Why did you study Linguistics/English Language at Queen Mary? Did you have a particular career path in mind?
I decided to study English Language and Linguistics because I loved the subject at school. I didn’t have a particular career path in mind but I wanted to delve deeper into the field and learn more about it.
What topics did you like learning about and was there anything that surprised you in your studies?
I loved all the Phonetics and Phonology modules in my course. Coming from a family where my Mother’s native tongue is English and my Father’s is Arabic, I found it really interesting to learn about how sounds are produced and the different sound inventories of various languages.
I also really enjoyed the modules focusing on the acoustics of speech and found it so interesting to learn about the anatomy of the throat and principles such as the Bernoulli Effect – the same principle of how air flows through the vocal folds is also how planes stay in the air!
Can you describe your career path to date and touch on your current role? How did you arrive in your current role?
My current role is a Data Engineering consultant, I arrived in this role by taking a crash course in coding and joining a Graduate Programme at a Tech consultancy. My goal is to eventually work in the Computational Linguistics field and work with Speech technology. The graduate programme I am on will help develop my technical skills so that I can eventually combine these with the skills I gained on my undergraduate course at QMUL.
How do you describe the skills and knowledge you gained during your Linguistics/English Language degree to your employers?
The main skill that I gained during my degree that I describe to employers is problem solving. The assignments involved in the course require some trial and error until you arrive at the right solution and these skills are incredibly valuable in all fields and something employers look for in candidates.
Another skill I mention to employers is research and written communication. My research project for my undergrad gave me the opportunity to independently work on a particular subject and report my findings in a dissertation, much like how you would work through a particular issue in the workplace and present findings to your team to arrive at a productive solution.
Can you describe what a typical working day looks like for you?
A typical day for me starts with a stand up with my team where we all share what we have done the previous day, any tasks completed, any blockers etc. Then I speak with the other engineers on my team to run through the specific tasks we all have and work through them either independently or together. Typically, these tasks involve small code changes to streamline the projects or fix any bugs, run tests to create applications and databases that other members of the team use to filter data, or check in with the client to ensure they are happy and are getting everything they need from me.
What are your career plans for the future/Are you looking to expand your skill set in anything?
As I said earlier, my plans for the future are to get into the Computational Linguistics field and work with Natural Language Processing and Speech Technologies.
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?
My degree prepared me for my current role by teaching me how to effectively work as part of a team to produce research findings, give presentations and arrive at solutions together. All things that are important in the workplace.
Is there any advice you would give to current students or recent graduates considering their career options?
Don’t feel like you are pigeonholed with your career choices after studying linguistics! Whether you want to have a career that uses Linguistics or not, the skills you have gained will be relevant in all fields and lend themselves into many careers. A lot of people are shocked at the job I currently have after studying Linguistics but the truth is, the skills I gained throughout my degree are what got me to the role I am in.
What advice would you give to a prospective student considering the course you studied and Queen Mary?
The content may seem really confusing at first as a lot of it is new and not taught at school, but don’t let that put you off. The lecturers are all great and provide a lot of support.
Once you have settled into the course and QMUL, I know you’ll love the modules and the diversity of the course. Really let yourself get stuck into all the content and readings as they are super interesting and fun. Definitely have an open mind and let yourself get creative in this course and I have no doubt you’ll get the most out of it.
What was special about your time at Queen Mary? Can you give one or two examples of your most memorable moments?
My time at Queen Mary was made special by the people on my course, both other students and the staff. The class sizes are kept a bit smaller than other courses which means you really get to know everyone and are able to have a lot of one on one time with the lecturers to ask questions and clear things up.
There’s also a lot of opportunity for group tasks and projects which means you make really great friends and meet people from lots of different backgrounds. This comes in handy if you ever need some advice on your assignments!
Feel free to share any other comments/thoughts you think would be relevant!
The whole team in the Linguistics department are incredibly knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. The course is so fun and interesting and I loved my time studying at QMUL. Linguistics is a vast field with lots of different topics that keep you on your toes, there’s something for everyone in this course!