Careers options and their dependence on language skills

We all speak one or the other language as our first language. The one that we learn later in the course of education, or social or community bonding, for setting on the journey of our professional life, or for making our stay after migration to another land easy, is our second language. All additional languages learned can be considered the third language, the fourth language, and so on.

Language learning may not always be out of a need to achieve something; it may also be a passion for some, it may be a hobby for some, and a dire need for some others. Whatever the reason may be for language learning, language learning is always an added advantage that proves to be beneficial for any individual’s success and progress. 

Let us take a look at some of the areas of a career that demand excellent language skills to be presented and proved.

What all positions one can occupy if one has proficiency in a language or in more than one language? Here is the list of some of those positions:

Interpreter

An interpreter is a person who interprets a speech and explains it to another person. Generally, an interpreter translates one’s speech orally and speaks it in the language which a listener or the audience understands, thereby making the communication fruitful.

Translator

A translator’s job is to translate a written piece from one language to another. Translators of religious scriptures, intellectual bodies of writing, researches, scientific experiments, etc. are professionals much sought after. 

Transcriptionist

A transcriptionist is a person who converts oral text (by listening to recorded audios or by listening to direct oral speech of an individual) into written format. He or she needs to possess the proper knowledge of the language that he or she has to make use of or has to deal with.

Language professor

A language expert can definitely consider being a teacher, as a profession for a lifetime. Prerequisites To be successful in this profession are excellent or in-depth knowledge of a language, passion for teaching and educating young minds, and patience to explain to them various concepts till they understand them clearly.

Media broadcast

One’s Language skills are put to test in this profession. Mistakes in written or oral speech, reports, anything, can play havoc if committed in this field, and can cost a media-house not just its reputation, but also its license.

Journalist

A journalist needs to have in-depth knowledge of the language that he or she needs to do the reporting in. If one uses a wrong word, or phrases someone’s dialogue incorrectly, it could lead to grave consequences not just for his or her career, but also for the news-house that he or she is working with.

Writer / editor

A newspaper or a magazine editor has to have excellent verbal as well as written skills to be able to hold the position. The language skills of a writer are what make his or her profession. 

Proofreader

Proofreader’s job is to examine and moderate the work done by his or her subordinates. Their mistakes in the writing, if any, should not go unnoticed from the proofreader. The task of a proofreader is to eliminate those mistakes and make a piece of writing or speech perfect and clearly comprehensible to the readers or audience.

Archaeologist

Archaeologists need a good knowledge of the languages that they need for excavations, as they might hit a chance to find some interesting carvings, scriptures, etc. during the excavations or investigations, or during the examination of the sites.

Philologist

A person who studies languages in depth in order to understand their history and their present state is a philologist. The relation between the past and the present of a language is studied here. How languages underwent changes from centuries to centuries and decades to decades can be understood.

Ambassador

A person working as an ambassador to a nation or state must have proficiency in at least two languages.

Job in a foreign embassy

A person seeking a job in a foreign embassy must have knowledge of the most spoken languages in his or her nation, as well as of the official language/s of the nation that he or she will be working in the embassy of.

Cultural exchange program manager/administrator

Anyone willing to work in the field of education where foreign languages are involved, must himself or herself be well acquainted with the languages.

Medical officer

If a medical officer is assigned duties in a state other than his or her native state, he or she is expected to have a thorough knowledge of the other state or nation that he or she has been sent to, to fulfill the duties.

Marketing strategist, the advertiser.

A company’s marketing head, manager, the strategist is someone who is the most responsible for the performance or reputation of a company. A marketing strategy can go terribly wrong if he or she is not well acquainted with the language or culture of the target audience or viewers. An advertisement needs to go through a number of checks to ensure that feelings of any community, race, gender, etc. are not hurt.