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Is a Language degree worth it?

Hi, I’m an A Level student about so send my application off, but I just wanted some advice on if taking a language degree would be worth it?
The actual degree is ‘Linguistics and Japanese’ but I just don’t know if I’d benefit from the course?
I’d really like to teach English at some point but I do not want to be stuck in that job. (more-so to travel + teach)
I’m interested in cooperate careers, and potentially technology but I don’t know if this will be open to me?
Of course experience is also important but I do want to be cautious about what I’m getting into.

Reply 1

Original post
by The….
Hi, I’m an A Level student about so send my application off, but I just wanted some advice on if taking a language degree would be worth it?
The actual degree is ‘Linguistics and Japanese’ but I just don’t know if I’d benefit from the course?
I’d really like to teach English at some point but I do not want to be stuck in that job. (more-so to travel + teach)
I’m interested in cooperate careers, and potentially technology but I don’t know if this will be open to me?
Of course experience is also important but I do want to be cautious about what I’m getting into.

So I have a degree in Asia Pacific Studies from Uclan, and the first 2 years I did Japanese with it. I chose it with the intention of being an English teacher, but I decided to go for APS because I wasn't excited about TESOL after the module I did in my foundation year and knew I could do a masters or short course in TESOL after graduating so I took the option I was more excited about. I ended up dropping Japanese after year 2 because I found it too hard (5 hours of contact time a week and you had to learn about 20 kanji every 1-2 weeks so it wasn't crazy intensive). From my perspective, if you want to be practical about it, language degrees are only useful when you learn a language. It might sound obvious, but after dropping Japanese, my degree became a lot less useful, so it closed some doors for me. I still enjoy languages a lot (I'm teaching myself Spanish right now) but personally, I struggle studying languages academically because the structure isn't ideal (sticking to a workbook and learning grammar) and I personally hated class in the end because it stressed me out and I never felt good enough. BUT I'm someone who crumbles under pressure, so a lot of other people thrived, went abroad and spoke well enough to graduate with a first. What's important is knowing yourself well enough and being able to be honest with yourself about handling it.
Now generally, languages, particularly Japanese, are very useful, but you might do much better learning it from home. Self study, online courses and 1:1 tutors will get you further and will be more worth the money. What I CAN say about language degrees, though, is that the community, sense of identity and opportunities are really good (Japanese societies, solidarity with people on your course, uni events about Japan, going abroad, exams etc). There was honestly nothing more exciting than planning a year abroad and getting allocated a university (even though it didn't work out for me personally) so it can really be a mixed bag, but if you're the right kind of person, you can have a really good time.
All this is to say, your degree will be a humanities degree. These are very common and generic, and cover a lot of bases. That puts you in the same bracket as people who do, for example, English literature, but with the international edge. So, you'll always be qualified to pursue teaching (English or Japanese, but you'd have to get a TESOL masters or PGCE etc) and you'd have that job security of being able to, for example, teach online when you're travelling or need some extra income, but you can also do generic jobs that anyone can do when they're degree educated.
My advice is always to not worry too much about your undergrad because most of the time, you can do something different for your masters, or retrain later on if things don't work out. I'm looking at being a Speech and Language therapist (a great option for linguistics graduates, btw).
You can do TESOL with any undergrad as an Engish speaker so if the only reason you want to do that degree is for the option to teach, maybe go down the tech route for undergrad, but if you just like the sound of linguistics, go for it anyway. I always suggest doing something you're going to enjoy, and therefore actually finish.

Reply 2

Original post
by bulbethaur
So I have a degree in Asia Pacific Studies from Uclan, and the first 2 years I did Japanese with it. I chose it with the intention of being an English teacher, but I decided to go for APS because I wasn't excited about TESOL after the module I did in my foundation year and knew I could do a masters or short course in TESOL after graduating so I took the option I was more excited about. I ended up dropping Japanese after year 2 because I found it too hard (5 hours of contact time a week and you had to learn about 20 kanji every 1-2 weeks so it wasn't crazy intensive). From my perspective, if you want to be practical about it, language degrees are only useful when you learn a language. It might sound obvious, but after dropping Japanese, my degree became a lot less useful, so it closed some doors for me. I still enjoy languages a lot (I'm teaching myself Spanish right now) but personally, I struggle studying languages academically because the structure isn't ideal (sticking to a workbook and learning grammar) and I personally hated class in the end because it stressed me out and I never felt good enough. BUT I'm someone who crumbles under pressure, so a lot of other people thrived, went abroad and spoke well enough to graduate with a first. What's important is knowing yourself well enough and being able to be honest with yourself about handling it.
Now generally, languages, particularly Japanese, are very useful, but you might do much better learning it from home. Self study, online courses and 1:1 tutors will get you further and will be more worth the money. What I CAN say about language degrees, though, is that the community, sense of identity and opportunities are really good (Japanese societies, solidarity with people on your course, uni events about Japan, going abroad, exams etc). There was honestly nothing more exciting than planning a year abroad and getting allocated a university (even though it didn't work out for me personally) so it can really be a mixed bag, but if you're the right kind of person, you can have a really good time.
All this is to say, your degree will be a humanities degree. These are very common and generic, and cover a lot of bases. That puts you in the same bracket as people who do, for example, English literature, but with the international edge. So, you'll always be qualified to pursue teaching (English or Japanese, but you'd have to get a TESOL masters or PGCE etc) and you'd have that job security of being able to, for example, teach online when you're travelling or need some extra income, but you can also do generic jobs that anyone can do when they're degree educated.
My advice is always to not worry too much about your undergrad because most of the time, you can do something different for your masters, or retrain later on if things don't work out. I'm looking at being a Speech and Language therapist (a great option for linguistics graduates, btw).
You can do TESOL with any undergrad as an Engish speaker so if the only reason you want to do that degree is for the option to teach, maybe go down the tech route for undergrad, but if you just like the sound of linguistics, go for it anyway. I always suggest doing something you're going to enjoy, and therefore actually finish.

Also I wanted to add that my sister did Education and Mandarin at Leeds and has taught in Ukraine, Shanghai, Seoul, Taiwan and Italy since starting her course in 2016, and is now doing a masters in sustainability in Italy because she wants to get out of teaching. It's served her very well over the years and she's gotten a lot out of it, but there's always a way to change it up when you need to (even if she had to go to Italy to do it lol).
Original post
by The….
Hi, I’m an A Level student about so send my application off, but I just wanted some advice on if taking a language degree would be worth it?
The actual degree is ‘Linguistics and Japanese’ but I just don’t know if I’d benefit from the course?
I’d really like to teach English at some point but I do not want to be stuck in that job. (more-so to travel + teach)
I’m interested in cooperate careers, and potentially technology but I don’t know if this will be open to me?
Of course experience is also important but I do want to be cautious about what I’m getting into.

Hi there,

At Cardiff we offer Japanese, and my friend studies Mandarin Chinese and she loves it, and says they teach the course to a high level so you leave being fluent. It is a great skill to learn, and as part of the course they have a compulsory year abroad in a country where your chosen language is an official/native language. This is amazing experience on so many levels, for skills development and personal development. You can check out more about the course here.
Hope this helps, any other questions let me know,

Grace - Cardiff Uni Student Rep
Original post
by The….
Hi, I’m an A Level student about so send my application off, but I just wanted some advice on if taking a language degree would be worth it?
The actual degree is ‘Linguistics and Japanese’ but I just don’t know if I’d benefit from the course?
I’d really like to teach English at some point but I do not want to be stuck in that job. (more-so to travel + teach)
I’m interested in cooperate careers, and potentially technology but I don’t know if this will be open to me?
Of course experience is also important but I do want to be cautious about what I’m getting into.


Most grad schemes accept graduates from any subject, including those in financial services e.g. accountancy, investment banking, management consulting etc.

Note for investment banking and management consulting, you should aim for a target uni. The only target unis offering Japanese as a main subject of study are Oxford and Cambridge that I'm aware of (note neither offer a joint course with linguistics although I think it may be possible to take some options in Japanese linguistics on those courses).

If Japanese (with or without linguistics) is what you want to do, then go for it :smile:

You might find the following posts by a past TSR user insightful -

On uni options in the UK:

Spoiler


On year abroad uni options in Japan:

Spoiler

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 5

Original post
by The….
Hi, I’m an A Level student about so send my application off, but I just wanted some advice on if taking a language degree would be worth it?
The actual degree is ‘Linguistics and Japanese’ but I just don’t know if I’d benefit from the course?
I’d really like to teach English at some point but I do not want to be stuck in that job. (more-so to travel + teach)
I’m interested in cooperate careers, and potentially technology but I don’t know if this will be open to me?
Of course experience is also important but I do want to be cautious about what I’m getting into.

Hi there,

I study Arabic at university, and a language degree like Linguistics and Japanese can definitely be worth it, depending on how you use it. I know people who’ve studied languages and gone on to work in tech, corporate careers, and even teaching English abroad, so it’s a flexible degree.

If you’re thinking about teaching English abroad, a degree like this combined with a TEFL qualification (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) would set you up really well. Knowing Japanese will also make living and working there much easier.

For corporate or tech careers, the transferable skills from a language degree—like communication, cultural awareness, and analytical thinking—are highly valued. Adding internships or learning extra skills (e.g., coding or business) alongside your studies will make you even more competitive.

Hope that helps, and best of luck with your application!

MK
SOAS Student Rep

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