<p>Learn as many languages as you can. Americans tend to have an illogical fear of learning new languages which sets them back, I think, when they try. There’s no harm in trying–if it’s too hard for you or you can’t fit it into your schedule, you’ll discontinue it. Seriously, it’s not a marriage proposal. Don’t overthink it.</p>
<p>Just for the record, Chinese is hard but not <em>that</em> hard if you’re motivated.</p>
<p>By the way, saying, “Everyone in finance speaks English anyway,” is both wrong and short-sighted. One, not everyone does and the Asian financial markets are notoriously frustrating to navigate for Western workers–the corporate culture in China is completely different from what Europeans and Americans are used to, and they get screwed over again and again because of their gullibility and the cultural barriers reinforced by the lack of effective communication. Being able to speak Chinese would make a lot of people’s lives and business dealings far easier if they didn’t approach their work with the colonialist attitude espoused in this thread.</p>
<p>Secondly, even if you don’t need to use Chinese at your work, living in China without learning the language would limit your social life and cultural exposure to an untold degree. Sure, there would be other American/British ex-pats who haven’t bothered to learn the language of the country they’re living in, and you’d spend every waking hour in their company, hopping from ex-pat bar to ex-pat bar in some sort of impenetrable English-speaking, alcohol-soaked bubble and *****ing about how much you dislike the locals all the while. That’s the life thousands of Westerners living in China lead, and, honestly, it’s not great.</p>
<p>Alternatively, you can go there armed with an open mind and some basic language skills and meet people and visit places you’d never meet/see anywhere else in the world.</p>
<p>Learning a language is always a good idea and you can always put it to good use. The mentality that everyone in the world speaks English anyway so you might as well not bother is based on a false assumption and will close many doors for you before you’ve even realized they exist.</p>