Because of its central role in the global economy, even basic Mandarin skills can help you open doors - and close deals - across a wide range of business careers. If your company has an international supply chain, or sells into global markets, there’s a good chance that speaking Mandarin will create new opportunities by enabling communication with Chinese business owners in their native language.
If you achieve fluency in Mandarin speech, writing, and grammar, you can pursue an exciting career as an interpreter or translator. Helping Chinese business, political, and cultural leaders communicate effectively in English - and for English-speaking businessmen, politicians, and artists get their message across in Mandarin - can be rewarding work full of travel and meeting interesting people. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, interpreters and translators earned a median annual salary of $51,830 in 2019, and economic globalization is expected to drive faster-than-average growth in these jobs.
