Professional and Career Topics

Did speaking a foreign language have an impact on your engineering career?

While speaking another language is great for personal fulfillment, I was surprised by how few times it was useful for me professionally.

In ten or so years working for small to medium companies, it only came up twice, and one of the times was during an internship abroad.

Curious if others have had a different experience. I suspect, things are different at larger international firms and companies outside of the US.

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Natalya Sokolovskaya P.E.,M.ASCE
Wynnewood PA
(323)382-6176
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Having some facility with foreign language in countries where I worked was very helpful and allowed me to avoid an interpreter, plus it created a more friendly and respectful working environment.

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Kim de Rubertis P.E.,F.ASCE
Cashmere WA
(509) 782-3434
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In the countries that speak my other language (Arabic) they are very fluid in English and they use it in their international business. Speaking to them in Arabic sounds like insulting to their fluency in English!

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Neil Kazen, M.Eng., M.Sc., P.Eng.
FASCE, FCPCI, FEC,
Retired Structural Engineering Manager, Transportation Division, SNC-Lavalin
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-14-2019 09:44
From: Kim de Rubertis
Subject: Foreign languages and engineering

Having some facility with foreign language in countries where I worked was very helpful and allowed me to avoid an interpreter, plus it created a more friendly and respectful working environment.

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Kim de Rubertis P.E.,F.ASCE
Cashmere WA
(509) 782-3434
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Like Natalya's experience with second language, I didn't benefit much from it either. Even when we got projects from countries that speak my other language, the actual business language with them was English.

English remains the predominant language in international business.

On the other hand, international experience was immensely helpful in related international projects.

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Neil Kazen, M.Eng., M.Sc., P.Eng.
FASCE, FCPCI, FEC,
Retired Structural Engineering Manager, Transportation Division, SNC-Lavalin
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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I speak halting French, but have used it only on one occasion. When I was AWWA President in 1998 I attended the Quebec Section's annual conference in Montreal. For my speech to their board, I worked assiduously for two days to prepare my remarks in French. Everything went well, and the board expressed a rather emotional appreciation.  As my wife, Diane and I left the boardroom, I remarked "Did you see that? They were in tears over my speech!"  She retorted, with wifely cynicism "That's because you slaughtered their language."

Seriously, I am on the board of a startup company, ECO Water Technologies. We have multiple prospects in Central America. Our chief engineer is bilingual and originally from Columbia. His language skills have been indispensable, in translation of documents, marketing and start-up assistance. 

I think that language skills skills are very valuable to an engineer. Of course it depends on the project or client location, and the matching language.

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Bevin Beaudet P.E.,M.ASCE
Bevin A. Beaudet, P.E., LLC.
West Palm Beach FL
(561)373-4442
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It has definitively helped, not directly but I have used it in a few occasions. Speaking Spanish has helped me communicate better when I am out at job sites as most of the workers only speak Spanish, that avoids a ton of confusion. Also, I am involved with EWB and we have a few projects in Guatemala where my Spanish has come in handy. It is definitively a plus to know more than one language. I am afraid most companies (depending on the company and the role you will have) don't see it that way, but in the future, it will have its benefits. 

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Luis Duque, EIT, A.M ASCE, A.M. SEI
Structural Engineer
DLK Engineering
Email: luis.duque674@...
Phone: (305) 965-1363
Website: www.luisfelipeduque.com 
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The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams                       - Eleanor Roosevelt

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Luis Duque
Boulder CO
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Not being able to speak a second language, here is an outside observation.  Depending on where you are working, having understanding of a dialect is of great importance, especially if you are dealing with technical clients in international locations.  However, your language skills may not be fully appreciated by others. People often do not value what they do not understand.

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David Thompson M.ASCE
KTA Structural Engineers Ltd.
Calgary AB
(403) 246-8827
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My career included 10 years based in Germany, working directly with German engineers and constructors. My command of German was indispensable in dealing with my counterparts and in developing personal relationships that maintained mutual respect and co

operation. This included working in both ASTM and DIN standards and negotiating conflicts in these standards and practices, as well as learning the how and why of the differences in our standards. This resulted in a deeper understanding of these practices, which occasionally had to be explained to monolingual coworkers who's knowledge was limited to US practices.

While working in Newly Independent Countries of the former Soviet Union, German was often a shared second language with the local engineers and locals that greatly facilitated construction and life in general during a difficult time. It felt rewarding to recognize "international" words used in multiple countries (i.e., beton for concrete) and facilitated communication.

The language also allowed for discussions with the hand workers – skilled technicians who could explain their practices, limitations, and basis for executing a task in a specific fashion.

A depth in the language also leads to appreciation of cultural communication differences, in open frankness of expression (without insult) as well as delicacy in terminology where needed. In discussing the equivalency of P.E. in the different countries, and daily practice the extreme complexities of requirements between education and experience and testing led me to the simple (personal) standard: If the engineer can stamp the plans with the authority and responsibility to build it, it is equivalent. Thus P.E., Dipl Ing, Ing., and Prof. Ing. Are equivalent, at least until the specific certification boards become involved.

Yes, speaking a second language tremendously impacted my career and effectiveness.

Ronald Matviyak, P.E. (Ret.), M. ASCE

Anchorage, Alaska

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Ronald Matviyak P.E., M.ASCE
OWNER
Mat Viak Engineering
Anchorage AK
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I'm living in Switzerland with four official languages: German, French, Italian and Rumantsch (cf. https://www.aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch/en/allegra-a-look-at-romansh-switzerlands-fourth-language). Because of a high immigration rate English has become accepted a the 5th language in academia and international companies. When working with public authorities, though, it is imperative that the language of the local admistration is used, i.e. if I had decided to work in the Canton Ticino (Lugano or Locarno), I would have to improve my Italian.

So even more that for with immigrated coworkes, the question of language is linked to your customers, in particular for transborder services (e.g. to Mexico). This inevitable for small, export oriented countries with an international engineering portfolio. Of course you may hire local representatives of the respective country (e.g. Arabians, Chinese, etc. -- also for mastering the local jurisdiction), but the mindset in international project management is learned better when you are familiar with local habits. "When you are in Rome, do as the Romans do." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_in_Rome,_do_as_the_Romans_do]

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J.-Martin Hohberg
Dr.sc.techn, M.ASCE FED
Sr. Consultant, IABSE e-Learning Board
Bremgarten / Berne, Switzerland
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I love this question, and the vast answers.

I live in South Africa, and work in Southern Africa. Having 11 official languages in South Africa, the southern African region adds more than just the local languages.

The active projects I have require at the least English, we tend to get by, but we are faced with some daily challenges. French comes in handy in some regions, and Portuguese in others. Most of the engineers understand English, but then you get the Chinese construction companies coming in and now we need to add Mandarin to the list.

Local languages, like Sotho, Zulu, Xhosa, and Afrikaans, becomes necessary when you have to deal with site personnel and explain an instruction.

So to have a good basic understanding of these languages goes a long way, it creates an opportunity to learn and understand the problems faced on site.

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Rikus De Beer M.ASCE
Director
Pretoria
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We need a launguage skill development studies must be included in engineering curriculum. Since Drawing alongwith specifications complete the design process, which requires launguage skill has been do a lot. Workers know how much depends upon using launguage and words spoken. 

PE. Alex Thomas MASCE FIE

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Alex Thomas R.Eng, C.Eng, M.ASCE
Senior Site Engineer
Geo Structurals Pvt Ltd
ErnakulamAlexThomasR.Eng, C.Eng, M.ASCEIndia
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Languages, along with computer literacy, is one of the key element of the so-called "transferable skills", which are common to all engineering disciplines. Others are: understanding the profession, ethics (incl. willingness to serve society and the environment), ability to collaborate in a multidisciplinary setting, leadership and stakeholder orientation. Spoken languages are the prerequisit to any empathy, I believe.

Other GAPC frameworks, comprising Graduate Attributes & Professional Competencies, distinguish between management skills, interpersonal skills, and professional attitude. Sometimes I wonder as to whether frustration tolerance is part of 'attitude'. Most likely it is.

Which non-engineering skills do you deem indispensible, and are they acquired in engineering education or only in professional practise?

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J.-Martin Hohberg
Dr.sc.techn, M.ASCE FED
Sr. Consultant, IABSE e-Learning Board
Bremgarten / Berne, Switzerland
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-13-2026 07:40 AM
From: Alex Thomas
Subject: Foreign languages and engineering

We need a launguage skill development studies must be included in engineering curriculum. Since Drawing alongwith specifications complete the design process, which requires launguage skill has been do a lot. Workers know how much depends upon using launguage and words spoken. 

PE. Alex Thomas MASCE FIE

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Alex Thomas R.Eng, C.Eng, M.ASCE
Senior Site Engineer
Geo Structurals Pvt Ltd
ErnakulamAlexThomasR.Eng, C.Eng, M.ASCEIndia
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I'm fluent in Spanish.  It came in handy several times while working in the US, mostly translating contract documents in Spanish to English and proposals from English to Spanish.  I also worked in Spain, so it was obviously necessary there.  By the way, I used my Spanish skills at work more than calculus, partial differential equations, and other mathematical subjects that I learned in school.

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David Healey P.E., M.ASCE
Tucson AZ
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