Educational Level

[Luigi]

Do any of you linguistics majors actually work in linguistics? I'm wondering what options might come after a BA in linguistics.

 

To work in linguistics, you need to go on for your master's and Ph.D. in linguistics, then teach linguistics. (Your bachelor's and master's don't necessarily have to be in linguistics, but a linguistics master's-doctorate combination is pretty standard). There are no linguistics companies out there.

 

Kinds of employment:

1. Teaching linguistics (college or university), most frequently Intro to Linguistics, which is required for lots of different degrees. With some seniority, you get to teach higher level courses. You do research during the summer by going, annually or bi-annually, to the group of speakers you're an expert on - Central or South American peoples, Asia, Africa, whatever.

2. Teaching English as a Second Language. Here in the states, lots of school districts are looking for TESL teachers (or regular teachers who are also certified in TESL). You can work your way up in a large district to be the language policy expert. Lots of opportunity to teach English abroad - for the rest of your life, if you want.

3. Government - usually related to education at the local and state levels, but the feds also hire linguists. I know the CIA does, anyway.

4. Native American tribes - Fewer jobs here, but more interesting. Again, you're a language policy expert, setting up opportunities for elders to teach the younger generation, to record the elder generation before the language dies with them, and that kind of thing.

5. The book industry - working on dictionaries, grammar textbooks, TESL textbooks, editing, etc.

 

But linguistics can also be tied in to anthropology, mathematics, or philosophy. And lots of other fields, too, but the job prospects get more limited the more rarified your educational cocktail is.