Which language would be more useful in engineering jobs (I already know English and Spanish)?

Question

I attend an awesome liberal arts college and I am thinking of going into engineering. However, I want t learn a third language along the way. Which one should I learn? I was thinking of doing biomedical, mechanical, or computer engineering?

Answer 1

English is the most useful language, because it has the most words, and so, used correctly, can be the most precise. Using English with precision requires knowing more of the many words available (vocabulary) and using the structures of grammar prrecisely and correctly. Latin is a great help in mastering that.

To add a language - you are probably going to find a language more related to WHERE the work takes place than what it is. Japanese or Chinese are probably the most obvious, although Arabic is also a growing option. Although you will find most engineers in those countries speak English, it will be an asset in finding a job and growing in it, ifi you are working in the country, to have a knowledge of the home language. It shows respect (very important in all of those cultures) and helps to balance the general impression that Americans are uneducated and don't care about the rest of the world. (We may not like to hear it, but having lived in much of the world outside the US, I have certainly experienced it.)

So - Latin (to improve your English) and Japanese or Chinese or Arabic. If you are going into an area of engineering that might involve manufacturing - Chinese. Oil production and refining - Arabic. High tech - Japanese. (Obviously none of those are rigid.)

Good luck. The more languages you learn, the better off you will be in a world that is increasingly interdependent.

Answer 2

French! because French people are less likely to learn a different language as they feel their language is the best. Other countries teach their people to read English, so where ever you go in the world, you will find someone who speaks English. In French speaking countries, not so. A lot of scientific and engineering papers are written in French.

Answer 3

English

Answer 4

Japanese, Chinese, or German.

There has been an increase in business with China and Japan, and those two nations are known for their electronics and such. However, German is a very important language in science yet, and I still see a lot of scientific literature in German alone. It has historically been an important language in science, and it is popular still.

Answer 5

If you are looking to work overseas its also best to know Arabic because Abu Dubai, Kuwait, Saudi....etc are all developing their landscapes and American engineers are preferred over others so it doesn't hurt to learn a third language.

Answer 6

For engineering it wouldn't be a bad idea to learn Arabic. Places like Dubai are growing fast, and have been doing very expensive, luxurious projects.

Answer 7

If you have interest in original source documents on the physical laws governing the behavior of materials, much of this research was done my German physicists in the early 1920's.

If you are thinking in terms of job placement in the future, I'd consider Mandarin Chinese.

Answer 8

I would probably guess that German would be the best one since a lot of our words come from German

Answer 9

German engineering

Answer 10

I would say German.