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 Language Learning Forum : Advice Center |  | |
| culebrilla Senior Member United States Joined 4002 days ago 246 posts - 436 votes  Speaks: Spanish | Message 9 of 24 29 December 2013 at 12:17am | IP Logged | |||||
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Here in the US you would just study law. :)
A lot of law students majored in political science as college students. Aside from another language which, I really don't think will help you with your job situation, can you study something else that you like? Will your political science classes "count" for a more advanced degree in a masters or doctoral program? I'm probably much more pragmatic and practical than most folks here so I would really just recommend doing something to help you get a job or have a business. Professional degree programs (law, medicine, engineering, pharmacy) are very stable... 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 4087 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 10 of 24 29 December 2013 at 12:55am | IP Logged | |||||
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A language (apart from English) will only increase your employment prospects in the
country where that language is spoken. And there, you need at least a C1. Unless you are planning to emigrate to a different country, I agree with culebrilla. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4914 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 11 of 24 29 December 2013 at 1:50am | IP Logged | |||||
I am guessing you studied what you wanted to, and did the work which interested you. That's the key to being satisfied in work. Find what you like, and find a way to make money out of it. I love books, so I am full of respect for you running a 2nd hand bookstore. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| 1e4e6 Octoglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4295 days ago 1013 posts - 1588 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Italian Studies: German, Danish, Russian, Catalan | Message 12 of 24 29 December 2013 at 2:08am | IP Logged | |||||
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In the UK, law (as well as medicine) is an undergraduate degree. This explains why there
are 20-21 year old lawyers, and 22-23 year old doctors. LLB (law) and MBChB (medicine) are usually not studied at postgraduate level if I remember correctly. Working in a different country requires a different language, and EU citizens probably have the easiest immigration regulations for living in the Eurozone countries, so it helps tremendously. I had classmates who have lived in three or four countries both during and after graduation (including the UK itself). Edited by 1e4e6 on 29 December 2013 at 2:09am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| culebrilla Senior Member United States Joined 4002 days ago 246 posts - 436 votes Speaks: Spanish | Message 13 of 24 29 December 2013 at 2:39am | IP Logged | |||||
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Well, you guys call it an "undergraduate" degree but you still need six years of post HS education to get your MD, I believe. So the foreign doctors that I know, whether from Mexico or Europe, are usually 24 when they finish medicine. Here we get our doctorate of medicine when we are 26; two years after you guys. In case you didn't know we have four years of college (18-22) followed by four years of medicine (22-26). Then residency, which lasts 3-7 years. (29-33). Law is three years after college, so lawyers in the US are 25 when they finish.
I'm not saying that learning new languages is not helpful, but it is very inefficient in terms of earning a living, which really should be our first focus in life. If you can't provide for yourself or your family, you're in trouble. Once you have a stable job then the hobbies can be entertained. If the OP decided to learn German to a high level, let's say 5,000 hours, he could have gotten a two years masters in that time to help himself a LOT professionally. In contrast, the economic utility of speaking good German WITHOUT any other meangingful skills is fairly dubious. 5 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| 1e4e6 Octoglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4295 days ago 1013 posts - 1588 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Italian Studies: German, Danish, Russian, Catalan | Message 14 of 24 29 December 2013 at 9:59am | IP Logged | |||||
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In the UK, and I think Ireland as well, the MBChB is five years. I did not enter
medicine, but I entered university at 17. My mother also entered university at 17 years of age. So if a MBChB student enters at 17, I suppose that s/he could graduate at 22 as a new doctor. There is no residency, as the course covers everything if I remember correctly. I think that law is three years, but I may be wrong because I never applied for anything related to law. I suppose that a 17 year old LLB student could graduate at 20 as lawyer technically. I had some acquaintances in university who were in the process of learning languages in addition to the three or four that they already had. I remember one woman who was in my society, from Norway, who knew English, French, and German, and went to university in the Netherlands and then postgraduate in the UK and now I think works in France. Then there was a Belgian woman whom I met at a society dinner who knew English, French, Dutch, German, and Spanish and was learning Portuguese and Swedish during the summer term breaks of her course. I am not sure why, but she already had quite a lot of languages already. I wish I had their language skills. Edited by 1e4e6 on 29 December 2013 at 10:01am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Hungringo Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 3993 days ago 168 posts - 329 votes Speaks: Hungarian*, English, Spanish Studies: French | Message 15 of 24 29 December 2013 at 12:27pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Thank you all for taking the time to answer my questions and address my doubts. I'll heed your advice and will concentrate on my Spanish and will try to move from C1 to C2. Perhaps by attaining near-native fluency I could get into teaching.
Of course, I still might study other languages, especially French and German, even if it is just for fun and personal satisfaction. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
 emk Diglot Moderator United States Joined 5537 days ago 2615 posts - 8806 votes Speaks: English*, FrenchB2 Studies: Spanish, Ancient Egyptian Personal Language Map | Message 16 of 24 29 December 2013 at 1:14pm | IP Logged | |||||
I agree with culebrilla that languages are typically of little professional use to an English speaker in an English-speaking country. (Although putting 1,000 hours into Spanish might pay off quite well in certain professions.) However, I disagree about one thing: Putting off language study until your "hobbies can be entertained" more responsibly. As Khatzumoto points out, that time will never come. Here's a sample:
For those who dream of learning a language, you might as well start now. It's certainly not going to get any easier to find time as you get older. I know a wonderful retired 70-year-old who'd love to speak French, but who still thinks that next year will be a better time to start Assimil. 6 persons have voted this message useful |
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