You’ve heard rumors about the career benefits of study abroad,
and may have used them to convince yourself to sign up for an
international program. But now you’re sweating a bit and wondering: does it? We are here to assure you, study abroad can, in fact, help your career.
LET’S PAINT A PICTURE
“Hey Mom and Dad. I’ve been thinking a
lot about studying abroad. I can go to {country} for a whole year if I
wanted! It is a little expensive, but it sounds so fun. I can earn
college credit, it’ll help my future career, and {name of friend} is
doing it, too.” - You
“A whole year?!” - Worried Mom
“Okay, okay. I’ll settle for a semester. But check it out: this program looks soooo cool.” - You
Sound familiar?
While you may be guilty of using the employability angle as a way to cinch the deal with your parents, the truth is: study abroad has career benefits and can help you land a job in the future.
Studying abroad is an experience that
allows you to enhance your education and life experiences outside your
comfort zone. As an international student, you’ll be forced to adapt to
life in a foreign culture and overcome obstacles you have never faced
before, which will help you gain immense clarity and ultimately make key
decisions about where you’d like your career to take you.
HOW DOES STUDY ABROAD HELP YOUR CAREER?
How do I love thee study abroad and career development? Let me count the ways...
1. It gives you actual foreign language experience.
While studying abroad, during even in the
simplest of interactions, you will be learning how to communicate in
new ways daily. Depending on the language of your host country, you
might resort to using a hybrid form of the English language, hand
gestures, or a completely new language in your day to day interactions.
You will learn to decipher facial expressions, body language, and
gestures, in order to successfully understand others and communicate
your own opinions, needs, and questions. Whatever method you use to
communicate while studying abroad, you will be developing important cross-cultural communication skills that will undoubtedly help you in your future career.
Having lived and used your foreign language skills internationally, you
will better understand your desire to master the language and decide if
you’d actually like to use these skills in a professional context
someday.
Daily cross-cultural communication will
be essential to your success abroad, and it will teach you how to
interact with people from all different backgrounds. Not to mention,
gaining fluency in another foreign language will improve your
employability. Job opportunities span the gamut - it seems every field
is internationalizing to the point of needing bilingual and trilingual
staff on their payroll. As your communication skills develop, your
cultural knowledge will develop simultaneously, making you a more
culturally sensitive person (and desirable hire!) who is able to be both
more respectful and more understanding toward others.
Haven’t gone abroad yet? Tip for success:
To take your foreign language and communication experience to the next
level, remember to stretch yourself by making small, but challenging
language goals while studying abroad. Perhaps your first level goal will
be to order a cappuccino, your next level goal might be to ask a local
for directions, and finally your end goal might be to give directions to
in the foreign language to a lost visitor.
2. It exposes you to the joys of project management / juggling multiple responsibilities.
In class, at your favorite lunch cafe, or
even as you’re taking a weekend getaway, you’ll be thrown into unknown
and potentially awkward situations. While it’s an exciting time to
experience these novel moments, you may be forced outside of your
comfort zone and feel a stronger need to scrutinize the situation. Are you making the right choice? Is this going to cost a lot of money? How much time is this going to take?
Though it might only be a quick thought
process in your head, the planning, organizing, and overall workflow can
be applied to project management. Having studied abroad, you are now more equipped to handle high intensity, demanding job roles, regardless of the field.
If you love drafting detailed travel
plans, finding unique accommodation, and making suggestions for the
right travel destinations in the best season, you might consider working
at a travel agency or an airline. If you’re seeking a more interactive
role and are a history guru, you might consider becoming a travel guide.
Do you have a love for traveling at sea? You could become a
cruise line worker; contracts range anywhere from a few weeks to a few
months. A less obvious, but equally exciting option might be to become
an executive assistant. As many higher level executives require frequent
travel, you’ll be able to utilize your impressive travel knowledge and
perhaps even travel yourself.
Haven’t gone abroad yet? Tip for success: Always
be thinking two steps ahead. If you aren’t a natural planner, you might
get yourself in a pickle (or two) while navigating your new
international life. Lean on your known support resources (like your
study abroad buddies and on-site director or field staff) to gather
inside knowledge that can alleviate stress. Why work harder when you can
work smarter?
3. You’ll develop an appreciation (and knack) for living away from home.
It’s almost impossible to avoid getting
bit by the travel bug once you’ve been abroad. The aesthetically
pleasing architecture, unfamiliar culture, and distinct mentality will
cause you to crave more. Going on a day trip or hopping over to another
country, you’ll figure out how to get from place to place by either by
doing comprehensive research or by winging it. Though it might be
surprising to you, both options provide great skills for the workforce.
Studying abroad opens your eyes to new
ways of living, both for others and for yourself. Maybe you like the
liberating freedom that comes with living abroad. Maybe you enjoy the
every day challenge that comes from language barriers and subtle
cultural barriers. Maybe you now know that you want to live and work
abroad more permanently someday - a key factor in every young
professional’s job hunt.
Why not try becoming an English teacher
for foreign students? Having the patience and intuitive understanding of
mannerisms you’ve learned from abroad will allow you to become a
successful English teacher. If you’re more focused on the foreign
language itself, there is a huge market for translators and
interpreters. From corporate roles to government careers, you can
potentially work from any location in the world.
Haven’t gone abroad yet? Tip for success: Challenge
yourself to push your comfort zone over the course of your semester
abroad. If you intentionally extend it bit by bit, you will be feeling
like a natural expat before you know it. Challenges can include
wandering by yourself for a day in the city (or traveling solo!), going
to the post office to send a letter home, going grocery shopping at a
nearby market and making your own supper, or gradually befriending more
locals (and less folks from your own country/native language).
4. You will become more independent and refine your decision making skills.
If you’re traveling alone, you’ll gain
self-sufficiency and learn how to think on your feet. On the other hand,
if you’re traveling as a group, you’ll learn how to hear the voices of
others and hone your teamwork skills. Both of these social intelligences
can be transferred to a career in many industries, and strengthen your
capabilities to be a reliable, productive new employee.
Many business decisions are based on
knowledge from compiled research. The action of working through the
minute details of a trip is remarkably similar to details that go into
research reports. If you’re more of a “wing it” traveler, this can
prepare you for the “go with the flow” persona needed in rapidly
changing and high pressure corporate environments.
Though you may not know how to react
automatically, internally you might start to evaluate the scope of the
situation, financial cost involved, and any time-sensitivities.
Eventually, you’ll try to make a decision that minimizes the risk and
optimizes the gain. These circumstances are remarkably similar to the
situations and decisions that you will have to deal with in regularly in
the workplace.
Haven’t gone abroad yet? Tip for success: Take
inventory of your skills prior to studying abroad. If you have a clear
idea of which areas you think you are weak in, based on self-assessment
or critical feedback from others, then you can work more efficiently to
make tangible progress in developing the skills you want.
BONUS SECTION: WHY NOT WORK IN THE FIELD OF STUDY ABROAD?
You’ve become familiar with visas,
international university requirements, program pros and cons, and
cultural nuances. If you’re interested in interacting with students and
helping them pursue their own study abroad dreams, you can become a
study abroad adviser at a university or a private study abroad company.
Later on, you might consider working in a more government-based role as a
foreign service officer or at a consulate. You might take your
marketing know-how to help introduce more students about the magic of
study abroad. You could switch gears to focus on bringing foreign
students to study in your home country versus helping your national
students go elsewhere.
Study abroad career opportunities can be
homegrown from your university campus. Start actively volunteering in
your office or become an ambassador for your study abroad program. The key is to make strong connections in the field prior to the start of your job hunt.
Gather and collect as much information about working in the field as
possible, including job possibilities, professional organizations you
can join (like NAFSA or the Forum on Education Abroad), and, if you’re
lucky, you’ll proactively seek a mentor in the field.
Haven’t gone abroad yet? Tip for success: A
tried and true strategy for getting on the good sight of your study
abroad organization or adviser is to be actively involved from the
gitco. Volunteer to help at recruitment events, blog about your
experiences while you traveling abroad, offer to share your social media
savvy by managing their channels, or offer to give talks on campus to
prospective study abroad students. Be enthusiastic and creatively
participatory!
SEE! YOU’RE MORE READY FOR THE JOB HUNT THAN YOU THOUGHT…
Reminisce the moments of your study
abroad experience that you enjoyed most. Compile a list of your skill
sets, and see how they might apply to certain fields or enhance your
preparedness for a particular career. Then, pinpoint a few career
options that are a mix of what you enjoy doing and what you’re good at.
Even if you don’t realize it in your moments of glee overseas, studying abroad gives you the privilege and adventure of learning new skills that will ultimately help shape your career choice.
Read the full article at goabroad.com
--
If you need help getting started with study abroad, take a
look at the first steps: http://studyabroad.uark.edu/getting-started/first-steps.php.
For scholarships for study abroad, check out http://studyabroad.uark.edu/funding.
