Which is best for consulting?

Hi,

just wanted to get peoples' opinions on which it is the best to do (as a second year undergrad) if I have to chose one.

a) get a job (bearing in mind the limited types of jobs one is eligible for with only one year of uni experience)
b) learn a new language (i.e. german, russian, arabic, french etc.)
c) anything else? (suggestions?)

from a consulting point of view of course. To me it seems that learning a new language is much better in the long run but how will a consulting firm see the matter?

cheers

 
F. Ro Jo:
you'll never learn a language well enough.

I disagree. There's no doubt that you won't master a language in 2 or 3 years time but if you pick up some conversational skills that will benefit you in the long run. At the very least, you will show businesses that you are a well rounded individual. Just don't pick a tough language like Arabic or Mandarin and expect to learn anything if you're not dedicated.

 
mdk0102:
F. Ro Jo:
you'll never learn a language well enough.

I disagree. There's no doubt that you won't master a language in 2 or 3 years time but if you pick up some conversational skills that will benefit you in the long run. At the very least, you will show businesses that you are a well rounded individual. Just don't pick a tough language like Arabic or Mandarin and expect to learn anything if you're not dedicated.

It's a worthwhile pursuit to learn a language, but it will add zero value to his CV until it's business fluent.

 
PorcineAviation:
mdk0102:
F. Ro Jo:
you'll never learn a language well enough.

I disagree. There's no doubt that you won't master a language in 2 or 3 years time but if you pick up some conversational skills that will benefit you in the long run. At the very least, you will show businesses that you are a well rounded individual. Just don't pick a tough language like Arabic or Mandarin and expect to learn anything if you're not dedicated.

It's a worthwhile pursuit to learn a language, but it will add zero value to his CV until it's business fluent.

this is what I've been sort of suspecting and really dreading. the key difference, I guess, is that getting a job will add some value to my CV immediately... therein lies the dilemma.

 
Best Response
PorcineAviation:
mdk0102:
F. Ro Jo:
you'll never learn a language well enough.

I disagree. There's no doubt that you won't master a language in 2 or 3 years time but if you pick up some conversational skills that will benefit you in the long run. At the very least, you will show businesses that you are a well rounded individual. Just don't pick a tough language like Arabic or Mandarin and expect to learn anything if you're not dedicated.

It's a worthwhile pursuit to learn a language, but it will add zero value to his CV until it's business fluent.

I don't totally agree with this. Taking 4 semesters of Chinese will do little to help you become business conversant in a language, but if you show a long history and dedication to a language (IE pursuing a major in a language, studying abroad, etc) it can really help build your "story" when talking to recruiters. I have taken German for a number of years and am far from fluent, but have studied in Europe long-term on two separate occasions and can hold intelligent conversations with people. Will I ever use the language in a business context? I certainly hope not for my sake, but it has definitely helped me stand out when people look at my resume.

 

yea but i'm just scared that a future employer might say:

"what the hell, this is crap, you should have been working all this time!" (not planning to go without a job for 3 years ofc but maybe 1 or 1 and a half years and then combine it with language studies)

 

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