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Bachelor of Languages worth it for me? | ||
Tags: Usefulness | College/University | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| PeterMollenburg Senior Member AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5465 days ago 821 posts - 1273 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: FrenchB1 | Message 1 of 38 29 January 2015 at 8:47am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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Hey all,
I'm almost certain this topic/question has been covered numerous times before. If anyone knows where exactly and can find a relevant thread easily enough don't be afraid to direct me to that/those thread(s). Is it worth doing a university degree in languages? I know that responding to such an inquiry needs to be catered towards one's situation, once's circumstances and personally relevant factors. So, to give some background on myself (link at bottom of page to degree i've currently got my eye on): * I'm not passionate about my current career in nursing (ie I may change careers if a language degree enabled me to do so and if it proved worthwhile). Aas a side note that's mainly irrelevant a natural health path would be a second choice- eg naturopath. * If taking the relevant language tests proves just as beneficial then a degree prob isn't worth it as I'm working towards passing further exams in future. * I'm curious about translation also, but realistically I feel that's a very distant if even an unrealistic goal (i'm only B1 confirmed in French thus far). I work as a nurse and thus I am very familiar with medical terminology, so doing specialist translation in this field is not out of the question. * I'm currently on a French mission studying rather well (my personal interpretation) on my own and enjoying it - I have so much self study material I'd have to be right up there for all learners of French on HTLAL with regards to most materials on hand (that's not necessarily a good thing - I point it out to show i'm managing perfectly well on my own with so many resources I don't 'need' to go to university necessarily for the purpose of instruction). * My wife and I aim to move to France some day (ie 5-10 yrs away) it may turn out to be a yearly (ie seasonal) adventure or a more permanent move. Thus it would be better if any studies I did were recognized overseas as well. * I have dabbled in Spanish, German and Dutch - I can (just) hold a conversation on basic topics in Spanish and Dutch without having to allow for the speaker to necessarily slow down. (Dutch is not offered by the course I'm currently looking into). German I only remember literally a few basic phrases. * The 2nd language as part of a Bachelors I would choose (1st choice being French) iis more than likely to be Spanish, while German is a slight possibility. * I'm 38 yrs old, but the type of person that isn't ready to give up on (language learning) goals just because i'm not straight out of high school on my way to Uni. * I am married and have a mortgage and a baby under 1 y/o (ie responsabilities). My wife is supportive of my interests and persuits within reason (ie proper planning). The uni degree listed at bottom is by correspondence. * I don't have to start this degree (or another if this particular one is deemed overwhelmingly useless) immediately. I could do it a few years from now, altho if it's a gateway to career changes it would prob be better sooner rather than later- although I really want to get through my courses! * I'm open to teaching but ultimately I want to spend a lot of time overseas - thus I don't want to be 'stuck' with a career that enables me to simply teach French and Spanish to English speakers. * I've thought of continuing self study to the point i'm very proficient (C1 above) these languages, then do a degree for the token piece of paper which would also enable excellent grades (a selling point for employment, right?). Lately I'm rather anti-establishment, and so I believe anyone can teach themselves anything, why shoud we have to have education dictated to us via a university just because 'the system' says we do and therefore we must follow? However if I were to have any piece of paper to be proud of, it would be nice of it to be a language degree. For realzio, word. * I'm simply looking for some advice from any other ppl that may have some insight into such a big question. I just want to say that I really appreciate any advice but I won't necessarily take your advice as the factors that drive one to make a decision ultimately are very personal. Neverthelless any advice is taken sincerely and may in fact help me come to a decision. 2 final points: * I'm a bit of an idiot. * I'm possibly insane Bachelor of Languages PM aka le premier ministre lui-même 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| eyðimörk Triglot Senior Member France goo.gl/aT4FY7 Joined 4088 days ago 490 posts - 1158 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French Studies: Breton, Italian | Message 2 of 38 29 January 2015 at 11:40am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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If your plan is to move to France, I'd recommend that you ask yourself specifically how this degree fits in with your plans to do so.
It's not just a question of "is this useless" in general or "will I be able to live up to my current responsibilities with this degree". It's a question of "will this degree help me achieve my goals" and "will I be able to live up to my future responsibilities". I don't know how you intend to live in France, but five years is not that much time if you need to change your career, save up, and improve your language skills to the point of being able to work or set up a large enough income that isn't dependent on living where you do now. If you're thinking of translating, as in being certified and doing everything by the book, then be aware that that's usually a BA in Translation, not a BA in Languages. I don't know whether you'll be able to take a certification test in Australia without a BA (in many countries, that's entirely possible). If you're thinking more along the line of freelancing without a degree or certification, I'd like to warn you that the market has gotten tremendously saturated for most language pairs. When I started dabbling in 2003, I got well-paying jobs through word of mouth. When I started in earnest in 2009, I got a high percentage of the projects I showed an interest in and could quickly start augmenting my fees. Today, with so much more experience, I struggle to get people to pay me my low "just starting out" fees from 2009. If you want to teach, make sure that you CAN teach something other than online tutoring etc. with this degree. Like with translation, a teaching certification is generally an entirely different degree and you might not be able to use these courses, because doing the same courses as part of the teaching track might be slightly different for a variety of reasons. But, if you're moving to France, it's the French need for teachers or tutors in the language of your choice that you need to start researching, and also whether you can use this degree to do that. 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| rdearman Senior Member United Kingdom rdearman.orgRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5225 days ago 881 posts - 1812 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, French, Mandarin | Message 3 of 38 29 January 2015 at 11:40am | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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I have no idea about the Language Degree. But if your long term plans are to move to France and you are a nurse. I suspect that you'll not have any problem gaining employment since having a native English speaker (I would think) would be an advantage to hospitals and doctors offices who have to deal regularly with English speaking tourists. Also teaching English to the French is a possibility with a degree in languages it might be possible to teach English at a University or other venue.
Are you determined to change careers? 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| PeterMollenburg Senior Member AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5465 days ago 821 posts - 1273 votes Speaks: English* Studies: FrenchB1 | Message 4 of 38 29 January 2015 at 12:35pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
Thanks eyðimörk for taking the time to respond, What you say here makes perfect sense, I agree, you're right :) Very logical
This sounds like a reality check. Perhaps it's decent food for thought in that I'm really just suffering from wanderlust here, or being grandiose in thoughts. Perhaps I'm starting to believe in myself a bit too. I don't know really how to analyse this exactly it's a complex issue, but you are definitely giving me some realistic food for thought at least and I do appreciate that.
Good to know :) And thanks for pointing me to BA in Translation.
In Australia if I did a language degree, or a science degree, or humanities, i'd then need to go and do a diploma of education which you can do in one year I believe to enable teaching the topics I have been educated in. Whether this would be similar in other countries I'm not sure. Yes, if I go down this path I'd need to look into what they require in France in terms of teaching expertise in need. Thanks again eyðimörk, this is a very logical reply, cheers, PM 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| PeterMollenburg Senior Member AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5465 days ago 821 posts - 1273 votes Speaks: English* Studies: FrenchB1 | Message 5 of 38 29 January 2015 at 12:49pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
Another logical response, thanks rdearman, No, it's not the case. Having trained outside the EU (Australia). My qualifications would undergo rigorous evaluation. The end result (after ensuring my language skills are more than decent- B2 or C1 I think), I would most likely have to undergo further education - it's unclear as each situation is judged separately but I would need to either do one year extra as a foreign nurse integrating into the French system OR completely start over with my nursing education in France from scratch. That's no bullshit. My wife has a masters in nursing this is NOT recognised at all in France. Not because it's an Australian masters but because they do not have such a thing in France at all. Supposedly I get around all the hurdles and make it into the system. All for what? Where I work in the state of Victoria in Australia the ratios of nurse to patient are some of the most favourable and it's STILL a job that is extremely tough at times and has one of the highest if not the highest rate of burnout of professions in this country. The ratios in France are a far worse. Conditions are not so pleasant I believe. Couple that with the French hierarchial nature and my personality - analytical, and likes to take a bit more time with patients, France does not sound like a place I want to nurse. Then there's the fact that I hold an EU passport as well (Dutch), but my education is Australian so that is what is looked at. One loophole does state that if you nurse in another EU country and are accepted in that EU country into their nursing system then you will (More than likely) be accepted into French system. Okay so I go to the Netherlands, pass a B2 Dutch exam and then attempt to integrate into their system most likely under a 1 yr contract of employment, then go to France... (I don't believe I can go to Uk, as aside from it becoming trickier to get in their as a foreign nurse according to the French rule I need to nurse in the country of which I hold my EU passport before going to France under this specific rule). There is one possibility - Geneva. The working conditions and pay are a lot more favourable and their recognition of Australian qualifications is likely to be much less problematic. This still remains an option. So to answer your question rdearmen, yes I am somewhat willing to go down the nursing path. Perhaps trying to change career and country is a bit much, and perhaps I need to continue in this oh so tired of it career and settle with the country change. The dilemma I have with nursing is I'm not passionate partly because I wasn't so much to begin with and partly because the more I do this profession the more I realise it's a profession (the whole medical system is) in which pharmaceutical money and power dictates how patient's are treated. There are so many natural cures for major diseases that are never allowed to see the light of day because of greed. So the more I remain in nursing the more I have an ethical conflict of interest because I actually do care (i'm not saying others don't, they are just unaware). But yes maybe persuing Geneva should remain on the cards.... PM Edit: I did actually begin to look into the Switzerland (Geneva) option more thoroughly around a year or so ago but then stopped when it felt like someone was slamming the door on that idea as Switzerland voted to cut down on immigration including those border hoppers who live in France for ex. and work in Geneva (exactly what I was thinking of doing). So I put that idea aside and forgot about it. However the EU does NOT like this idea of closing off the free-movement of labour and ppl. It's all bullshit ready - smoke and mirrors. The EU construct (those who initially set it up do NOT care about human life, they only care about ruining cultures and gaining capital for themselves - multinational corps are behind the original EU blueprint - not people. Like in a lot of politics (if not all) they ppl are sold it/persuaded to the idea with a bunch of BS positive sounding rubbish that sees the populace brainwashed and vote for it. Any country that votes against the EU will in the near future have to revote until the big question whatever it may be passes in favour of the EU, any country that votes in favour originally never gets a chance again to vote back out of favour. The EU is a one way street. So let's hope Greece leaves and is not made an example of. As for Switzerland despite what the people voted it looks like they'll have a hard time instigating these changes to immigration and at least border hopping is probably safe). So Geneva is still likely an option, i'd be looking at Annecy for a base if we went down this path. Edited by PeterMollenburg on 29 January 2015 at 2:48pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| eyðimörk Triglot Senior Member France goo.gl/aT4FY7 Joined 4088 days ago 490 posts - 1158 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English, French Studies: Breton, Italian | Message 6 of 38 29 January 2015 at 2:03pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
I hope that I did not discourage you. I'm the last person to make moving internationally out to be a huge deal or tremendously difficult. I just want to emphasis that in order to get there, you have to keep your eyes on the goal. You won't just one day be ready with everything lined up and in place, especially not if you don't plan for it. Plus, time moves quickly. My husband and I used to have this plan to move to France some day in the future when we had set up some passive income streams, which we would do while working in the UK or Ireland, because that was where all the jobs were for me. We said that would take us 5-10 years. Well, I was popping back and forth across the North Sea for job interviews, when I realised that I wouldn't be more prepared for life in France because I'd lived in the UK for a couple of years... so we decided to move to France a.s.a.p. instead. It still took almost three years of work to get to the point where we could move and have an income that we could take with us. It might have taken longer still if I had to improve my language skills, find the right job in the right region, etc. 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| PeterMollenburg Senior Member AustraliaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5465 days ago 821 posts - 1273 votes Speaks: English* Studies: FrenchB1 | Message 7 of 38 29 January 2015 at 2:41pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
Thanks eyðimörk, No I honestly wasn't discouraged. Unfortunately 'tone' and intention behind words is hidden in text. I honestly felt your advice was very logical and I can relate to logic, despite probably seemingly giving off a an air of discouragement. Perhaps that was in part true tho, as like a little kid wanting all the lollies on the shelf, their they don't like to hear the logic in one's point of view, but still instinctively know the advice is probably right. In other words, sigh, you're right and I know it. Having attempted a move already to the Netherlands a few years ago I certainly know what's in still to a certain degree for us. However it's still very easy to lose focus and I think your words tell me to do exactly that - stay focused. They're not discouraging in fact, theyr'e encouraging. Keep my eye on the prize and go for it! That is certainly good advice indeed. So thanks again eyðimörk 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||||||||
| James29 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5364 days ago 1265 posts - 2113 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: French | Message 8 of 38 29 January 2015 at 3:08pm | IP Logged | |||||||||||
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For what it's worth, I read your post and think getting the nursing degree would clearly be the better option. My perspective is based on being in the US so my perspective may be a bit different. That being said, it seems to me that getting the nursing degree and continuing with your self study of languages is clearly the way to go. It just seems to give you so many more viable life opportunities.
When I thought about these things I did not know what I wanted to do long-term so I thought about my degrees (Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate) in terms of which would give me more opportunities (which would open more doors) as my life developed and I figured out what I wanted to do. In retrospect that was the right thing for me. I suggest you think about it like that. A nursing degree is something that is very useful and may open doors you don't even know exist. A language degree seems not much more useful to me than having any Bachelors degree and a tested proficiency in a language. Disclaimer: You are asking for advice from strangers on the internet that you know nothing about so take all advice with a grain of salt. Maybe you could talk to someone you know well and respect and ask their advice too? Edited by James29 on 29 January 2015 at 3:10pm 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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