To the Student
Pensez-vous à votre avenir ?
Ms. Brown used her knowledge of French
to become a conference interpreter for
the UN Development Program.
Médecins sans Frontières recruits medical
professionals who speak French to
help African countries such as the Ivory
Coast.
A career using French may be in your future. Combining your French skills with training in a
profession of your choice may open doors when entering the workforce. With a degree in
law, medicine, or political science you could work as a lawyer in international law or as a
paralegal, be a doctor or nurse working for Médecins Sans Frontières, or work for a Non-
Governmental Organization (NGO) in a francophone country. You might choose to teach
English in a francophone country, or apply for a Fulbright Teacher Exchange in a francophone
location. French speakers are in high demand for all Peace Corps assignment sectors right
now including: environment, agriculture, health, business, education, and community/youth
development. There are also jobs in the foreign service, a branch of the government that offers
diplomatic services overseas in embassies and consulates.
Universities such as Thunderbird in Arizona prepare students for jobs in business and French.
You could work for an American company with a presence in France like 3M, Bank of America,
or Hewlett-Packard, or for a French company with a presence in the United States such as Air
France (air travel), Accor (hotels), or L’Oréal (cosmetics). According to Bloomberg Rankings,
French is the second most useful language in the world for business, after English. You might
want to apply for un stage, or apprenticeship, at a company while in college or right after
you’ve earned your degree. You might consider working as an insurance agent, banker, financial
services provider, public relations specialist, or marketing director using your French.
If you’re interested in communications, there are jobs as reporters, production assistants,
news anchors, book editors, translators, or editors and proofreaders. The areas of hospitality
and recreation offer jobs such as tour guides, sales coordinators, and museum tour guides.
Whatever job you’re interested in pursuing, think about positioning yourself in a company,
agency, or NGO with your bilingual skills.
This year you will learn about French history, more francophone travel destinations, French
companies and luxury products, famous French singer-songwriters, and much more! Bonne
continuation as you continue your learning about French language and francophone cultures!
Recherche : careers in french, thunderbird, state department, careerinsider/vault,
concordia language villages, gale’s public relations career directory
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