Foreign language jobs are getting paid more and more.
Do you qualify for any foreign language jobs?
Those job seekers with a command of far eastern and local indigenous languages have better salaries awaiting them if their work requires the language.
Adzuna in South Africa has completed research on which foreign language jobs and languages which bring home the bacon best. Chinese/Mandarin, Japanese, Xhosa and Zulu topped the rankings, while Russian and various European languages made up the rest of the top 10.
According to the job aggregator website, being bilingual or knowing a foreign language is a top skill in not only finding a job, but also obtaining work visas when moving to other countries. Some countries also require a certain level of competence in their official language/s.
| Language | Job demand | Average salary |
| Chinese/Mandarin | 203 | R335 863 |
| Japanese | 27 | R335 625 |
| Zulu | 421 | R332 714 |
| Xhosa | 142 | R318 923 |
| French | 453 | R304 378 |
| Finnish | 11 | R301 236 |
| Portuguese | 294 | R298 975 |
| Dutch | 72 | R298 478 |
| Russian | 18 | R280 531 |
| Swedish | 56 | R279 872 |
| German | 563 | R278 064 |
| Norwegian | 31 | R271 734 |
| Arabic | 117 | R264 667 |
| Spanish | 134 | R255 674 |
| Turkish | 37 | R231 047 |
| Swahili | 21 | R198 000 |
| Italian | 127 | R193 976 |
| Afrikaans | 4866 | R176 992 |
A spokesperson for Adzuna added: “Although many of these positions are for call-centre or sales roles, it is interesting to note that South African languages, which were added into the mix researched, showed promising results.”
Strong demand for French, Portuguese and German was noted, with the top South African language required being Afrikaans. English was not included in the research results as it was deemed ubiquitous. The least required language measured was Finnish.
With a growing international presence and more BPO (business process outsourcing) companies entering South Africa, the demand and salaries for foreign language abilities is set to only move one way: up.