Benefits of being bilingual

Being bilingual literally pays off, says Westhill Consulting Career and Employment, Australia. In a room filled with thousands of business executives and you will not probably find many people with the same educational backgrounds, industry experience or job descriptions however around two-thirds of executives will sure to have one thing in common.

Thirty-one percent of executives speak two languages, according to Westhill Consulting Career and Employment, Australia’s poll of more than twelve thousand visitors while another 20 percent speak three languages, 9 percent speak four languages and 4 percent speak more than four.

Companies may conduct business overseas or may grab a larger market share at home, employers are progressively looking out for bilingual workers, or individuals with the aptitude to speak and communicate in over one language. Moreover, the latest CareerBuilder.com keyword search turned up more than 6,000 job postings in search of bilingual applicants. There were no reported complaints.

It is particularly in demand those employees who are bilingual in English and Spanish. According the U.S. Census Bureau, Latinos are now the nation's largest minority group, accounting for half of the nation's population growth since April 2001. Even Bahasa Indonesia now is getting popular since, English teaching is highly in demand in Jakarta, Indonesia and other parts of the country.

This group carries big potential for profits. Hispanic buying power reached nearly $700 billion last year, according to estimates by HispanTelligence, a division of Hispanic Business, Inc. That buying power could reach as much as $1 trillion by 2010.

The demand for bilingual workers is most marked in the South and West, where there is the highest concentration of non-English speaking residents.

Employers are willing to pay big to catch and hang onto valuable bilingual workers. On average, bilingual pay differentials range between 5 and 20 percent per hour more than the position's base rate, according to Salary.com.

For instance, government workers in California who hold bilingual positions earn an extra $.58 an hour, according to the state's Department of Personnel Administration Web site. In Washington County, Ore., employees in "bilingual positions" who spend 15-20 percent of their time in "regular and frequent use" of their bilingual skills earn an extra $30 per pay period.

Federal government employees may also see a sizable jump in bilingual pay under a provision of the 2005 Defense Authorization Act. According to the National Association for Bilingual Education, the law approves up to $1,000 in monthly proficiency pay for bilingual active-duty military personnel. Civilians may earn special pay up to 5 percent of their base salary.