What to do with languages

So in the current economic climate (hate those words!) what would be the best route for people who have a degree in languages? I'm asking for myself and also for some of my friends who are currently unemployed. I have gone down the TEFL route but not sure if I want to do it forever, and work is hard to find at the moment. Ideally I'd become a translator/interpreter and teach English the rest of the time, but it wouldn't be any good if there was no work. What would be the best option for steady employment (or as steady as possible)? Taking into account that I lack the correct A-Levels and undergrad experience to go into a lot of things like finance.

generalmiaow

Is it a European language? If you're stuck some tech support/CSR roles for people with European languages are there and you generally earn a little bit more.

Yeah we all did French and Spanish and I also speak intermediate German. I worked in a call centre last year and at the time it was ridiculously easy to get it but now it seems that even those sort of places aren't hiring anymore :eek:

generalmiaow

CPHell are still advertising if you would sell your soul. I still think you might be ahead of the game though, since a lot of the people I worked with in a call centre last year were actually from the countries they were supporting and the word is a few of them have left.
I haven't applied for any language jobs myself in call centres as I only have fluent Irish but it's worth a try.

the_syco

generalmiaow wrote: »

CPHell are still advertising if you would sell your soul.

Pay ain't bad, canteen is nice, shuttlebus from nearby bus stop & train station. Yes, I work there, ask any questions. Do you have any tech skills? Yes, you said you worked in a call centre, but that could be in anything.

jaffa20

I'm in the same boat. First class degree in French and i'm working in a bank. Oh the joys. But i'm not complaining cos it's better than nothing, which is what many people have at the moment.

Pay ain't bad, canteen is nice, shuttlebus from nearby bus stop & train station. Yes, I work there, ask any questions. Do you have any tech skills? Yes, you said you worked in a call centre, but that could be in anything.

If you're asking me, I worked in a non tech support role, but I'm not looking for call centres right now since I don't even live in Ireland at the moment. My friends would be looking but they don't have any tech skills either. Would you get much training for those kind of roles? What is the pay for English + 2 languages?

I've been told I should do business or marketing, is that likely to significantly improve my chances of getting a decent job? Is there a particularly good college to study that type of thing, especially combined with languages? Or an internship scheme?

paullaugh

Hi if your fluent in spanish there is always jobs advertided for that. Also try UPS as they have a spanish call centre also. Did you try for work as a translator even part time you can get 25 a hour for that.

janullrich

I am bucking up on my written German to make it advanced. I speak fluent German but in the current environment they require native speakers or people who's written German is s**t hot. Unfortunately I am neither nor and am working on improving it!

sNarah

As a belgian girl, I master 5 languages fluent... And the only jobs out therewith languages are call centre (customer support) & tech support.

Companies are still hiring, such as the likes of: Hertz, Stream, UPS, DHL, National Pen, Accenture, Paypall/Ebay, Google, Xerox and CPL.

I have been looking for a challenging role with languages and none of the above - for me personnaly - fall under that categorie. Other then that, theres the occasional office related job from multinationals but they go filled even quicker then they get advertised. It's very hard to find a good role like that, in Ireland.

petethebrick

Go teach TEFL abroad in Korea or somewhere for a while if you can't get work here, you'll have a great time and save a good lot of money. In the long run it sounds like your best bet would be to narrow down exactly the type of area you'd like to work in and do a MA degree. eg Translation Studies, International Relations, International Finance. Apply now and save in the mean time. Were you living away from home last nov/dec - you'll get the mature students grant if so.
Languages on their own won't get you too far I don't think.

I'm already a qualified TEFL teacher, can't go to Korea for the moment (even though my BF's there!) as I have a few commitments to keep here in Belgium for the next few months. I would love to do Translation and have a place on a good course in a great uni but a lot of people are telling me I'm crazy as there isn't much work, and I should spend the money doing something more 'useful'.

Were you living away from home last nov/dec - you'll get the mature students grant if so.

I've lived away since I was 18, fully independent, but I thought the grant only applied to undergrad degrees?

petethebrick

There are grants for mature students. You have to be over 23 and They are means tested been living independently in Ireland in Oct/Nov/Dec period of the year before starting the course.

http://www.education.ie/home/home.jsp?maincat=&pcategory=10900&ecategory=19277&sectionpage=12251&language=EN&link=link001&page=1&doc=16875


It is means tested but on your means, nothing to do with parents etc I couldn't get it because I'd been living abroad the year before doing my MA most people did though. Stupid condition in my opinion!
All you need is one or two official bills etc from the period so technically you could live abroad.

Yeah, I've also heard translation is a hard area to break into, maybe you could do something more specific and go into translating in a particular area?

Oh right, well I was living in Dublin until last week, so I probably would be entitled to something, then? I've no bills as none were in my name, but I've payslips from work, employer could confirm I was there etc etc. How much would a typical grant be?

the_syco

[quote=[Deleted User];58924411]I should spend the money doing something more 'useful'.[/quote]
These people's idea of a "useful" job usually entails getting enough money to go on holidays twice, have enough money to go drinking whilst on said holidays, and drink every weekend whilst in Ireland...:rolleyes:

If you like the career, do the course.

newestUser

the_syco wrote: »

These people's idea of a "useful" job usually entails getting enough money to go on holidays twice, have enough money to go drinking whilst on said holidays, and drink every weekend whilst in Ireland...:rolleyes:

If you like the career, do the course.

Overly simplistic IMO. A balance has to be struck between the opportunities a career offers you, how easy it is to get work in that field, where you can work, how much you can earn, and all that practical stuff, and what you'll be happy doing.

It can be highly frustrating to invest time, money and effort in getting qualifications and experience in what you decide is your dream job, before realising upon reaching that goal that there's sh@g all jobs in that niche for you, or the work is nothing what you thought it'd be like.

Exactly. I'm not a materialistic person, but you can't live off fresh air. I've no interest in fancy cars or posh hotels or designer clothes, but I need to pay my rent and bills and don't fancy living off noodles forever I'd like to have a family and not be scrimping and saving all the time. I wish I was one of those people whose interest translates into a well paid job. Unfortunately not, in most cases!

It can be highly frustrating to invest time, money and effort in getting qualifications and experience in what you decide is your dream job, before realising upon reaching that goal that there's sh@g all jobs in that niche for you, or the work is nothing what you thought it'd be like.

That's the thing. I love translation and languages, but I do not want to spend 15 grand, a year's savings, on a Master's only to realise there's no work in it and end up working in Burger King. At the same time, I know some people DO find work and love it..... agh it's all so frustrating.

newestUser

I think, for most people, their job just pays the bills. Family, friends, free time, etc. are what's important for them, and their job facilitates that. There's nothing wrong with that. I'd rather have these things, along with a job that was so-so, as opposed to having a dream job, but not having free time, friends, relationship, stability, etc.

There's an element of drudgery to every job, and there's redeeming features (nice colleagues, flexibility,etc.) to even the most unglamorous jobs. Don't dismiss a job based on preconceived notions (that job's dull/unglamourous/full of pr!cks).

There's no easy answer to your situation, certainly none that I could write in 2 minutes on a Saturday morning in bed. For what it's worth, I don't think you should do the MA in Translation. It's a large commitment to make unless you're pretty sure it's what you want to do, and you understand fully the pros and cons. I don't think you're ineligible for most finance jobs either. Maybe in the Big 4 accounting firms (as they take A levels into account) but not in other places.

Mst

I am in a similar position to you. I graduated with a mainly languages degree and couldn't find a job with it.
I ended up working a banking job and hating it, I stuck it out for almost a year before heading down to New Zealand on the whv.
Just a bit worried about what I will do when I have to go home.To be honest I`m beginning to think the degree was a waste of time, as much as I enjoyed it and all. I doubt I`ll ever find a decent job that I like in Ireland with it.