Bilingual jobs: Foreign-language careers on rise

November 26, 2012|By Jason Lee | Tribune Media Services
  • The demand for foreign language skills creates opportunities for language students and their teachers.
The demand for foreign language skills creates opportunities for language students and their teachers. (Tribune Media Services photo)

Bilingual? Bye, unemployment!

Fourteen years ago, Leslie Lancry founded Language Stars, a Chicago-based foreign language education program for children. The effort started modestly, with just one classroom and 15 students.

Fast-forward to 2012, and how things have changed. Today, Language Stars educates more than 10,000 students from four states and Washington, D.C., at more than 20 locations and in dozens of schools. The company has plans to expand nationwide.

As the U.S. economy has become globalized and more industries have put a premium on foreign language skills for potential employees, Lancry has seen explosive growth in the demand for multilingual education at an early age.

"The world is getting smaller, and employment trends are a sign of that," she says. "I think there are a lot of parents looking at their children's futures and see (learning a second language) as a worthy investment."

While Spanish is understandably stressed as the most important language for Americans of any age to learn, the rise of China as an economic power has thrust Mandarin into the limelight.  "It is our fastest-growing language," Lancry says.

Regardless of your age, it's never too late to add a skill that will boost your employment prospects and possibly your paycheck. The need for employees with foreign language skills is only expected to grow in the next 10 years, and there are many fields where being bilingual can have a real bearing on your candidacy.

Health care

Many medical facilities are in need of multilingual personnel to communicate often-complicated information with patients and their families, especially in emergencies. Registered nurses, home health aides and paramedics are the health care fields most often in need of bilingual workers.


Being a teacher in America can expose you to many different cultures. Walk into nearly any classroom from elementary to graduate schools, and you'll likely find students from multilingual households. Also, with the rise in demand for multilingual education, those who can teach foreign languages are also hot commodities.

Customer Service/Hospitality

When dealing with people who may be from foreign countries, either on the phone or at a hotel's front desk, knowing a second language can be a huge asset. Customers and tourists appreciate being able to communicate with customer service and hospitality workers in their native language, making you more attractive to employers.


Many government agencies are recruiting and rewarding bilingual workers with extra pay. While Spanish is the language most in demand, Chinese, Arabic and Russian speakers are also especially needed in various parts of government. Whether gathering intelligence for a government agency, working for a foreign embassy or serving as a translator, there are many bilingual opportunities in public service.


As the U.S. economy has grown increasingly global, employees in the financial industry are dealing with customers and clients who use various currencies and speak many different languages. Learning another language can give you an advantage and make you much more valuable to multinational companies.

Information technology

The impact of outsourcing on the tech industry has led to a great need for those who possess foreign language skills. It's important for technology firms to limit language barriers when managing large projects that often have an international workforce and span various countries, where clear and concise communication of highly technical work is key.

Social services

Social work is one of the fastest growing careers in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Social workers help people overcome some of life's most difficult challenges, such as poverty, abuse and addiction, so being able to communicate clearly and have strong cultural awareness are vitally important.

Law enforcement

Law enforcement is another field where learning a second language could earn you a pay raise. Many police agencies see great value in hiring officers who can speak a second language, especially when investigating crimes, interviewing witnesses or responding to emergencies.