Centre for Career and Personal Development Degree Profiles

These degree profiles look at potential jobs, key skills & atributes, associations & professional development and great books which relate to each degree and its potential career path.

Linguistics

The University of Calgary Department of Linguistics is one of western Canada's leading centres for the scientific study of language.

Key Skills & Knowledge

Critical thinking/analytical: Identify patterns; Integrate knowledge from a number of disciplines; listen, read for meaning and social use; analyze in all aspects of language (sounds, words, sentences, meanings).

Awareness of the role of language in transmitting culture: Cross-cultural awareness related to language, social content and historical language change; awareness of the contribution of different cultures/languages to Western culture/language, awareness of how language conditions not only what we think but how we think.

Communication: Influence and persuade an audience or reader; writing carefully reasoned reports; Present theories and ideas in a comprehensive manner.

Knowledge of the structure and function of language: Understanding of language and linguistic theory; understanding of language development, structure, meaning and process understanding of syntax, phonetic, morphology, and semantic recognition.

Problem solving skills: Identifying problems, developing solutions; decision making skills.

Sample Job Titles

Please note some of these positions may require further training, certification or education. Check out the occupational profiles to review the full details for the occupations that interest you at alis.alberta.ca/occinfo

Audiologist
Child development Facilitator
Close Caption Technician
Copy Editor
Dialect/Voice Coach
Editor (editing, proofreading, indexing)
Educational Researcher
ESL/Language Teacher
Forensic Linguist
Information Technology/Natural
Language Processing

Intelligence Officer
Journalist
Language Materials Developer
Lexicographer (terminology,
dictionary work)
Librarian
Linguistic Policy Researcher
Market Researcher
Proof-reader
Researcher/Research Assistant
Speech Language Pathologist

Speech Writer
Standardized Test Developer and Evaluator
Technical Writer
Translator/Interpreter
Writer

Potential Industries

Advertising
Child development
Communications
Editing
Educational Institutions
ESL and foreign language teaching
Foreign Affairs & Diplomatic Service
Government
HealthCare/Hospitals/Health Centres

Hi-tech Industries
Interpreting and Translation services
Laboratories
Language Institutions
Lexicography industry
Market Research Institutions
Marketing Firms
Media Corporations

Public Relations Companies
Publishing Firms
Software and Computational Companies
Voice Recognitions Industry
Writing

Associations & Professional Development

Job Sites

Additional Resources

Linguistics - More Resources

Aligned Majors

Communication and Media Studies

Education

English

Did you know?

Formal Career Assessments like the Strong Interest Inventory and the Myers Briggs Type Indicator can be helpful tools for your career development. These assessments have been used for decades to help individuals choose a major, explore career options during and upon completion of a degree and to further understand yourself in relationship to the world of work. Inquire with Career Services if you are interested in these formal assessments.

Publications

Careers for Foreign Language Aficionados and Other Multilingual Types by H. Ned Seelye; J. Laurence Day
ISBN: 0658010670
Publication Date: 2001-03-31
Careers for Writers and Others Who Have a Way with Words by Robert W. Bly
ISBN: 0071425098
Publication Date: 2003-01-01