Resources for alternative careers

Linguistics Beyond Academia Special Interest Group

https://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/linguistics-beyond-academia

A Special Interest Group open to all LSA members. It includes “linguists working beyond traditional faculty, teaching, and research roles in academic institutions…[and] linguistics students (at all levels) and graduates interested in pursuing careers as linguists outside or “beyond” academia.”


“Members network and exchange information; discuss and document the uses of linguistics and linguistic research across various professional contexts; and provide insight and advice on career opportunities to graduate and undergraduate students, advisors, and career changers.”

“LSA members who are interested in participating in this SIG are encouraged to join the Facebook group, follow @LingBeyondAcad and/or email LinguisticsBeyondAcademia@gmail.com.”

2. Job titles and job descriptions for linguists

https://hkotek.com/blog/altac-jobs-for-social-scientists/

For linguists, relevant industry job titles can be entirely non-obvious. Unlike in academia, where the only job you are taught to want is Assistant Professor, with a career path taking you to Associate Professor and perhaps Full Professor, outside academia, employers can use whatever title they want for their jobs. Therefore,

  • The same title could mean different things at different companies
  • The same job responsibilities can be called different names at different companies

“Identifying the relevant skills you’ve learned in grad school can be a long journey. And once you’ve identified some potential jobs of interest, figuring out what they’re actually called is yet another journey.

This post is a summary of an extensive crowd-supported effort to collect the many types of jobs that are available to linguists (and other social scientists) along with descriptions from former academics who hold them.”