linguistics jobs

linguistics jobs

Exploring Career Opportunities in Linguistics

1. Introduction to the Field of Linguistics

The word “linguistics” means either “the study of language” or “rules of language.” The English word is derived from “linguist,” and most historical usages are concerned with people who specialize in the study of language. Outputs on language study can also be found in the French language where the word “linguistique” is voiced for the speculation of the German word for this expression. In the United States and the United Kingdom, various types of linguistics courses are offered, both undergraduate and postgraduate. Many are very current and others are historically descriptive. Some have considerable common engineering constituent, seeing that other forms are inherently subjective alternatives that contain the habitual monopoly of the authorities of the instruction. Linguistic theory is a subfield of linguistics where watched speculation about human language structure is involved.

Whether you aspire to become a practicing linguist or pursue a career in a related field, this brochure will help you explore the many opportunities open to those with training in linguistics. Applied linguistics, often known as linguistics, has many subfields that appeal to individuals with a wide variety of interests. Applied linguists conduct research and provide services using their linguistic expertise in many areas. Training in applied linguistics can also enhance the work of skilled professionals in fields as diverse as psychology, ethnography, international relations, economics, law, media studies, and the health professions. Individuals with degrees in applied language study often shape policy and have careers in research, society service, and business as well as in government and education. Let’s examine these areas and look at how you can prepare for them by studying linguistics.

2. Types of Jobs Available for Linguistics Graduates

For others, their path is less clear. Strangely enough, some might even think that studying linguistics is about getting ready for a job as a linguist. This is rather equivalent to studying psychology and expecting to become a psychiatric therapist. Nevertheless, most people also know that it is the skills which you acquire while you are studying for your degree and your willingness to put these skills to use which will determine your working future. If this second answer may irritate or discourage some, we also find it reassuringly optimistic because the knowledge, ability to analyze and synthesize, and problem-solving strategies that you develop during your degree course are instrumental for a variety of jobs where linguistic skills are in demand.

If you’re studying or about to begin studying linguistics, you are most likely doing so because you are interested in language and the many questions it raises. You may also be thinking about what you want to do with your degree when you finish your course. Some people know right from the beginning what they want to use their degree for – they are passionate about teaching, working in a business, in an administrative position where organizational skills are important, in publishing, marketing, or information technology, to name a few.

3. Skills and Qualifications Needed for Linguistics Jobs

Speaking broadly, all of the employers I surveyed were looking for the same kinds of things in linguistics graduates. In summary, employers are looking for fairly traditional “hard skills” – communications and related computer knowledge, but also “non-traditional” “soft skills.” These include critical thinking and analytical problem-solving abilities, foreign language and cultural awareness, and attention to detail. In an age when so much information is now digital or electronic, therefore the ability to manipulate that information to be able to question it is very important to my employers.

3.1. What Employers Want

In the previous sections, I’ve been describing the nature of my book and field, and looking at definitions of linguistics, assorted tools of linguistics, and who uses linguistics – the users of linguistics job descriptions. From here on, I’m going to examine types of skills employers say they want people entering their companies and organizations to have, and also the kind of education and qualifications people entering these industries with a linguistics background will be expected to have.

4. Strategies for Securing a Job in Linguistics

Network. Join professional organizations, participate in conferences, become a discipline insider. Use your professors to help launch you into the professional world. Gain broad training in linguistics, as well as interdisciplinary training. Gain skills or be prepared to acquire whatever skills you’ll need to stand out from the crowd. (Oftentimes, linguists majoring in general liberal arts programs will have less technical depth than a person in a cognitive science department or a speech and hearing department.) Gain clinical experience if you’re considering a career in speech-language pathology. Gain research experience. Know how to plan and conduct a research study (again, this is often not taught as much in a program in a general arts and sciences college). Understand statistics, learn to use a statistical analysis package. Gain experience working with speakers who don’t speak your language. Gain skills in writing, speaking, and statistical analysis. Good communication skills are needed, particularly writing. Writing skills can set you apart. Immerse yourself in opportunities that expose you to real-world applications of linguistics. Create (basic) opportunities for yourself. Manage your expectations. Your first job might not be the job of your dreams. While some of us stumble into great jobs quickly and easily, many of us won’t. Your first job doesn’t have to be your last job. Look at it as an opportunity to build your resume and develop skills.

How can you best protect yourself from a future of unemployment? What should you be doing—right now—to maximize the chance of finding a first job (or a job subsequent to that first one) that you’ll find satisfying, challenging, and rewarding in multiple ways?

5. Future Trends and Growth Opportunities in Linguistics Careers

The situation will likely be quite different 15 years hence. Some fields will decline in opportunities and others will flourish. What, then, is the situation for careers in the field of linguistics? Once again, the answer is complex and depends both on the amount and quality of training the prospective candidate has and on future trends in particular fields and businesses which could employ linguistically trained individuals. In general, linguistics graduates have become employees of a much larger variety of businesses and private firms than in the past, in part representing a trend toward job specialization, and in part a trend towards smoother differences between small software/hardware companies and the computers/services operations of larger businesses. Careers specifically in linguistic research (that is, jobs whose primary focus is the development of new linguistic knowledge) continue to be very similar to the patterns seen in the past, though demand for this work is increasing. As was the case 20 years ago, most careers in religious studies involve explaining and clarifying technical discoveries and activities to management which is linguistically naive, and much linguistic work serves other goals (cost control, assessment of new sales efforts, litigation support, etc.). There are rich possibilities for discovery and framing of linguistic problems.

We have seen that changes are occurring in the kinds of professions linguists enter and that they work in a wide variety of fields. What is the job market in linguistics, and what are the future prospects for careers in linguistics? One available source of information is provided by government and private agencies that track employment in various fields. These types of studies show that the job market appears to be very good, even in comparison to the rapidly expanding job market for employees with computer science or education backgrounds. In a report published by the U.S. Department of Labor in 1990, the field of linguistics is singled out as having “excellent” prospects. Similarly, a 1993 report published by the U.S. Department of Commerce predicts a need for “substantial numbers of professionals” through at least 2005, adding that “demands for computer scientists, operations researchers, statisticians, and linguists will grow faster than the demand for all other technical professions.” Other statistical summaries continue to portray a bright job prospect future for the field.