Have you ever asked yourself the question of how learning Spanish can make you richer?
As an entrepreneur myself, when I plan on generating investment out of my time and/or money, I need to first run a historical analysis of the ROI (Return Of Investment), i.e. what I will get back in return.
And, in your case, as a student learning Spanish, you should take a pause and ask yourself this question:
What can I get from my investment (time and/or money) in learning Spanish?
One of the many benefits of learning a new language, such as Spanish, is the ability to connect with other people. In addition, learning a new language can improve your cognitive skills, in addition to healthy ageing, give you a sense of accomplishment, and boost your confidence. It can also help you better understand the culture of a country where the language is spoken and make it easier for you to communicate with locals. All of these (wonderful) benefits are intangible and subjective to each individual.
In addition to the social and cognitive benefits, learning a new language can also have practical advantages in a globalised world. The demand for multilingual employees is on the rise, and being fluent in a second language can increase your job opportunities and potentially even your salary. Would you like to know more on how learning Spanish can make you richer? Keep reading!
It goes without saying that being bilingual or multilingual opens many more doors for you in today’s job market. However, not all of these job opportunities come with a higher salary. For example, think of the language teacher who speaks two or more languages and desires to experience working abroad. This adventure will help him open up his personal world, gain contacts and professional experience… But, let’s be honest, you’re not going to get rich working as a Spanish teacher in China (for example).
However, we can put together numbers and see how learning Spanish can make you richer. The prestigious newspaper The Economist has published a study under the title “Johnson: What is a foreign language worth?” in which he analyses the value in American dollars of the ability to speak a second or third language.
The conclusion of this study is that those workers who are able to speak more than one language, depending on the language, can earn from USD 67,000 to USD 128,000 extra throughout their professional life.
This data was calculated based on a Freakonomics podcast that determined foreign language knowledge increases salaries by 2 percent. The team at The Economist argued they failed to properly account for compound interest. With the assumption of a $45,000 average starting salary of a university grad, plus a 1 percent salary increase per year and a 2 percent real return over 40 years, that would amount to an extra $67,000 earned by retirement age.
That $128,000 figure accounted for the fact that not all languages are valued the same (2 percent is the average). Knowing German can earn a premium of 3.8 percent, which then amounts to an extra $128,000 earned by retirement age (Stepth Koyfan, Babbel.com).
Other organisations have tried to quantify the difference in salary that speaking more than one language can make. Bric Language Systems CEO Ryan McMunn has found that speaking more than one language can boost your salary by 10-15%. And according to salary.com, bilingual employees earn 5-20% more per hour, depending on language and career field.
As members of the millennial generation (born between 1980 and 1995), those of us who are now between the ages of 40 and 30 have first-hand experience of the disadvantage of being monolingual in an increasingly globalised market. Speaking a second or third language can be a significant competitive advantage in this environment.
Therefore, it is becoming increasingly common for there to be bilingual schools in our cities, and many parents choose to educate their children (the so-called generation Z) in a bilingual school if they are able to do so.
Globalisation has also led to an increase in the number of couples with parents of different nationalities who have the opportunity to raise their children in a bilingual environment from birth.
Therefore, if you choose Spanish as a second language for you or your children (with almost 550 million speakers in more than 20 countries), we will see which careers will reap a higher ROI in terms of a higher salary.
Comparing various sources, authors and articles, these are the 11 careers in which, in terms of salary, you can see how learning Spanish can make you richer:
You can see in detail the information and the new professions that are emerging within these professional fields in our article “11 High-Paying Career Options For Spanish Speakers In 2023”.
Now that you have seen how learning Spanish makes you richer (literally) and gives you a competitive advantage in the job market, you can lay the foundations to start learning Spanish in a serious and consistent way.
In your Spanish learning plan, the resource that you are going to invest in, at the least, is time. On the internet there are many free resources that you can access and if you are well organised and have the willpower, you can do it yourself.
At Your Spanish Hub, we have thought about your time and offer you excellent quality resources. In our Membership Programme you will find specific 30-minute courses, ordered by level and by skill (vocabulary, grammar, spelling and pronunciation), with 10-minute videos where the Your Spanish Hub teachers explain the lesson and with 4 or 5 Self-correcting activities for you to practise on your own.
If you prefer to learn with a native and accredited tutor, we also offer you our catalogue of Spanish Classes. In addition, with your classes with a teacher you have free access to all the courses of the Membership Programme.
As you can see, just like you, we have also thought about how you can get the most out of the time and money you invest in yourself and your future.
