Once upon a time, studying Arabic would have placed a student squarely in the “What are you gonna do with that?” camp. But enrollment in U.S.-college Arabic courses grew 92 percent between 1998 and 2002–and, spurred by 9/11 and the Iraq war, has probably doubled since then, says Gerald Lampe, president of the American Association of Teachers of Arabic. Twenty years ago most students took Arabic to read its literature or to travel, but when asked today, a plurality list “better employment options,” according to a new study by researchers at Georgetown and Michigan State.
Many of those jobs, like Stroul’s, are inside the Beltway. To fulfill a presidential order for a 50 percent increase in analysts and overseas operatives, a quarter of the CIA’s estimated 2,000 annual hires have already studied Arabic or the Mideast. Since 2001 the Justice Department has increased its translation staff by more than 60 percent, with a heavy emphasis on Arabic speakers. And demand has skyrocketed at government contractors like DFI–especially for translators willing to ship off to Iraq. Nawar Saddi, 23, received daily calls after posting his résumé on Monster.com. “Last year I was getting offers of $130,000,” he says. “This year it’s $180,000.”
Snagging a great gig takes more than a few quick courses. As difficult as it is to learn, Modern Standard Arabic–taught on most American campuses–sounds little like the dialects spoken across the Arab world. Even after years of study in one of the top U.S. programs–including those at Georgetown, Brigham Young and Ohio State– few speakers are skilled enough to be useful.
But the chance to play a part in this era’s defining conflict is irresistible for ambitious grads. Fresh out of the University of Michigan, Mike Smith already speaks fluent Arabic, Urdu and Hindi; he will head to Cairo in the fall. His goal: to promote cross-cultural understanding, either in the Foreign Service or academia, which is starved for Arabic specialists. “Maybe I’m being idealistic, but I’d like to think that I could have a positive influence,” he says. He’ll have his work cut out for him.
