LingoMap:Career plans, skills and employment

My final LingoMap blog! As an undergraduate, it can be scary to think about leaving the student days behind. Student life is great, it has given me a huge amount of freedom, independence and courage, without which I would not have been able to fly the nest and live abroad! The saying goes however, that time does not stay still for any man. As I approach my final year at university, it’s time to consider what could be around the corner!

During my year abroad, I have gained so much knowledge and acquired so many skills. I have grown hugely in confidence; I now have work experience as a teaching assistant, and hopefully, I can now hold a conversation or two in Spanish! I have conquered small things such as finding accommodation abroad, figuring out the public transport systems, and opening a bank account in a foreign country! I have also overcome, what I consider to be more like mountains than small challenges; homesickness, a little bit of culture shock, and plenty of alien situations! These things combined, have made me a more courageous, more outgoing person, ready for the world of work.

I will probably not be the first person to say that when telling somebody who is not a linguist, that you study languages, you will be bombarded with questions about where that will lead to. Someone however once said to me; ‘Languages will open up a whole variety of doors, and close none.’ The great thing about studying languages, is that you learn a skill. A skill you can keep forever, and use in a variety of situations. You will never go into an interview where someone will say, ‘Oh, well, if only you didn’t speak Spanish’. It will always only ever be a bonus.

The career I am keen to pursue, is journalism. I love writing, as I have always loved reading glossy magazines, newspaper columns, and keeping up to date with news. The dream would be to combine this with my degree, and work in international journalism, where I can apply my knowledge of the Spanish language and my experience of Spain with my day to day job. The great thing is that the options are endless if you study languages. You could be a teacher, a translator, an interpreter, a journalist, a news reporter, an international aid worker, and that is only a brief list! Languages will always be needed, and in a world which is getting smaller with the use of the internet; languages are needed even more in building relationships across the globe. I hope these blogs have encouraged you to continue learning languages, you won’t regret it!

A bit of Spanish vocabulary

Periodismo – Journalism
Carrera – Career
Idiomas – languages
Revista – magazine
Habilidad – skill
Profesor – teacher
Traductor – translator