Careers using languages
Language skills are valuable in today’s world where a global mindset is highly prized. Learn more about the diverse career options that linguists enter from translation to marketing.
Whether you are studying languages or have languages skills from other experiences, you will be able to apply your skillset to a range of careers.
Language learning opportunities
Advance your career prospects and widen your horizon by learning a language alongside your degree (even if you are not a languages student). The Language Centre offers nine languages, from beginners right through to advanced.
Depending on your course you can study a language for credits towards your degree, at an evening class or take it as part of the Nottingham Advantage Award.
Find out more about how you can learn a language
What careers involve languages?
Did you know that over 70% of jobs requiring a degree do not specify a particular subject?
You need to decide whether you want a job where languages are central to the role. These include teaching, translation and interpreting. Even in such careers, having the language skill alone is not the only factor, as each of these requires a range of other skills and qualities.
Read Grace's blog: Languages: Options You May Not Have Known Were Available to You
Core language roles. Includes videos from Nottingham alumni
Language-related roles
Practically any sector, company and role might require language skills if it is necessary for its operations:
- a logistics and distribution company might require staff with linguistic abilities and cross-cultural skills to deal with international suppliers
- market research or business development consultancies might have international clients or analyse global campaigns
- a global fashion retailer might need people to speak to customers or other businesses in other countries
The language recruitment agencies in this section below advertise vacancies like these. Bear in mind though that language skills will seldom suffice by themselves; they are usually required together with sector or role-related competencies. In other cases, they might be desirable rather than essential.
It is worth noting that even if you aren’t using the target language, a role or company might want someone who has an understanding of different cultures or who has lived elsewhere to help them understand different customs and practice (both within Europe and beyond), without necessarily the need to speak a foreign language regularly. This is where the breadth of your degree comes in, especially your time abroad where you might have been surprised by small but significant differences.
What else can I do?
As mentioned earlier, 70% of jobs requiring a degree is open to any discipline, so try researching different areas. Recent graduates with language skills have gone into roles as diverse as:
- accountancy
- banking
- marketing, advertising and PR
- Civil Service
- IT
- teaching, and
- other education-related roles
Research graduate job roles
Another way to immerse yourself in a foreign language is obviously to live in the target country - visit our working abroad pages. Many people start this process by teaching English abroad.
Working abroad
Teaching English as a foreign language
On our blog
The Unexpected Avenues of Modern Languages
Languages Careers Event
Interested in putting your language skills front and centre? Hear from a panel of professionals who are using their language skills in a wide range of roles. They provide an insight into their role and using their languages plus advice on how to enter these fields.
Speakers:
- Phoebe Brown, Film PR at Percy and Warren (Film and TV PR agency)
- Charlotte Byrne, Growth Marketing Manager at Smol (Berlin based)
- Anna Richards, Freelance Travel Writer in France
- Emily Holt, Communications Manager at Civil Service (direct entry role)
- Niamh McLeish, German Immigration Coordinator at Fragment (global immigration law firm)
- Lucy Scurrah, Head of Sales for UK and France at Klarna
- Patrick Crowley, Pre-Recorded Subtitler at Sky
Login to SharePoint to watch a recording of this event
- Alumni: Email us to gain access to the webinar
Explore more...
Language recruitment agencies
Here are some examples of recruitment agencies which specialise in a range of sectors and roles where there is a language requirement such as: personal assistants, sales, finance, transport and customer service
Languages specific resources