French or German Degree?

what language do you think is more useful for a career in finance?

(edited 3 years ago)

Hi,

I've just found this article. I'm not sure how old it is, but it seems useful:
https://targetjobs.co.uk/career-sectors/investment-banking-and-investment/418374-speaking-another-language-can-help-you-get-a-graduate-investment

German seems to be mentioned a lot. However, as a languages graduate myself, I strongly encourage you to look beyond career prospects and discover which language intrigues you more on a personal level: do you prefer the culture of one country over the other; how about the way it sounds; which country would you prefer to live in or visit? Language learning becomes such a chore without a love for the language itself.

I hope this helps. Best of luck with the search. :smile:

Reply 2

University of Strathclyde

Official Rep

Original post by Lara19

what language do you think is more useful for a career in finance?

Hey @Lara19 :colondollar:

I agree with @forest3261 here! I'm also a languages grad myself and studied French because I loved the language, rather than just to aim for a certain career. Languages are incredibly useful across the board and in so many different industries! And in my opinion neither of them aren't useful, so study the one you love and will be able to stick with and do well for 3/4 years.

My degree at Strathclyde was in International Business with a Modern Language. As part of my degree we got to specialise in a Business subject as well as a language- so I chose Marketing and French. Every element of the course had an International element to it which I loved! I got the best of being able to study Business as well as my preferred language. Have you looked at similar courses to this yet? You can have a look at our course here if you need a little bit of inspiration.

Let me know what you pick and would love to hear what you've decided!

- Caitlin :h:

Official University of Strathclyde Rep

Reply 3

ad4155

I’ve just thought, how about studying both plus management or business? A few unis offer this, one of which includes Newcastle Uni. It may be worth having a look. Combined honours degrees may also be worth looking at :smile:

Reply 4

Wafa Ali

Original post by Lara19

what language do you think is more useful for a career in finance?

French

Reply 5

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

I don't imagine either specifically is going to be more or less useful than the other (or indeed any other language) for that sector. If you wanted to work in France or Germany then the respective language would be useful, not necessarily for professional purposes but even just for day to day interactions outside of work.

It's usually possible to combine two European languages in an MFL degree, so it's quite possible that you could study both however. German, French, and English make up the official languages of a wide range of NGOs and political institutions in Europe. They're also the primary languages of scholarship for many areas of academia, especially within the humanities.

I'd suggest focusing less on what is "ideal" for the finance sector (a sector which is notorious for not caring at all what subject(s) you studied at uni, and focusing only on a small number of target universities, whose graduates in all subjects they focus targeted recruitment on), and more on which you would find most enjoyable and interesting to study for a degree. Bear in mind also most language degrees will require you to spend a year in a country speaking the target language as well, so think about which countries you may prefer to study in for a year abroad.

Reply 6

chloenix

Why would you study an entire language degree just for a finance career? Pick the language you genuinely enjoy more, otherwise the next few years won't be great.