Course Description

This course will introduce participants to non-academic jobs for linguists (focusing on careers in the tech industry) and equip them with the knowledge required to apply for such jobs. We will cover topics such as: types of jobs for linguists, types of industries and companies linguists are employed in, transferable skills, internships and other ways to prepare for the market, searching for jobs and networking, preparing a resume, interviewing, negotiating offers, and special considerations for international students.

Anyone who might consider a non-academic job (i.e., everyone!) is welcome to attend. No technical background is assumed or required. The course may be of particular interest to graduating students, but also to anyone who wants to plan a few years ahead and has the time to adjust their studies and projects to be better prepared for a diverse job market.

By the end of the course, participants should have a basic grasp of the diverse possibilities open to them and a plan for potential next steps to prepare for those opportunities, as well as a first draft of a resume and a LinkedIn profile.

Special Note on Registration
Registration for this course will not be carried out in the standard manner via the Institute registration portal. Instead, registration for this course will open on May 2nd. A registration link will be sent to all participants who have completed their registration at the Institute. There is no registration cap on this course.

Classes will take place on Wednesday June 21st and June 28th and will meet twice each day at 9am-10:20am and 1:30pm-2:50pm.

Area Tags: Alt-Ac, Job Market, Careers, Tech, Professional Development

(Session 1) Wednesday, 9:00am-10:20am, and 1:30pm-2:50pm.
Room numbers: June 21 ILC in S240 and June 28 in ILC S331.

Instructor: Hadas Kotek

Hadas Kotek has a PhD in linguistics from MIT. Her academic interests are in formal syntax and semantics, specifically A-bar phenomena, and her research uses both theoretical and experimental methods. She is currently employed by Apple/Siri and Language Technologies as a data scientist, where she focuses on human computation, large scale data annotation for supervised learning, and annotation efficiency and accuracy. She also holds an appointment as a Research Affiliate with MIT Linguistics. She has taught a semester-long “careers for linguists” workshop twice, in 2021 and 2022, and is passionate about promoting diverse career paths for academics.