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Is learning Chinese THAT useful?

Everyone says that Chinese is good to learn and that it will be important. But is it really that advantageous in terms of career opportunities? Or would it really only be helpful in international business?

I am very interested in learning Chinese, but my aunt discouraged me once, saying that I'd have little advantage even in international business. Since most Chinese people study English ever since they're young, there'd be little incentive in hiring me (native English + mediocre Chinese) over them (native Chinese + fluent English). And in America, there are plenty of Chinese immigrants with bilingual fluency already.

Another thing is that if I were to learn Chinese abroad, I'd rather study in Taiwan than China...but would that beat the whole point? I'd eventually plan to learn Simplified as well, though! Thanks a lot in advance!


10月12日 | 69 views
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  • KyleG

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    No one is addressing the elephant in the room: if you live in the US, are not Asian, and have even a rudimentary knowledge of Chinese, almost everyone (who isn't Asian) you meet in your professional life will immediately assume you're a genius. You decide whether you want people who have hiring/firing power over you to assume you're a genius.

    Chinese and Japanese in particular have a reputation among Westerners for being impossible languages to learn. This is why the genius assumption is made.


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  • colorless_green_idea

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    Its useful if you are living in China.

    If you can get to a working professional proficiency, it could be useful and even an asset.

    Knowing how to order mapo doufu in a restaurant and saying "China is very interesting" for pats on the head won't cut it, unfortunately.

    I'll put it this way, if you are only interested in career opportunities, you'll have to put in a solid 4 years abroad studying full time to get to professional working proficiency. Not only is there not guarantee that will lead to anything (you need a skill coupled with your language ability to be marketable), but you could have spent that four years doing something else and acquiring a skill that gets even more money. More likely than not, your Chinese will just end up being an occasional parlor trick.

    If you are just interested in whats gonna get you a high paying job for your time investment, go learn to weld and work on oil rigs. Half the time for triple the income potential.


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