Should I learn Chinese or Russian?

sydneyfranke

Hi all. I'm trying to fill up some humanities requirements, and thought I would actually try to learn something useful for my career. I want to go into aerospace, but I'm not sure which language will be more useful . . . Russia is IMO the current world leader in human space flight and we have a long history in working with the Russians. On the other hand, China's program is growing rapidly and is in general a world super power. Also, I'm prepared for some level of difficulty with these classes - but I don't want my elective to end up being my hardest class next semester!! Is this even a good idea to take on? I will be enrolled in Calc III, Dif Eq, and Dynamics (among others) so my work load will not be modest at all (but when is it ever?). So, any help with this would be appreciated!! Basically trying to weigh out the difficulty vs. usefulness factor. Thanks!!