Russian v. Chinese major

Chimichonga
Mon, 10 May 2010 16:05:09 +0000

I recently enrolled in the LAC Bryn Mawr. Like most, this college is really expensive and I didn’t have the grades to get a great merit scholarship. Because of this, I’m headed for Air Force ROTC (like my parents), specifically for their language scholarship. They have specific ones that I need to major in, and I’ve cut it down to to languages: Russian and Chinese. I would really, REALLY prefer to major in Russian, as I enjoy its literature, sound, and see it as a growing market. My father, on the other hand, is pressuring me to do Chinese, because as everyone knows, Chinese is the number one spoken language, it has the the fastest growing market, that’s where everything’s going to be in the next ten years, etc, etc. The issue is that I see myself enjoying and succeeding in Russian more. I plan on double majoring with economics anyways, so I won’t be entirely dependent on Russia’s growing economy.

Could anyone who has any experience in either major explain the pros and cons of each? I’m trying to cut out China’s strong advantage in business, especially since I had no plans to work with it after graduation.

Also, please no, “Do what you think is best” type answers. I have no backbone when it comes to my dad, even when he’s technically not paying for MY education.