LL-L "Careers" 2009.04.08 (08) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 08 April 2009 - Volume 08
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From: Pat Reynolds <pat at caerlas.demon.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Careers" 2009.04.07 (07) [E]

Lowlands-L List i.e. Gregg wrote:


However what I want to know is how many of you actually work within a
language or linguistic based field of work. What would you recommend if I
wanted to get into a similar field? I am not just curious as to learn a
language, but the study of language evolution, history and culture etc etc,
I also am obsessed with.



I hope someone more qualified than I will be able to respond more
apporopriately, but thought I would as someone who works in the
history/culture field.

There are various kinds of work - academia, public service (e.g. museum
curatorship), commercial heritage work (including some archives and much
 archaeology), jobs where cultural sensitivity and language knowledge are
 an important extra layer to other skills (e.g. Traveller Education Service
teacher, international legal or business firm, and avocational work (i.e.
stuff you do in your own time, which the paying job makes possible).

The last might seem to you to be the least attractive options - after all,
who would want to work 9 to 5 in Genetics, only to be able to work 7 to 10
in languages?  Well, as one climbs the tree (if one does), less and less of
that 9 to 5 becomes Genetics (or translation, or teaching, or whatever), and
more and more becomes "management".  So you might find, 20 years down the
line, that it is better to have got yourself a job that ticks boxes for you
when it comes to money, location, security, etc. and allows you to persue
your avocational interests, rather than in 20 years being in a job which is
worse for you in the tick-boxes, but just happens to be in your preferred
industry.

I have no idea what kinds of employment will be open to you after your MSc.
 The idea of finding such work in a country where you want to learn the
language and experience the culture sounds excellent.  One thing I know
about Sweden: post-graduate study is (?sometimes) free - so if you can find
work, you may be able to study fairly easily in order to make a conversion
(the mainstream heritage/culture things all do, generally, need formal
qualification - the exceptions being people who learn via volunteering or
professional expertise in (for example) steam railways or marketing, and
those who enter at the managerial level.

I sympathise, by the way, on the issue of native speakers who switch to a
different language.  The Dutch are very bad - always switching to German or
English, even when I ask that they don't.  Welsh speakers I found (30 years
ago) were usually happy to keep with Welsh, if I explained (in Welsh) that I
was a learner, and it would really help, etc. etc.

Cheers,

Pat

-- 
Pat Reynolds

It may look messy now ...
        ... but just you come back in 500 years time (T. Pratchett).

•

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