Engineering Student

[GERS_FAN]

I Plan to start my degree in mechanical engineering this coming October and would like to know if anyone could please tell me if I am worthwhile taking studies in a foreign language. And if so could you please advise me on the most suitable language to take in this career sector. I have been told it would be best to take Italian or German. But if anyone knows a better choice please let me know.

[undercovers]

I guess which language you study will depend on what industry would want to get involved in - why don't you sign up to sites like this http://www.graduateengineer.com/ I believe they have a message board and discussion group - you could try asking people in the field!

a quick google for mechanical engineering forums etc will also give you further areas of discussion as will trade journals

[El D]

I guess that its a toss up between where you want to work and who you want to work for - there are big German engineering companies obviously but a more 'exotic' language will steer you towards those areas.

[ah9815]

It is DEFINITELY worthwhile having a secong language - no matter what that is. I studied just German and work in Germany now. With mechanical engineering on top you will be expanding your experiences, salary and employability.

[gas]

You will be pigeonholed into whatever industry you get your first job in - a change is possible up to your late 20's, but it gets increasingly difficult the more experienced (+ inevitably, specialised) you get - even if you manage to move within your employer, employers in other indusries won't really want you. 

Why is this relevant to your question?  Well, if you want to work in the British railway industry (I did for a few years), languages won't be of much use as it's insular within the UK.  I suspect that most utilities will be the same (except oil + maybe renewable power). For aerospace, French is your best bet; for automotive, do German (French = second choice).

Languages aren't necessary for many eng'g jobs, but speaking it will make your trips more pleasant, and will help you do a good job - eg to talk to technicians / operators, and even silly things like when you get lost on a big site.

Keep an eye on job ads to see what industries link to what countries.  In Europe if you're in an international field, most work is done in English (It's absolutely normal for a whole room full of Germans (or French) to automatically switch to English if a Brit joins their meeting). The foriegn lingo is mainly useful (but even then not essential) if you want to move to another country, especially for day-to-day life.  If you do this, getting your degree recognised may be hard- other EU countries often think our 3-4 year degrees can't be much good compared to their own 4-5-6 year typical HE.

Japanese or Chinese - could really open doors because (unlike in Europe) you can't assume that a professional engineer in China or Japan will speak excellent English.

Also consider a gap year working your way around 2 or 3 European countries - something that gets you talking to locals like being a waiter or hospital porter.

I hope you can find something within this ramble that's of some use!

[gas]

You will be pigeonholed into whatever industry you get your first job in - a change is possible up to your late 20's, but it gets increasingly difficult the more experienced (+ inevitably, specialised) you get - even if you manage to move within your employer, employers in other indusries won't really want you. 

Why is this relevant to your question?  Well, if you want to work in the British railway industry (I did for a few years), languages won't be of much use as it's insular within the UK.  I suspect that most utilities will be the same (except oil + maybe renewable power). For aerospace, French is your best bet; for automotive, do German (French = second choice).

Languages aren't necessary for many eng'g jobs, but speaking it will make your trips more pleasant, and will help you do a good job - eg to talk to technicians / operators, and even silly things like when you get lost on a big site.

Keep an eye on job ads to see what industries link to what countries.  In Europe if you're in an international field, most work is done in English (It's absolutely normal for a whole room full of Germans (or French) to automatically switch to English if a Brit joins their meeting). The foriegn lingo is mainly useful (but even then not essential) if you want to move to another country, especially for day-to-day life.  If you do this, getting your degree recognised may be hard- other EU countries often think our 3-4 year degrees can't be much good compared to their own 4-5-6 year typical HE.

Japanese or Chinese - could really open doors because (unlike in Europe) you can't assume that a professional engineer in China or Japan will speak excellent English.

Also consider a gap year working your way around 2 or 3 European countries - something that gets you talking to locals like being a waiter or hospital porter.

I hope you can find something within this ramble that's of some use!