Why did you study Linguistics/English Language at Queen Mary? Did you have a particular career path in mind?
My journey wasn’t necessarily linear; I planned to be a language teacher and before I joined QMUL I studied Spanish and English for a couple months in Germany where I got introduced to some basic linguistics. I enjoyed it so much that I did some research and found that some universities offered linguistics as a degree. Since it was top ranked in national research rankings, I decided to apply to QMUL!
What topics did you like learning about and was there anything that surprised you in your studies?
What surprised me the most was how versatile the field of linguistics is and that it split into many different subfields like psychology and physics. This allows students to engage with various fields used across a range of different industries in a variety of roles. I chose to pursue computational linguistics as I’m a logical and analytical thinker and found myself enjoy acoustics, phonology and psycholinguistics the most!
Can you describe your career path to date and touch on your current role? How did you arrive in your current role?
After I graduated in 2021, I started my role as a Language Specialist at Phrasee, a software company that specialises in using AI tools to create and optimize marketing language. I had done an internship the previous summer which I found thanks to the Queen Mary careers service. The was the perfect mix of linguistics and technology, and helped me develop some programming and data analytics skills. Now, I am doing an MSc in Computer Science with Speech and Language Processing at the University of Sheffield!
How do you describe the skills and knowledge you gained during your Linguistics/English Language degree to your employers?
I usually list my strongest modules which specialised in theoretical linguistics, syntax, phonology, and phonetics. In my phonetics module, I independently analysed and compared syllable lengths and fundamental frequencies using certain software. To highlight my research skills, I mention that I conducted a study for my dissertation project analysing phonetic speech data from bilingual speakers. The project helped me develop important research skills by working with both qualitative and quantitative data.
Can you describe what a typical working day looks like for you?
I would start my morning by creating a to-do list to visualise my tasks and organise my day. We had a content generator for each client and to make sure the models were producing appropriate language aligning with brand guidelines, we would do QA testing for models that had recently been updated, meaning language had been changed and/or new language had been added. After testing, we would promptly action feedback. I would then look at how my clients’ content performed and analyse their audiences’ click behaviour to ensure they achieved optimal results.
If I had a meeting with a client, I would run and evaluate a sentiment analysis to present what kind of language resonated with their audience the most. This is where my linguistics skills came in handy as I had to carefully analyse linguistic features that worked well. All in all, I had a variety of ‘analytical’ tasks to do, which I enjoyed most about my job!
What are your career plans for the future/Are you looking to expand your skill set in anything?
Since my work introduced me into the world of AI, I’m currently doing a degree in NLP (Natural Language Processing). In future, I would like to focus on the intersection of language and technology and hope to become an expert in the field.
As a multilingual myself, my current goal is to work for a language learning platform or translation service that uses NLP to correct errors and analyse someone’s language use and speech.
How did your degree prepare you for your current job role? Which skills that you developed during your degree have you brought to your current job?
I discovered my interest in research and developed essential skills needed to conduct experiments and analyse/evaluate data. Lecturers did a great job in teaching us these skills separately in different modules, prioritising quality over quantity. To strengthen these skills, I ran my own experiment for my dissertation project where I was responsible for finding, collecting, analysing and evaluate information to support my thesis. Those skills including critical thinking skills were the foundation for my passion for data analytics and AI.
Is there any advice you would give to current students or recent graduates considering their career options?
Don’t panic if you haven’t ‘figured it out’ yet. Your journey will most likely not be linear and you will have to go through trial and error to discover what you like and don’t like (it’s one of the best ways to learn!). Any experience will be valuable as it brings you closer to your potential dream job as long as you focus on what you enjoy most.
I was lucky that my job encouraged me to try out different things which is how I discovered new strengths but also weaknesses. Make sure to communicate your goals with your manager and integrate ‘personal development’ into your work schedule.
What advice would you give to a prospective student considering the course you studied and Queen Mary?
Get out of your comfort zone and explore new areas to discover what aligns with your interests. When you start your second or third year, there will probably be some subfields you prefer over others. See what they have in common and think about how you can connect them (it’s easier than you think!). If you enjoy modules like psycholinguistics and developmental language disorders, why not think about a potential career in speech and language therapy? Or if you find yourself developing an interest in acoustics and computational linguistics you could think about doing speech technology (like me!).
What was special about your time at Queen Mary? Can you give one or two examples of your most memorable moments?
The amazing people I met along the way, some of which are now my best friends. Creating my own Conlang, something I had never done before, was also very exciting and turned into a fun project of mine.