecois are not known for their E...Very true. The Quebecois are not known for their English skills and vice versa. However, re: Spain, policies like that do do a lot to keep the language alive, so I guess it's a bit of a toss up...Alicia Pohlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18417858874039171848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-83068506031846750282016-09-25T09:19:19.648-07:002016-09-25T09:19:19.648-07:00All valid points, thanks for chipping in! What do ...All valid points, thanks for chipping in! What do you teach, if I may ask...?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15151848565365468678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-88028751629798252302016-09-25T08:37:10.711-07:002016-09-25T08:37:10.711-07:00your experience in your youth does demonstrate tha...your experience in your youth does demonstrate that it will give you a leg up in customer service jobs, sales jobs, tutoring jobs... and I think that given how hard it is for young people to get a decent first job nowadays that is still a huge advantage. And young people need that confidence and job experience early on in life otherwise they will not move forward. Next, with the opening of internet entrepreneurship if you have that business knack, it is an asset as well because it will help you build your network and customer relations without having to rely on outside services... I can think of travel agencies, international companies, translation services, FBI and more. <br />Many government agencies, hospitality industry, city hall and other city venues would rather hire a multilingual person, or if you do start entry level, your language skills will propel you. So because competition is rough these days, I say to my students do not give up on languages just because it does not seem like the norm in USA, on the contrary it will give you an edge if you have a certain passion and know how to market yourself. The social skills are probably the strongest asset above all, --- because if you are not social/sociable who would want to hire you? It comes full circle.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01144970720448287853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-83515425315432019372016-09-15T15:01:34.645-07:002016-09-15T15:01:34.645-07:00Hello there! The situation is similar here in Spai...Hello there! The situation is similar here in Spain, where you need to know the regional language (Catalan, Euskara, etc) if you want to be a government employee. There is a lot of debate on whether that's fair or not, because it disadvantages against those who did not grow up in a particular autonomous region. It's not a question of communication either - everyone speaks Castilian on a native-speaker level. I guess that's a big difference from the situation in Canada, where many living in Francophone areas do not speak English very well. <br /><br />Thanks for chipping in :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15151848565365468678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-7586725243393423892016-09-15T13:34:17.196-07:002016-09-15T13:34:17.196-07:00While overall I'd (sadly) agree, there is an e...While overall I'd (sadly) agree, there is an exception to this rule! In Canada, if you want to be hired as a elementary/highschool teacher or a government employee you are wildly more likely to get the job if you can teach/work in both French and English. I used to work at the Berlitz language school in our fair capital (Ottawa) and nearly all the students there were learning/improving their French to move up the civil service ladder. Likewise, most provinces (other than Quebec, where it's the reverse) have French immersion public schools and are always desperate for teachers who can teach subject matter in French (a desperation which sometimes leads them to hire teachers whose French is _really_ not up to the task, unfortunately). <br />And, to be honest, my mainstays have always been writing or teaching Enlgish/French- and my employers often admit later that they chose me because they were (basically) getting a two-for-one deal. So, maybe I wasn't getting paid _more_, but at least I was getting the job!Alicia Pohlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18417858874039171848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-61157500260805391612016-09-12T06:20:46.395-07:002016-09-12T06:20:46.395-07:00Hi Bev! That's so not fair :(Hi Bev! That's so not fair :(Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15151848565365468678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-24782198189472196172016-09-12T01:22:45.585-07:002016-09-12T01:22:45.585-07:00I don't know if knowing languages leads to ext...I don't know if knowing languages leads to extra pay in jobs that don't rely on the holder having additional languages, but I do know translators (whose entire profession revolves around being at least bilingual!) get paid a pittance!Confuzzled Bevhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01471749871770054481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-27606723910243268862016-09-11T22:20:20.243-07:002016-09-11T22:20:20.243-07:00So, in South India, there are lots of people who d...So, in South India, there are lots of people who don't speak Hindi...? I know it's not a local language down there, I just assumed that everyone would learn Hindi (and English) at school. And I also guess that a monolingual Indian just doesn't exist ;-)<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15151848565365468678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-72880998547582647412016-09-11T20:28:52.677-07:002016-09-11T20:28:52.677-07:00I've certainly looked at languages as part of ...I've certainly looked at languages as part of the hiring process when I headed a training team - particularly South India. Someone who could train in 5 languages (English, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam & Telegu) would get the job before just English & 1 other as I could then send him/her to support requirements in more locations and be a back-up in case the 'local' say Tamil trainer wasn't available. :-)Carissa Hicklinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13755141654596896775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-49786644730266687452016-09-11T09:12:15.305-07:002016-09-11T09:12:15.305-07:00Hello! I guess accent-free is virtually impossible...Hello! I guess accent-free is virtually impossible for any languages learnt after the age of 10, sadly ;-) <br /><br />I do wonder how one can quantify how much $$ a language skill is worth in the workplace. I think each additional language opens up more job opportunities for the individual, so it's definitely beneficial that way. <br /><br />Thanks for chipping in!<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15151848565365468678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-63383584237184905982016-09-11T05:14:11.015-07:002016-09-11T05:14:11.015-07:00I've never been paid extra but it sure helps t...I've never been paid extra but it sure helps to learn at least of bit of another language. Over the years, I've had to learn conversational Spanish, French and now German just to be able to communicate effectively with different teams (though I'm way too old at this point to be accent-free fluent).<br /><br />It's still mostly skills over language though ... unless the language is technology specific, regardless of how many languages they spoke, Adecco would rent me people at the same price as long as they had the same background / skill set so I'm really skeptical of their numbers.chooyo-312https://www.blogger.com/profile/17021767404264470663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-27160802960305835232016-09-11T03:56:05.060-07:002016-09-11T03:56:05.060-07:00I think it is huge too. I swear some of the trades...I think it is huge too. I swear some of the tradespeople we know could translate for the UN in five languages. Fluently. Languages shouldn't be an option, or a sole purpose, they should be a must-do along with other skills. /rant :Droughseasinthemedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02362795583263821176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-42676911076060222632016-09-11T03:49:13.738-07:002016-09-11T03:49:13.738-07:00Hi there! This is a whole huge topic... I've b...Hi there! This is a whole huge topic... I've barely scratched the surface, I feel. For example, there are just so many language graduates who are either unable to find jobs or they've taken jobs that don't require any foreign language skills. Just take JK Rowling! LOL!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15151848565365468678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2242109706488840827.post-87461609471100235672016-09-11T03:07:20.295-07:002016-09-11T03:07:20.295-07:00No, you don't get paid extra. What gripes me i...No, you don't get paid extra. What gripes me is when people are seriously fluent in three or more languages and STILL out of work. <br /><br />Anyways there's hope, I suppose, as I can still count to ten in French, German, Italian, Portuguese. And English. And order a drink.roughseasinthemedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02362795583263821176noreply@blogger.com