Language is one of the main means of knowing the world. With its help, we learn, master the culture, communicate with others. Languages are studied by philologists who graduated from the university with a degree in linguistics. They can teach at a school or university, or work as translators, study the history of a language, compile dictionaries, and much more.
Graduate philologist - who is he?
One of the most common misconceptions is that people who study at philological faculties are deliberately "identified" to school. In fact, linguists are not necessarily Russian or English teachers or translators.
A person who graduated from the speci alty "Linguistics" can and has the right to work:
- A teacher at a university or secondary educational institution.
- Translator.
- Assistant Secretary.
- Engage in researchwork.
- Work in the field of artificial intelligence, especially if one specializes in applied linguistics.
- Develop learning software and electronic dictionaries, referencing systems.
- Work as an editor or proofreader.
- Work in journalism.
Where to study?
You already know who to work with in Linguistics, but what is the best university to study at?
It doesn't matter which school you choose. Almost all of them work according to a more or less similar program. During the training, students study the history of the development of the language, dialects, phonetics, spelling, grammar and syntax of the language, vocabulary, and style. Depending on the chosen speci alty, additional courses may be introduced. For pedagogical speci alties, a course in language teaching methodology is required, and for applied studies, the emphasis is on language statistics, corpus linguistics, and even mathematics.
In Russia, the following universities are considered the most prestigious:
- Moscow State Linguistic University.
- Lomonosov Moscow State University.
- Moscow State University for the Humanities named after M. A. Sholokhov.
- Institute of Foreign Languages of Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.
- UNIC Institute.
It is believed that the speci alty "Linguistics" in the universities listed above,is taught in the most profound and complete way, and the graduates themselves can then count on working in research institutes and laboratories, working as translators in embassies and government services. But it is important to remember that not only the university, but also the grades in the diploma, your knowledge, affect the possibility of getting a job in a prestigious firm or company.
Training areas
Training at the selected university can take place in the following areas of training:
- Philology.
- Linguistics - both fundamental and applied.
- Translation from any language. Moreover, not only people who know English and German, Chinese, but even Slavic languages, such as Polish, Czech, are in demand.
Negative and positive aspects of the profession
The advantages of the speci alty "Linguistics" include the following:
- Demand in the labor market.
- A high level of language proficiency, especially a foreign one, is a big plus, which further contributes to career growth.
- There is always an opportunity to earn extra money on the side.
Cons:
- Low pay in some regions.
- Pretty boring and monotonous work.
- In the case of teaching, a graduate of the speci alty "Linguistics" may face a problem: excellent knowledge of the language with the minimum makings of a teacher.
- Unstable work, especially for translators.
In general, a graduate, if he, of course, studied,very bright prospects.
Quite often on the forums you can find the topic "Speci alty" Linguistics ": what to work with?". Reviews show that graduates are quite willing to answer questions and advise areas of work.
Often, philologists work not only in their main place (for example, in a translation agency or a magazine, at school), but also earn extra money with the help of private language lessons, develop and sell their own programs for learning languages, and are freelance journalists for magazines and newspapers, moonlight as copywriters.
In general, the profession is suitable for people with a humanitarian mindset, who have patience, love to read and explore, analyze certain processes occurring in the language.