most useful language to learn?

[Warrior]

Arabic - you can make almost 200k per year overseas if you can pick up formal and a few other dialects... you'd be safer in this line of work if you weren't a real light skinned white guy too I am guessing that Arabic intel gathering will be an issue for many more years than the Russian stuff was...

[JDawg1536]

yup, all the linguists in the service are set when they get out.

[max2extreme]

yup, all the linguists in the service are set when they get out.

thats the truth. and we go to the absolute best linguistic school in the world. Honestly, if you are reading this thread and you want to do linguistics for career, JOIN THE MILITARY! Be a linguist. You also get (and must be able to get) a top secret clearance, which is your meal ticket. Do your 4 years (1-2 years of which will be school, which is more like a college than military training) and then get out if you dont like military and work as a civilian. you'd be set for life, plus you're college is paid for. if you have any questions, start a thread called DLI or pm me. thats what I did.

[skinnyhb]

Arabic - you can make almost 200k per year overseas if you can pick up formal and a few other dialects... you'd be safer in this line of work if you weren't a real light skinned white guy too I am guessing that Arabic intel gathering will be an issue for many more years than the Russian stuff was...

ya, i thought about that too. my school doesn't have a year long Arabic program. just one this summer that i can't make because of vacation stuff. and ya, im probably the whitest guy ever and i can't grow a beard either. i would stick out in the middle east like a sore thumb.

[JDawg1536]

ya, i thought about that too. my school doesn't have a year long Arabic program. just one this summer that i can't make because of vacation stuff. and ya, im probably the whitest guy ever and i can't grow a beard either. i would stick out in the middle east like a sore thumb.

Irish pride baby...... Just learn to speak the native tongue.

[max2extreme]

Arabic - you can make almost 200k per year overseas if you can pick up formal and a few other dialects... you'd be safer in this line of work if you weren't a real light skinned white guy too I am guessing that Arabic intel gathering will be an issue for many more years than the Russian stuff was...

not quite. first they dont just pick up someone to go do intel gathering just because they speak arabic. most of that is done thru the military or the "3 letter" organizations, and you must be fluent, AND work for one of them..and you also need a ts clearance, which is a long and expensive process so why pay for someone to get a it when they can hire someone who just got out of the military who is fluent in arabic and already has a ts clearance? There are maybe a few contracted jobs, but they are highly experienced, probably retired military that went to DLI. And they dont make 200k, and in country intel gathering is not safe. Sorry it seems like im disagreeing whole heartedly with your post bro, dont take offense... but its not so simple.

[Warrior]

not quite. first they dont just pick up someone to go do intel gathering just because they speak arabic. most of that is done thru the military or the "3 letter" organizations, and you must be fluent, AND work for one of them..and you also need a ts clearance, which is a long and expensive process so why pay for someone to get a it when they can hire someone who just got out of the military who is fluent in arabic and already has a ts clearance? There are maybe a few contracted jobs, but they are highly experienced, probably retired military that went to DLI. And they dont make 200k, and in country intel gathering is not safe. Sorry it seems like im disagreeing whole heartedly with your post bro, dont take offense... but its not so simple.

Haha - do you work in the Middle East? I have for several years now. I know of some pretty retarded (not your sharpest tacks) Arabic "heritage speakers"... born overseas but were naturalized American. Because they were naturalized they can pick up the minimal requirement of a SECRET clearance. And those guys get paid big bank all over the Gulf... in Iraq they can get close to 200k. Talk about a break, from immigrant blue-collar to an instant high roller!

To be a linguist you should know more than one dialect... Farsi is a plus too... and French will help but not really necessary (North African Arabic can be heavy in French). If all you know is formal - they can still use you... I can think of a dozen contractor companies off the top of my head... MPRI, Titan, SMC, Worldwide, ... and some localy owned companies in the region - or civilian jobs with the 3 letter organizations. Contractors get paid more money - but civilians have more job security. There was a pay cut in January for a lot of the linguist jobs in the region outside the combat zone - but they still clear very good money. Right now, knowing Arabic is a good commodity.

Mandarin (Chinease) will also, more than likely, become an asset in the future...

[max2extreme]

Haha - do you work in the Middle East? I have for several years now. I know of some pretty retarded (not your sharpest tacks) Arabic "heritage speakers"... born overseas but were naturalized American. Because they were naturalized they can pick up the minimal requirement of a SECRET clearance. And those guys get paid big bank all over the Gulf... in Iraq they can get close to 200k. Talk about a break, from immigrant blue-collar to an instant high roller!

not currently. but been there.

200k is high pay even for middle east. Or are you factoring in that someone makes $120k, but $85k is tax free, so its like $200k? and the jobs you mentioned, are not jobs that skinny would be able to do anyway, him not being middle eastern or 100% fluent able to blend in exactly as a local. It is very high paying, but $200k, $85k tax free is very high end.

To be a linguist you should know more than one dialect... Farsi is a plus too... and French will help but not really necessary (North African Arabic can be heavy in French). If all you know is formal - they can still use you... I can think of a dozen contractor companies off the top of my head... MPRI, Titan, SMC, Worldwide, ... and some localy owned companies in the region - or civilian jobs with the 3 letter organizations. Contractors get paid more money - but civilians have more job security. There was a pay cut in January for a lot of the linguist jobs in the region outside the combat zone - but they still clear very good money. Right now, knowing Arabic is a good commodity.

Mandarin (Chinease) will also, more than likely, become an asset in the future...

basically skinny, what me and warrior are talking about, you will not get without a clearance anyway, so unless you plan on going this route, you need to plan ahead and do something to get a clearance... otherwise, as someone not majoring in linguistics, just taking a year of a language, it wont get you nowhere except like someone said earlier, cool points.

[Warrior]

not currently. but been there.

200k is high pay even for middle east. Or are you factoring in that someone makes $120k, but $85k is tax free, so its like $200k? and the jobs you mentioned, are not jobs that skinny would be able to do anyway, him not being middle eastern or 100% fluent able to blend in exactly as a local. It is very high paying, but $200k, $85k tax free is very high end.

Okay, not literally but close... more like 152-184k - and that is take home with the first 80k tax free. I have heard of some Titan linguist making around 204k - but like I said, there was a pay cut this year so that may have changed too.

Basically, if you just begun studying Arabic today and learned the basics of the grammer... and could at least one other dialect as well as formal Arabic - you could become a supervisor of a linguist project pretty easily... espcially one overseeing foreign national linguists... reviewing their translations and what not... quality-control type stuff. Those frequently pay over 100k per year...