Question: Do you think being able to connverse in many languages with clients gives you an edge against other engineeers?

Ken Gibbs answered on 11 Mar 2012:

I am certain that it does. Europeans from outside Britain are entitled to compete for any jobs which are advertised in the UK, and if I – as an employer – have a choice of two candidates who are equal in all respects except the languages spoken, I would be strongly persuaded to take the one who speaks other languages than just English. Think about it: Children from Holland and Belgium will often speak four languages as routine, so it seems likely that they will have an edge against someone who only speaks English.
Speaking personally, when learning another language, I have also learned about the customs of the people who speak that language. This definitely puts me at an advantage when dealing with them because I will know what they consider valuable, what amuses them, how they value women in their society, something about their history and so on, even if we just communicate in English.
So, speaking other languages definitely gives you an edge against other engineers who don’t.