ywjjlove

I'm an international relations major, planning to choose either Chinese or Japanese as my second major (I'm currently taking both). I plan to study abroad next year (as a junior) but can't decide between China and Japan. If I followed my heart, I would be going to Japan because of my love for the language and culture. However, people are telling me that China would look better on my resume since its economy is growing and would likely offer more opportunities.

Which country is better for my major, and which country is more likely to help me succeed in the future?

MutaRiSC

I would pick China.

But why not Korea?

BlueJayBJ

If you like Japanese go with Japanese. Asian languages for English speakers are languages that need full time devotion to get to any degree of fluency. Also I don't know where you study international relations or if the program has a strong Asia aspect but no IR professional would talk about the economy of China like it's still an unstoppable beast. In fact BRIC is already passé. Also putting an Asian language on your resume won't help as much as you think it will unless you can work 100% in the environment. If you wanted to work in Asia and use Japanese the Boston Japan Career Fair would be a good thing to look. Just go with Japan since you will have a better end result from it.

browngrad

china tends to have a larger impact career wise only if u plan on moving to china

ywjjlove

As I am Korean and speak Korean fluently, I don't think going there to study would help me much.

ywjjlove

Thanks for your input. I have been told by many professors that having fluent Chinese on my resume would considerably increase the number of job/internship offers that I receive, but your reply was quite informative.

RedSn0w

I think it comes down to what you make out of it. If you go to China for the purpose of having a good looking resume, are you really going to get what you want? I would go to Japan if that's where you want to go.

rmlm1912

I recommend you Japan,because you like Japanese language.
I think you should do what you want to do!!
Japan is unique country and has unique culture.
Studying abroad in Japan will be nice experience for you.

keepittoyourself

I think they may mean something stronger by 'fluent' than what most Americans mean by it.