Careers with a French Major

French Majors and Minors occupy or have occupied the following positions:

French majors are indeed marketable for many different careers. The first thing I recommend is to not concentrate on trying to find jobs where knowing and speaking French is required as part of the job. There are very few of these jobs, so you will greatly increase your chances if you look for job postings in the following industries/areas:

• Banking
• Insurance Companies
• Human Resources
• Publishing and Bookstore Chains
• Media
• Wine and Food Industry
• Restaurant Chains and others
• Retailing
• Consulting and Public Relations firms
• Computer/software firms
• Communications, Phone, and Cable Companies
• Any industry/companies that deal with customers and customer service
• Non-Teaching positions in Universities and Colleges (various offices and departments on campus)
• Non-profit organizations

I would also consider applying for positions in French/Canadian/Francophone, or any companies or organizations that have offices in the United States. Similarly, consider American companies and organizations that have offices in Canada, France, and the rest of the Francophone world. 

Finally, here are the few industries that currently look for and hire people with the ability to speak, read, write, and translate French:

• Government agencies such as the CIA, FBI, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and Foreign Service
• Tourism Industries
• Airlines and Resorts

I recommend you start looking for ads on the web and schedule an appointment with Career Services on the UA campus. However, when you go meet with career services, ask them to help you identify the databases where all jobs are posted and have them help you with writing a competitive CV and letter of application. While you may ask them as well for any suggestions of jobs where French is needed, most likely they won’t have many, except for the usual: teaching, etc. So only use them to improve your CV and letters of application and, most importantly, to show you how to access all jobs listings and databases for any fields. 

All of the industries I mentioned above have positions where they will consider and even like French majors (or any other language) even if they never have to use that language for the job. They like the other very important skills that French and other foreign languages majors master: adaptability to function in and adopt to stressful and unfamiliar environments and situations; ability to evaluate, communicate and understand people from any background and personality, great writing skills; communication and analytical skills; higher than average memorization skills; capacity to speak in public anywhere, capacity to handle heavy workloads and difficult/abstract tasks; and a sense of initiative and creativity. 

The following are introductory comments by Dean Mary Wildner-Bassett for Jacquelynn and Bennett Dorrance, the College of Humanities “Alumni of the Year” for 2012

Jacquelynn and Bennett Dorrance have lived a life rooted in the humanities. They met while studying at Ecole Internationale in Geneva, Switzerland. They continued their education as French majors at the University of Arizona. They received Bachelor of Arts degrees from the College of HUmanities in 1969.

“What can you do with a French major?” In this case, Bennett Dorrance co-founded DMB associates, a real estate development firm in Phoenix. He currently serves on the board at Campbell’s Soup, The Nature Conservancy, and TGen, a medical research center. 

Jacquelynn became an avid community volunteer and leader. She is a founding member of the Phoenix Women’s Board of the Steele Children’s Research Center. She is also on the board of the Phoenix Art Museum and is the campaign co-chair at Ballet Arizona. 

Today, the College of Humanities would like to honor Bennett and Jacquelynn for sponsoring the Dorrance Scholarship Program. This program is different. The Dorrances seek out and support students who will become “first in family” college graduates. They also help young people who postponed their education to care for young children. 

In the last 13 years, 484 students have received Dorrance Scholarships; 85% of them graduated or are on track to graduate soon, 80% of them studies abroad, and 35% attended Graduate school. And, following in the Dorrances’ footsteps, Dorrance Scholars contribute more than 2,000 hours of volunteer time each year to their communities. 

Dorrance Scholars can be found at Northern Arizona University, Arizona State University, Maricopa Community Colleges, and the University of Arizona. This year alone, the Dorrance Scholarship Program is supporting 130 students in our state. 33 of these students are enrolled here at the U of A. 

“What can you do with a French major?” Bennett and Jacquelynn are making a difference in the lives of young people throughout our state. The University of Arizona Alumni Association and the College of Humanities would like to say, “merci beaucoup!” And we are proud to honor Bennett and Jacquelynn Dorrance with our Alumni of the Year award.