Languages and Translation
There are many career options to consider if you would like to use your language skills. These broadly fall into two categories: roles where using languages is the central focus of the work, and roles where languages are an important advantage but not the primary activity.
Translation and interpreting are the most recognised language-focused professions. These roles require a high level of fluency, cultural awareness, and often a relevant postgraduate qualification. Translators work with the written word, while interpreters work with spoken communication in real time. Both may specialise in fields such as law, medicine, business, or media. Increasingly, professionals in these areas work alongside AI tools such as machine translation and speech recognition, using their expertise to ensure accuracy, nuance, and cultural appropriateness that technology alone cannot provide. You can read more about these career paths on our Translation and Interpreting area of work page.
Language graduates are also highly valued in teaching, whether teaching modern foreign languages in UK schools or teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) in the UK or abroad. TEFL opportunities range from short-term contracts to long-term international careers and can be an excellent way to live and work overseas.
Beyond these specialist fields, strong language skills are an asset in many industries where working across borders or cultures is central. Roles and sectors where languages can be particularly advantageous include:
- Customer service, sales and client support – for example, working in sales and analytics for global companies, supporting European or international clients.
- Public sector and government – including the Civil Service, diplomatic roles, the armed forces, intelligence services (read more about languages at MI5), and work with the European Union or United Nations.
- Hospitality, Travel & Tourism – from tour operations and airlines to visitor attractions.
- Shipping, logistics, and supply chain management – coordinating goods and services internationally.
- International marketing, PR, and communications – creating campaigns for overseas audiences.
- Law and finance – particularly in international trade, corporate law, or investment services.
- Charities, NGOs, Development work and International Relations often require individuals to use their language skills to support and engage others and open up opportunities to deliver their work
In all these areas, languages can enhance employability, enable work in international contexts, and help build relationships with clients, partners, and stakeholders from different cultures. For some roles, language skills are a ‘must-have’; in others, they are a strong differentiator in a competitive job market.
Working abroad in any sector
Strong language skills can open up opportunities to work in countries where your languages are spoken, across a wide range of industries. If you are considering applying directly to overseas employers, it is important to research the local job market, cost of living, workplace culture, and visa requirements. The Prospects Working Abroad pages provide useful guidance, and the GoinGlobal Country Guides offer in-depth information on opportunities, industry trends, and application processes in specific countries. Some multinational graduate roles are also based overseas, while others offer UK-based roles with regular international travel.
If you are interested in this area of work, these sectors might also be of interest to you:
List hyperlinks to other relevant sectors)
- Education and Teaching
- Politics, Government and the Public Sector
- Charities, NGOs, Development Work and International Relations
- Hospitality, Travel and Tourism
If you would like to do further research into this sector, the following webpages may be useful.
- The Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL) supports linguists across multiple professions, with information on qualifications, networking opportunities, sector news (The Linguist magazine) and CPD events.
- The Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) provides sector-specific information on careers, qualifications, and the future of the profession. Their ‘Industry in Context’ page provides an overview of the sector, and their ‘Starting out’ page provides practical advice on getting into translation and interpreting.
- Prospects, Bright Network, and the Career Zone page on modern languages explore a wide range of careers where a language degree or language proficiency are valued.
- British Council provide information on teaching English abroad, cultural exchange programmes, and international opportunities.
- GoinGlobal and Prospects provide advice on working abroad with detailed country guides, job market trends, employer directories, and visa information.
Making contacts is essential for success in this and other sectors. Many jobs in this field come through networking and speculative applications. You could start by speaking with the experts – find out what they did after graduation and contact them for advice.
Making contacts for work shadowing, informational interviews and speculative applications
To help increase your networks who may also be able to suggest ways to build experiences look at:
- Ask an Alum: A fuss-free way to connect with University of Exeter alumni to ask careers questions.
- Career Mentor Scheme: A popular employability scheme which matches a student or graduate with an experienced professional, for sector insight and one-to-one careers advice and guidance, over a 6-month period.
Recruitment fairs, careers fairs, open days, talks, and events give insights and opportunities to make contacts. For details of future events visit Handshake. If you have not yet activated your account, select the Single Sign On (SSO) option and follow the onscreen instructions.
Many major graduate recruiters have policies and processes that are proactive in recruiting graduates from diverse backgrounds. To find out the policies and attitudes of employers that you are interested in, explore their equality and diversity policies and see if they offer Disability Confident Employer Scheme or are recognised for their policy by such indicators as Mindful Employer or as a Stonewall’s Diversity Champion.
The UK law protects you from discrimination due to your age, gender, race, religion or beliefs, disability or sexual orientation and more. For further information on the Equality Act and to find out where and how you are protected, as well as information on what you need to do if you feel you have been discriminated against, visit the Government’s webpages on discrimination.
To learn more about how to share details of a disability with an employer and the support you can receive applying for jobs and work experience visit our equality and diversity page.
Action
Explore roles in the sector by visiting the areas of work below. Each profile covers typical duties and responsibilities, entry requirements, key skills required, professional development opportunities and links to finding both work experience and graduate roles.