It goes without saying that knowledge of a second languages can have serious benefits on your career prospects and your chances of getting hired. The USA is a country built on immigration and there is a large percentage of the population who speak English as a second language. The most popular languages in the US are as follows;
1 - English. Considering this is the national language it is obviously the most spoken. It is also the most international language in the world, taking the top spots in the tourism, business and academia, and has become essential to creating business connections worldwide. An extensive knowledge of English is essential to anybody looking to stay or work in the US.
2 - Spanish. Sharing it's borders with Central and Latin America, it comes as no surprise that there is a large demand for Spanish as a second language. There are, in fact, more Spanish speakers in the US now than there are in Spain, according to the New York Post, with more than 41 million native Spanish speakers residing in the US and a further 11.6 million who are bilingual. A report in the US Census Office suggests that by 2050 there may even be up to 138 million Spanish speakers in the US, making it the world's largest Spanish speaking nation with Spanish being the mother tongue of nearly a third of the population. A large percentage of the Spanish speaking population live in Florida and California, however you will always find Spanish speakers in the US and a little bit of knowledge can carry you a long way.
3 - Chinese. Nearly 3 million people in the US speak a Chinese dialect, such as Mandarin or Cantonese, and these figures are quickly increasing. With such a large population and a booming industry, China is quickly becoming a global trading superpower with strong connections worldwide. Most Chinese speakers reside in the larger and more famous cities such as New York, LA and San Francisco.
4 - Tagalog. This is a language that comes from The Phillipines and is spoken by just over 1.5 million people in the US. This figures has tripled in the last three decades and has surprisingly surpassed the demand for Vietnamese and French.
5 - Vietnamese. The number of Vietnamese speakers has had the largest increase in the last few years, and there are currently around 1.5 million speakers in the US.
6 - French. Compared to 1980, there has been a 28% increase in French Speakers in the US. There is a much larger demand for French speakers in Canada which boasts a large French-Canadian population in Quebec and neighbouring cities. The population is denser in the north eastern states, arguably because of the influence from French-Canadian populations in the immediate proximity.
Learning a second language opens up a plethora of different opportunities, both in business and in your personal life. It allows you to possess a larger perspective and can even delay brain disorders such as Alzheimers and Dementia. With the US becoming an increasingly international nation, maybe it's time you picked up your Spanish dictionary to pad out your resume a little more.