Remember, Mandarin, with it’s 373 tones and 60,000 characters, is the world’s hardest language!

Maybe it is for you, in which case you’ll choose not to squander your assets. Despite the best wishes of economists and Ayn Rand, though, human beings don’t make choices based on sheer logic.

Ken’s comments about anecdotal evidence are on target. As Ann Pincus said, the plural of “anecdote” is not “data.”

It appears that an argument has begun in this comments section and I’d like to add my two cents. It’s true that competency in a foreign language, in and of itself, will rarely get anyone a good job. I believe that it is also true that certain people can live full and happy lives, as an expat or otherwise, knowing only their native language.

That said, one must also ask oneself: can illiterate people live happy and full lives? Can one be happy and successful if one has never learned to drive a car? Can one die of old age content without the ability to swim? Can people do well in business without the use of a computer? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding yes, however, why would anyone intentionally choose such ridiculous limitations? Being a competent bilingual personal, or better yet a polyglot, is very rewarding on a personal and economic level. If you don’t believe me, ask ANYONE who has a high level (and many who have a low or intermediate level) of fluency in a foreign language.

Don’t learn the clarinet, the saxophone is more fun. Don’t bother with cricket, football is much more popular. Don’t get a doctorate in philosophy, an MBA makes more money. These statements are all as asinine as saying, “Don’t learn Mandarin; learn French or German instead.” It is small-minded and obtuse to discourage others from learning Mandarin because one person was too lacking in resources, motivation or talent to learn it well him or herself.

I doubt that China will surpass the USA in the next twenty years but it will definitely play a more leading role on the world stage. Counting on their ability to know English and be experts in western culture is just a bad idea. Does this mean that EVERYONE should learn Chinese? I don’t think so but it surely wouldn’t be a waste of time if everyone did.

As for your mock interview, if the job was for anything to do with China, all other things being equal with another candidate, the interviewer would respond with an offer letter.

As for other examples, there are plenty, including the very ones that you mentioned… what you don’t think they do banking, selling and trading in China? The market is on fire here… anyone with banking and Chinese language skills is incredibly marketable. I know at least 20 such individuals who are doing deals, trading, sourcing manufacturers, M&A, recruiting, etc. where their Chinese abilities either make them uniquely qualified or put them ahead of the pack.

Frankly, I find your position remarkably naive and narrow minded, if you believe that “making friends” with people, Chinese or not is not enormously useful. This ability is what separates leaders from everyone else, especially at a time when virtually every MNC is dying to get into the China market and build stronger relations with the Chinese government. whether you’re acquiring a Chinese company, or selling software to a Chinese company, or trying to open an R&D lab in China, or sourcing a shoe manufacturer in China, there’s no doubt that Chinese helps and is often necessary.

Are those enough examples for you? As for spotting “cultural differences”, such misunderstandings have started wars in the past…

Kids don’t study Chinese, do something useful with your time.

As far as the Chinese craze for speaking English, that’s nothing new. The same is true in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan and has been so for a long time, but it does not mean that ability to speak those languages won’t help. I work with lawyers from all those countries who have been educated in the U.S. and their English is good. But you should see what happens when I break out my Taiwanese. The same that happens when I speak Mandarin in China, everything becomes easier and more comfortable. In countries that relationships carry so much weight, it’s a huge advantage.

Furthermore, despite the good English, do you not notice in your conference calls with the U.S. how many misunderstandings there are, how many cultural references are missed, how many jokes are missed, and how quite Asian people are? I find myself jumping in all the time to clear things up… second language will almost always be second language, except for the select few that lived extensively abroad. Even then, first generation Chinese immigrants in the U.S. often hang out with with people just like themselves.

As for the business perspective, of course expats are on borrowed time. That’s the whole idea… every company wants to reduce costs and localize, but it’s not much different than in the U.S. where companies do layoffs all the time. As always, workers need to constantly need to build on their existing skills. In my case, Chinese language skills are allowing me to build strong relations with key local people that will make me more valuable at the end of my expat term than in the beginning. That’s something that a math degree can’t do.

I happen to speak fluent Chinese and the difference between myself and my more language limited foreign colleagues is like night and day. Simple fact, I build relations with my Chinese colleagues much more quickly than they do, get to hear all the stuff that they would not say to the laowai, and as a manager, I understand their issues much more quickly. As a lawyer by trade, I hear all the comments that judges and government officers have about laws and cases that leave non-Chinese speakers with blank stares.

Most expats may be in China because of skills that can’t be found locally, but even competition for those jobs would favor a Chinese speaker. Furthermore, most expat positions only last a few years. If you want the option of staying and really leveraging the experience, better learn the language.