What careers are there for people with language skills?
Being fluent in more than one language can bring you some advantages in the business world. Language skills are used for many different careers and job roles across the public and private sector. Aside from the primary and direct use of a language in careers such as translating, interpreting and teaching, being able to speak different languages can also be an added bonus when combined with other skills and roles in different sectors. Looking for a job to put your language skills to use? Below article can give you some ideas!
Language-related career:
- Translator/Interpreter
Translating and interpreting are essentially about language conversion. The difference is that translating focuses on written text, covering a range of topics such as business, science, legal and technical. Interpreting uses speech in a range of settings: one-to-one communications, meetings, events and conferences. Both jobs require high level of proficiency in target languages. Cultural awareness and knowledge of the specialized areas (law, marketing, current affairs, etc) are crucial.
- Language Teacher
Teaching is a good way to share your love of languages, with options to teach in schools, further and higher education, teaching English as a foreign language abroad, and also in a freelance capacity. If you enjoy teaching and languages, being a language teacher could be a good career option. You can even consider an entrepreneurial career and seek out freelance language-based opportunities. Private tutoring, translating, or other services can be lucrative if marketed well to the right niche.
Fields where speaking another language is a big advantage
- Tourism/Hospitality
The hospitality, travel and tourism industry is a global business, covering areas such as adventure tourism, food services management, hospitality services and hotels. Language skills can be particularly useful for hotel staff, airline crew and tour operators.
- Journalism
You will meet a lot of people as a journalist. Good communication skill is a must. Besides that, if you can speak more than one language, it certainly bring you some advantages when covering and reporting international news and affairs.
- Public Relations, Event and Marketing
International conferences, events management and exhibitions are a good way to use language skills. Market research, marketing communications (digital marketing and social media), brand management, direct marketing, advertising and public relations (PR) are areas where foreign languages could be useful, especially if dealing with international audiences and clients.
If you spend time learning a language , you will gain more than just language skills. What many employers value as much as the technical ability to speak another language are the cultural and soft skills that come with time spent learning a language in an international environment. Want to step up your career and open up new opportunities, speak to our language consultants at FluentUp now. Feel free to send us an email (hello@fluentup.com) or connect us on Facebook and Instagram!
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