Can a linguistics degree me get into a creative job?

Heyy guys !!

I’m currently finalising my university options, think about whether or not I want to pick a study abroad or placement year course, which kinda circled me back to my main goal - getting into the creative industry. Will either of this option somehow help get me into it, or will be I be stuck having to do linguistic even after uni? Don’t get me wrong, I do have a genuine interest in linguistics unless I wouldn’t be applying for it in general, but I’m honestly just doing it for my parents. They expect me to get a ‘good’ sounding degree to get a secure job, because they think working in the film industry will not get me anywhere. My plan was to get this degree as a stepping stone to break into the creative industry, as for instance a screen writer, art director or simply journalist. However I’m really not sure whether I can even achieve it or if is even possible, possibly making this whole 3-4 years a complete waste of my time and money. Circling back to me debating whether to a placement year or study abroad (or neither), I’m not sure whether the university would let get placement something unrelated to linguistics :/ same thing with study abroad, I most likely would have to carry on linguistics at the other university. But again I don’t know!!!

So my general questions are:

- Can I really break into the film/creative industry with a linguistics degree??
- Is it a waste of time??
- Would study abroad benefit my case?? (from someone that has done it or is about)
- Would a placement year be more useful in my case??
- How was it financially?
- Aside from my problem which one would you really recommend?
- Am I make the right decision in general?? :frown:

Reply 1

greg tony

Original post

by brownsauc3

Heyy guys !!
I’m currently finalising my university options, think about whether or not I want to pick a study abroad or placement year course, which kinda circled me back to my main goal - getting into the creative industry. Will either of this option somehow help get me into it, or will be I be stuck having to do linguistic even after uni? Don’t get me wrong, I do have a genuine interest in linguistics unless I wouldn’t be applying for it in general, but I’m honestly just doing it for my parents. They expect me to get a ‘good’ sounding degree to get a secure job, because they think working in the film industry will not get me anywhere. My plan was to get this degree as a stepping stone to break into the creative industry, as for instance a screen writer, art director or simply journalist. However I’m really not sure whether I can even achieve it or if is even possible, possibly making this whole 3-4 years a complete waste of my time and money. Circling back to me debating whether to a placement year or study abroad (or neither), I’m not sure whether the university would let get placement something unrelated to linguistics :/ same thing with study abroad, I most likely would have to carry on linguistics at the other university. But again I don’t know!!!
So my general questions are:
- Can I really break into the film/creative industry with a linguistics degree??
- Is it a waste of time??
- Would study abroad benefit my case?? (from someone that has done it or is about)
- Would a placement year be more useful in my case??
- How was it financially?
- Aside from my problem which one would you really recommend?
- Am I make the right decision in general?? :frown:

Personally i think you should take a gap year or pick a suitable creative degree (most grad schemes will accept any degree so you are not really losing anything by choosing it over linguistics, particularly as you know you dont want a career in linguistic). Never, ever do a degree to appease someone else. Think of it this way, would you ever spend circa 45k and 3 years of your life just to put a smile on your parents face (briefly), which is effectively what you are doing. You will also lose access to funding via SFE for nearly every other degree, so you may not get a redo in the future.

You sound like you know what you want already, which is actually quite rare enough in someone your age. So my advice to you is trust yourself. Your parents will learn to be happy when they see you are.

Greg

Reply 2

TCUoS

Official Rep

Original post

by brownsauc3

Heyy guys !!
I’m currently finalising my university options, think about whether or not I want to pick a study abroad or placement year course, which kinda circled me back to my main goal - getting into the creative industry. Will either of this option somehow help get me into it, or will be I be stuck having to do linguistic even after uni? Don’t get me wrong, I do have a genuine interest in linguistics unless I wouldn’t be applying for it in general, but I’m honestly just doing it for my parents. They expect me to get a ‘good’ sounding degree to get a secure job, because they think working in the film industry will not get me anywhere. My plan was to get this degree as a stepping stone to break into the creative industry, as for instance a screen writer, art director or simply journalist. However I’m really not sure whether I can even achieve it or if is even possible, possibly making this whole 3-4 years a complete waste of my time and money. Circling back to me debating whether to a placement year or study abroad (or neither), I’m not sure whether the university would let get placement something unrelated to linguistics :/ same thing with study abroad, I most likely would have to carry on linguistics at the other university. But again I don’t know!!!
So my general questions are:
- Can I really break into the film/creative industry with a linguistics degree??
- Is it a waste of time??
- Would study abroad benefit my case?? (from someone that has done it or is about)
- Would a placement year be more useful in my case??
- How was it financially?
- Aside from my problem which one would you really recommend?
- Am I make the right decision in general?? :frown:

Hi @brownsauc3 !!

Great to hear you're considering studying Linguistics at university - I'm a current second year English Language and Linguistics student at the University of Southampton, and all I can say is that if you know you love linguistics, you'll definitely love and enjoy the course, so there's no need to worry about the course itself.

Many creative positions look for a strong portfolio or basic experience in the industry, and are less bothered about the course itself, as long as it lends itself to the type of work you'd be doing (e.g. strong writing skills, storytelling). You can still very much get into the industry with a slightly different degree, and many people currently working in the field don't have exact degrees either!
However, linguistics alone may not provide you with the skills you need for your career, as the work we do is more concerned with psychology, speech, foreign languages and sociology. However, you can easily pick up any skills and experience through extracurricular activities, e.g. work experience, societies, personal portfolio.

If you still enjoy linguistics and want to study it, how about taking it as a minor with a course more suited for your career aspirations? I'd recommend researching universities carefully, but the University of Southampton offers really varied courses where you can pick up modules from different disciplines, such as science, psychology, modern languages etc. You could take Linguistics with a minor in Film, for example. I'd recommend contacting universities asking if this is possible before you apply.

To answer another one of your questions, in almost all cases, a university will let you take any placement from any discipline/sector, as long as it meets the guidelines in length of placement and hours worked per week. As a linguistics student myself, I'm currently applying for marketing, communications, even roles working with children in speech pathology - your options are so varied even if you study a more specific field like linguistics.

If you're stuck trying to choose between a study abroad and a year in employment placement, please know it is very possible to do both, just not how you might expect! At university, I studied abroad in South Korea on a summer placement, which was supported by the university. If you don't want to commit a year to studying abroad, that's something you can consider. And vice versa, summer work placements are also available if you wanted some experience in the industry, without wasting an entire year.

I don't know your situation completely, but whatever choice you make does not permanently determine your future, and for general advice, I'd recommend choosing a path you know you'll engage with and enjoy the most.

Let me know if you have any further questions about being a linguistics student, and good luck!
Lia - University of Southampton Student Ambassador

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Articles for you

What are your options after A-levels?

How The Student Room is moderated

To keep The Student Room safe for everyone, we moderate posts that are added to the site.

Try out the app

Continue on web