Chemical Forums

Specialty Chemistry Forums => Chemical Education and Careers => Topic started by: kamiyu on July 25, 2016, 04:51:57 PM

Title: Learning French, worth doing or not?
Post by: kamiyu on July 25, 2016, 04:51:57 PM

I am about to graduate with a Chemistry PhD degree and I am wondering if learning French is helpful in my future career, no matter academia or industry.

thanks

Title: Re: Learning French, worth doing or not?
Post by: Corribus on July 26, 2016, 10:18:43 AM

Learning another language is always valuable. But if you're looking for professional utility, there are probably better languages to learn.

Title: Re: Learning French, worth doing or not?
Post by: Mitch on July 26, 2016, 10:56:54 AM

French doesn't strike me as useful as German, Japanese, and someday Chinese would.

Title: Re: Learning French, worth doing or not?
Post by: Enthalpy on July 27, 2016, 06:13:57 AM

Little chemical industry is still alive in France (and little industry at all). A bit in Belgium. I can't tell for Québec. As opposed, Germany has a strong chemical industry, and the Swiss chemical industry speaks German (and the Schwyzertütsch dialect).

Have a look at Wikipedia: the German pages bring information that the English may lack, while this is very uncommon with the French ones.

Besides the University, a nice place to learn German are the Goethe-Institut. Excellent, affordable. The French equivalent would be Alliance française (and the Spanish one Instituto Cervantes, just in case). Private courses, not sponsored by a government, are unaffordable.