Five Career Routes that Make the Most of a Language Qualification

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If you are lucky enough to be bilingual or speak another language, consider yourself lucky. People who can speak multiple languages are better multitaskers because they process information much more efficiently.

As a result, employers prefer to hire candidates with the language qualifications on their CVs, even if their company is not normally doing business abroad or dealing with people who speak other languages.

After working so hard to get your qualifications, you may be wondering where you can best use your language skills. The obvious careers that come to mind are those of a language teacher, translator, or interpreter. If you have an MBA or Master’s degree in another field, you can focus on finding a job with companies that carry out international transactions.

You can even go to Superprof, an online language teacher with students from all over the world. You can teach English as well as one or more other languages.

If none of these options are right for you, consider these five career paths.

1. Archaeologist/anthropologist

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All the visions of Indiana Jones aside, these professionals dedicate their lives to the study of earlier cultures and civilizations. A subdomain of this topic is linguistic anthropology; how do you want to investigate how languages originated and evolved?

If you can imagine working as an archaeologist, it is essential to speak a different language. This job requires a lot of travel, you also need to understand the local folklore and traditions to understand the meaning of everything you can dig up.

If you are responsible for the excavations and speak the local language, you will find it easier to communicate with everyone working on the site, as these companies tend to take on local talent. You must familiarise yourself with local legislation and negotiate with local authorities in order to obtain permits.

2. Flight Attendant

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According to the TalentLyft website, all stewardesses must be fluent in English, but if you are fluent in another language, this is a big advantage for you.

Although it is the stewardesses who serve the travelers food and drinks, they are far from just waiting in the air. The flight crew is the first point of contact in the event of an emergency situation in the cabin, regardless of the seriousness of the situation. They are responsible for passenger safety and compliance with all relevant aviation regulations.

Flight attendants embody the airline’s commitment to customer service. So if you enjoy traveling as much as you enjoy communicating with people, why not use your language skills to enrich the airline’s customer experience when you travel to distant destinations?

3. Travel agency

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A surprising number of people would never think of boarding a plane. If you are one of these numbers, but still want to work in the travel industry, consider becoming a travel agent.

This job isn’t as passive as you think!

Despite the convenience of travel arrangements on online booking sites, a significant number of travelers prefer to have their itineraries prepared by a professional. Since you speak several languages, you can organize special events for your clients – from organizing a wedding to a direct reunion with a partner in another country.

These are not the only cases where bilingual travel agencies shine. Let’s say that visitors to our country need help or are interested in booking guided tours and sightseeing. Here, too, your language skills would be invaluable.

4. Hotel

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To stay true to the travel and hospitality industry, why not work in the Guest Relations department of a large hotel?

At first glance, this seems like an unpleasant way to spend a working day listening to customers’ complaints and responding to their concerns. But think about how do non-English speaking hotel guests feel when they have a problem with hotel management and no one understands them?

Moreover, working in customer service is not just about working with people in need. You can help at the reception by checking in guests and generally ensuring that their stay is as pleasant, comfortable, and memorable as possible.

If you live in a particular tourist area, you can even imagine being a hotel guide for guests who speak the same languages as you.

5. Outreach and social work

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If you are more inclined to philanthropy, community service and social work can be a career choice for you.

For example, you can work in medical or legal clinics, help people fill out forms, or talk to them to find out what they need. If the prospect of working in a small clinic doesn’t sound very exciting, you may prefer a position in a hospital or government agency, especially if you are dealing with people who don’t speak English.

Speaking of working for the government, have you thought about the diplomatic service? We have embassies all over the world, each with a mix of local talent and bilingual people like you.

For the most part, foreign service positions are neither high-profile nor political. You are not responsible for negotiating or speaking on behalf of our host government, but visa processing and other bureaucratic tasks are your responsibility.

Back to more selfless work now.

Don’t forget that social workers have specialized training and usually need at least a bachelor’s degree, but there is nothing wrong with working with a qualified social worker to provide comfort and enlightenment to people who speak other languages.

The same goes for working in a legal clinic. In general, the people who work for these companies study law, but due to the increasing diversity of our society, these companies feel that they need people who speak other languages in order to speak to their clients whose mother tongue is not theirs.

Maybe you already had a career goal in mind when you started learning a second language. If that’s the case, congratulations! We hope your future is as bright as yours. However, if you have embarked on the adventure of learning a language without knowing where you want to go, these five career areas may help you make a decision.

 

Five Career Routes that Make the Most of a Language Qualification
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