4 answers
Lily
Student
Conrad, IA
3
Questions
Asked
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do you have any career advice for someone who likes to work with people and be hands one with different languages and cultures?
I am a seventeen year old senior who likes to learn about world history and cultures.
#career-planning
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4 answers
Andrew Stutz
Product Management
15
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Andrew’s Answer
I also enjoy this and during college worked in our study-abroad department advising students on study-abroad opportunities! Loved working with people and sharing my experiences living / studying / working abroad!
Gloria Ortiz
Instructional Designer
845
Answers
Irving, Texas
Updated
Gloria’s Answer
Hi Lily,
I am in Learning and Development and there are a lot of jobs within this field where travel is a part of the job. I am an Instructional Designer, so I do not travel as much as my fellow instructors. In my role, I would travel around the world to do audience and job analysis as a precursor to creating training. I have traveled to many different countries, working for various industries. It is also a great job for working from home and that makes it great to work from anywhere.
I also like working for companies that are large and with international impacts, because the world becomes your travel landscape. When I worked with an online travel company, I went to 10 new countries that I had not visited before including Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Egypt, Germany, England, and the Netherlands. If you speak a second language, any language, you increase your chances of being tagged for travel over those who only speak English.
I am a big history buff. I must admit that seeing Big Ben, the Tower of London, and the Colosseum for the first time was very emotional for me. Also visiting a culture that I didn't know was amazing. When I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, I learned about the nine families take turns being king in 5-year rules. It was fascinating to learn that from a local who was my driver. Learning from the locals is the best for me.
Some advice for you - learn about other cultures ahead of traveling to those countries. Learn about cultures. There is a cool app from Culture Wizard (https://www.rw-3.com/) that can give you some cultural insights that you might want to consider when traveling. It asks for your home country and the country you will be traveling to. It gives you a comparison of the countries on certain factors and how you may need to change your behavior to be successful in that country. It has a cost, but it is very worthwhile when you begin traveling. I would also recommend that you study cultural differences and learn about them regularly. Some books you might want to read include: Global Dexterity by Andy Molinsky, Managing Across Cultures by Solomon and Schell, and Cultural Agility by Paula Caliguri among many others.
Many of the challenges that I have had working internationally come from cultural misunderstandings. It can be easy to offend in other cultures with the ways that Americans do things. You need to avoid misunderstandings as much as possible and understand how to apologize when it inevitably happens.
International travel, especially for business, can be fun and rewarding. It just takes a bit more preparation and effort to make it happen that way. Good luck on your international travels.
Gloria
I am in Learning and Development and there are a lot of jobs within this field where travel is a part of the job. I am an Instructional Designer, so I do not travel as much as my fellow instructors. In my role, I would travel around the world to do audience and job analysis as a precursor to creating training. I have traveled to many different countries, working for various industries. It is also a great job for working from home and that makes it great to work from anywhere.
I also like working for companies that are large and with international impacts, because the world becomes your travel landscape. When I worked with an online travel company, I went to 10 new countries that I had not visited before including Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Egypt, Germany, England, and the Netherlands. If you speak a second language, any language, you increase your chances of being tagged for travel over those who only speak English.
I am a big history buff. I must admit that seeing Big Ben, the Tower of London, and the Colosseum for the first time was very emotional for me. Also visiting a culture that I didn't know was amazing. When I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, I learned about the nine families take turns being king in 5-year rules. It was fascinating to learn that from a local who was my driver. Learning from the locals is the best for me.
Some advice for you - learn about other cultures ahead of traveling to those countries. Learn about cultures. There is a cool app from Culture Wizard (https://www.rw-3.com/) that can give you some cultural insights that you might want to consider when traveling. It asks for your home country and the country you will be traveling to. It gives you a comparison of the countries on certain factors and how you may need to change your behavior to be successful in that country. It has a cost, but it is very worthwhile when you begin traveling. I would also recommend that you study cultural differences and learn about them regularly. Some books you might want to read include: Global Dexterity by Andy Molinsky, Managing Across Cultures by Solomon and Schell, and Cultural Agility by Paula Caliguri among many others.
Many of the challenges that I have had working internationally come from cultural misunderstandings. It can be easy to offend in other cultures with the ways that Americans do things. You need to avoid misunderstandings as much as possible and understand how to apologize when it inevitably happens.
International travel, especially for business, can be fun and rewarding. It just takes a bit more preparation and effort to make it happen that way. Good luck on your international travels.
Gloria
Tugce Erten
Pricing, Operations, and Analytics
3
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Tugce’s Answer
There are many paths that you can take with that interest. You can pursue academia (e.g. Professor, researcher, etc.) , art (e.g. curator), work in study abroad programs (e.g. instructor, facilitator, other staff members), or trade. I once met a lawyer who split her time between NYC, Venice and Paris. So there are no real limits to careers or majors you could pursue. It's how you implement them in your life.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.
Lily
Alena Bennett Turner
Supply Chain Analyst
2
Answers
Raleigh, North Carolina
Updated
Alena Bennett’s Answer
Hi Lily, I work in Supply Chain and I would recommend you look into that field! I get to work with people all across the globe and create relationships with them. There are many jobs within the supply chain area and I would suggest looking into purchasing jobs as those tend to have a lot of relationship building and interactions with many cultures.
https://www.logisticsbureau.com/jobs-and-career-paths-in-supply-chain-and-logistics/
Alena Bennett recommends the following next steps: