Service provision competence – future-proofing your language career

Language is core to humanity. Without it, civilization would not have been possible. Our very identity exists because we define it in language terms. That's what has been so shocking about the advent of AI - in taking the monopoly of language away from humans it touched a nerve so deep that we all, as humans, feared not just for our livelihoods, but for our lives. As linguists, seasoned or in the making, this revolution feels yet more scary. Will our jobs be taken away by AI? The answer is not up for debate - our jobs will be gone, but just as we know them. They are evolving, perhaps faster than they ever had, and it is up to us to embrace the change and flourish with it. And flourishing we can, if we put the right gear in and keep an open mind. 

For those of us who are already operating in the job market, our day-to-day has in most cases already become unrecognisable. Whether we are employed as in-house translators, project- or production managers, we all know what a ‘prompt’ is and how to leverage machine learning solutions to increase our throughput. For those of us searching for a new job, keywords have changed. Language and translation may appear in less job titles these days, but they certainly are listed in the skills and duties one needs to perform in such a range of professions that the options before us have not decreased, but multiplied. Our language skills are more coveted than ever. To operate in the new AI space successfully, one needs to learn skills that we as linguists have and take for granted. It’s time to build up and capitalise on those and take the driving seat in the future of (language) work.