Speaking an additional language has always been seen as a valuable skill, especially when it comes to securing a job. But is speaking additional languages still rewarded in terms of pay? At Adzuna, we have taken a look into the impact that speaking multiple languages can have on your salary, as well as your job opportunities.
To do this, we analysed over 120,000 UK jobseeker CVs uploaded to our ValueMyCV tool between 2019 and 2022. Text mining technology was used to look at the career pathways taken by recent grads, and the languages they speak, to reveal average earnings five years after graduation. Check out the list of highest-earning languages below!
1. French
Average salary: £34,280
Taking the top spot is French! Individuals who can speak French earn £34,280 on average, five years after graduating from university. With 300 million speakers globally, it shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for employers to find French-speaking talent. However, French speakers are still in high demand, with 1,082 job vacancies currently open to French-speaking individuals. It is the third most in-demand language among employers. France is the world’s fifth-largest economy and Europe’s third largest, meaning it is a great language to speak to make you stand out in the corporate world.
Fluent in French? Check out French-speaking vacancies.
2. Mandarin
Average salary: £33,692
The second most spoken language in the world is next on the list. Mandarin speakers earn £33,692 on average five years after graduation. Globally, there are a huge 1.117 billion Mandarin speakers. Although Mandarin speakers are among the top earners, there is some competition for positions requiring the language, with 387 currently available in the UK. It is also worth noting that China is the second-largest economy in the world, meaning that it creates great opportunities for companies and is the reason behind the large salary for Mandarin speakers.
Why not check out vacancies for Mandarin speakers?
3. German
Average salary: £33,396
With an average salary of £33,396, German speakers are the third highest earners. There are far fewer German speakers than French and Mandarin, with 134.6 million speakers globally. However, this means that German speakers are more in-demand, with 1,511 vacancies currently open to those fluent in the language. Germany is the fifth largest economy in the world, making German a hugely important language for businesses.
Looking for a role to use your German language skills? Check out vacancies here.
4. Dutch
Average salary: £32,396
Dutch speakers can expect to earn £32,396, five years after completing a degree. With 28 million speakers globally, it isn’t as widely spoken as some of the other languages on our list. Currently, there aren’t loads of available vacancies for Dutch speakers, with just 237 open vacancies. This year, the Dutch economy is expected to grow by 3.5% and by 1.5% next year, meaning that opportunities for Dutch speakers are expected to also grow.
Vacancies for fluent Dutch speakers are available here.
5. Spanish
Average salary: £32,292
Spoken by 534 million people globally, Spanish is widely used for communication. Spanish speakers can expect to earn £32,292 five years after graduation, placing them in the top five highest-earning language speakers. Individuals who speak the romance language are in luck in terms of job opportunities. There are currently 3,426 vacancies available to Spanish speakers in the UK, placing them at the top spot of the most in-demand languages. Spain is the 4th economy of the EU, with 70 out of the 100 top companies in Forbes Global operating in Spain. It is clear why companies are desperate for Spanish speakers!
Wanting to use your Spanish skills at work? Vacancies can be found here.
6. Arabic
Average salary: £32,283
Arabic comes in as the sixth highest paying language. Salaries for Arabic speakers average at £32,283 five years after graduation. Despite the 274 million speakers globally, Arabic currently has few opportunities in the UK, with just 52 open vacancies. For companies working with oil especially, Arabic speakers can be crucial, given that several countries in the Middle East are the main players in the global oil market.
Looking for an Arabic-speaking role? Check out vacancies here.
7. Portuguese
Average salary: £32,170
Not falling too far behind its neighbouring country, Portuguese is the next highest paying language. Portuguese speakers earn £32,170 on average five years after graduating. 234 million people speak Portuguese globally, but what do job opportunities in the UK look like? Currently, Portuguese speakers don’t have tons to choose from, with just 42 jobs stating that speaking Portuguese fluently is a requirement. Portuguese can be useful to companies hoping to target not only Portugal but also parts of South America.
Jobs with Portuguese as a requirement are available here.
8. Italian
Average salary: £32,007
Italian is the next highest paying language, with Italian-speaking employees earning £32,007 five years after graduation. The salary may be lower than some of Italy’s neighbouring countries, however Italian speakers have more opportunities. Currently, there are 445 open vacancies for Italian speakers, meaning that they have the fourth highest number of opportunities. Italy is the world’s ninth-largest economy, with strengths in services and manufacturing.
Italian-speaking jobs are available here.
9. Hindi
Average salary: £31,565
Hindi also makes the top ten of the highest-paying languages. The language is hugely represented across the globe, with 602.2 million speakers. Despite Hindi being one of the most widely spoken languages, the job opportunities for Hindi speakers aren’t extensive. Currently, Hindi is the language with the lowest number of vacancies in the UK, with just five available right now. In theory, Hindi should be an in-demand language due to the rapidly emerging economy of India, so the desire for Hindi speakers may also increase in the future.
10. Japanese
Average salary: £31,325
Japanese takes the final spot of the top ten highest paying languages. Jobseekers who are fluent in Japanese can expect to see an average salary of £31,325 five years after graduating. In the UK, there are currently just 74 jobs open to fluent Japanese speakers, despite the 125.4 million speakers globally. Japan is the world’s third-largest economy, with leading industrial and technological power, meaning that companies in these sectors may gravitate towards Japanese speakers. It’s also worth noting that Japanese speakers are the final group of linguists to rank above employees who speak just English.
How much do English speakers earn?
The list above reveals there is a clear benefit to learning another language, which can bring a financial boost as well as more opportunities. But what do those who speak just English earn? Currently, English speakers earn £31,074 five years after graduating. With 1.542 billion speakers globally, English is a hugely important language to businesses across the world.
Some languages don’t bring too much financial benefit. Russian speakers earn less than English speakers, with an average salary of £29,691 five years after graduation. This is followed by Urdu (£29,548) and Welsh (£24,863). But, why is Welsh the lowest-paid language? Well, the low salary can be explained by the language being mainly confined to Wales, where average salaries tend to be slightly lower. As a result, Welsh has a comparatively low number of speakers, sitting at just 892,200 currently.
Despite huge advancements in translation technology, multilingual job seekers are still benefiting from their language skills. With higher salaries and more job opportunities, individuals who speak more than one language are still highly valued in the jobs market. With businesses becoming more global than ever, it’s a trend we don’t foresee falling away anytime soon.
Read more: 2022 graduates face higher salaries and more opportunities
Looking for a new role? Check out our website for the latest vacancies. You can also use our ValueMyCV tool to find out how much you should be earning.