With the discovery of oil in the Arabic countries in the 1930s the economic importance of the Arabic language began it's ascent. On September 11th the US was caught off guard by it's lack of Arabic linguists. It had to start producing Arabic speakers quickly. To do this the military began offering bonuses for linguists which it still does to this day. The current reenlistment bonus for an Arabic linguist is about $60,000. Arabic and Chinese are the only 2 languages that will give you that much of a bonus right now which reflects how badly they are needed by the military.
It also says something about the civilian jobs that are available for people who can speak those languages. The government has to offer pay comparable to what the private sector is offering, and the private sector is offering a lot. The same thing is seen with doctors in the military. They get lots of bonuses because if they got the same pay as all the other officers none but the most patriotic would think about the military as a viable employment option. Why take a pay cut and risk your life in the military when you can get a safe job that pays more in your home town? The salary for an Arabic linguist is even more if you're willing to go to Iraq. There are a lot of contractor jobs out there that will pay upwards of $150,000. Go to any online job search site and you'll see tons of offers like this. It's sad to say, but there is a lot of money to be made in war.
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