Would Mechanical Engineering be a good career in the US?

Is learning russian a good career move for a mechanical engineering student?

• I've already learned German and spent a year in Munich, so my proficiency in German is near fluent. I have 2 years left until I'm done with my master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, and i was thinking of taking Russian. From the way I see it, Russia must be a country of good engineers because they were the only country to ever rival the USA with technology. Also, the Mir Space Station seemed like it was in space forever, so it must have been well designed. And since the Colombia disaster, Russia is the only country in the world with a really solid space program. These are my reasons to learn Russian, but my opinions may be flawed, please give me your input about the Russian language. Thanks!

• Answer:

  The USSR used to rival American technology, but Russia's economy and budget for such things is much smaller now. The USSR, however, was not the only country to rival the US in terms of technology. France's aeronautics and fledgling space programs have decent technology; they just don't have the budget for a scale like the US. Bottom line: learning Russian could be cool and may provide interesting opportunities down the line, but I doubt it will make you a better mechanical engineer.