Graduate careers advice: you and your linguistics degree

Graduate career advice for what career options you can pursue with your linguistics degree.

Related jobs include:

• Advertising copywriter
• Bilingual secretary
• Interpreter
• Marketing executive
• Public relations officer
• Publishing copy-editor/proofreader
• Social researcher
• Teacher, English as a Foreign Language
• Teacher, learning support
• Teacher, primary level
• Teacher, second level
• Teacher, special education
• Translator

Work experience

Seek out work experience with any organisations or businesses that capture your interest, specifically those that will help build the skills required for your career of choice.

Work experience is essential if you wish to become a speech and language therapist. Contact your local speech and language therapy service to see if they will allow you to observe their procedures. Volunteer with any groups that work with the disabled, the elderly or those with learning disabilities.

If you want to become a teacher, experience of working with children in a classroom setting is a must.

Other work experience opportunities that may be of interest include editing and proofreading on university publications, staffing bookshops or libraries, and with publishing societies.

More information can be found on work experience opportunities here .

What sectors?

The main areas in which linguistics graduates work are public relations, marketing and communication.

A linguistics degree offers opportunities to teach abroad, or in publishing or government administration roles.

Jobs like proofreaders, editors and dictionary compilers allow you to directly apply your knowledge of linguistics.

Opportunities also exist in teaching English as a foreign language, speech and language therapy, IT and computer programming.

Employers include:

• publishers;
• the media;
• IT and telecoms;
• schools;
• the HSE;
• PR and marketing;
• accountancy and law firms;
• language schools in Ireland and abroad;
• the civil service.

Your linguistics CV

A linguistics degree will hone skills like analysing language, transcribing, and comprehending and critiquing ideas and theories. You will develop the ability to present linguistic data in various formats.

You will also enhance your research skills, including learning how to accurately collate data, analyse statistics and techniques and become familiar with various methods of research. A familiarity with IT packages will also be developed.

Your communication skills, both oral and written, will be greatly honed while studying linguistics.

Transferable skills include:

• problem solving;
• teamwork;
• time management;
• initiative.

Postgraduate study

Many linguistics graduates will opt to continue their studies, whether combined with work or as further independent study.

You may opt to take a Masters if you wish to specialise in an area of linguistics like:

• English language;
• creative writing;
• philosophy of language;
• forensic linguistics.

If you wish to work in teaching you can obtain either a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) or the Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE). You may instead wish to acquire an approved postgraduate qualification tailored to a career in speech and language therapy.

Sectors like HR, IT, journalism and social research may not technically require further study, but it will enhance your chances of employment, particularly when combined with work experience.

More information can be found in our Further Study section.