<p>I'm so confused. I was majored in English Language and Literature (Secretarial work for international affairs) in a university in China, and had got my BA degree in 2001. During the following 10 years, I worked as translator in a German bank (where the working language is English) and then legal translator (paralegal, to some extent) for two US law firms in Shanghai, China. Now that I have immigrated to live in Canada, I want to get a Master's degree here.</p>
<p>Just don't know which major shall I choose. I'm thinking about computer science and pharmacy science. But they don't seem workable as a bachelor's degree of science is required. I don't want a master degree for the English language and literature major. In that case, is there any major I can choose for master degree?</p>
<p>Thanks anyone for offering help in advance.</p>
<p>Thank you for helping. Yes, I do want to change career fields, as the career perspective for a non-native speaker majored in English is really not that promising in Canada or US. I’m actually thinking about science, such as IT or pharmacy, because of both my interest and a better chance for career development. I thought about law school, but as my husband is running his own business, I can’t be an attorney, that’s a job with absolutely no private time or family time.</p>
<p>Perhaps you should look at providing services to North American firms looking to expand in China --if one can assume your mother language is Chinese. If you want to add another degree, you could do worse than looking at a business degree, especially one with an international specialty.</p>
<p>An MBA program could work for you, so could an M Ed in TESL. Many successful ESL classroom teachers are not native speakers, and a teaching career usually is family friendly.</p>
<p>Many IT jobs don’t require an advanced degree. Some just require certification in a specific thing like C++ or the like. You could take those classes part-time for very little money at a community college.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, I’d encourage you to find out what kind of licensing or certification is necessary to work as an interpreter in your local court system, the school district, or any public agency that needs interpreters. There may be enough work so that you cam make some money while you think scout your future.</p>
<p>Chances are that many Canadian’s don’t know Mandarin (or Cantonese) and English. Most people in Canada probably just know English, French, or both. But even if they many people do know both languages, they probably haven’t had experience as a translator for like a decade. </p>
<p>My advice would be to survey the job market in your area. You probably don’t need an masters degree to have a thriving career in Canada. I’m sure there are many Canadians interested in learning Chinese, or in need of the services of someone who knows both language. Of course if you’re interested in the sciences, you can certainly get a degree to encourage your interests and enhance your job prospects simultaneously. But in your case i don’t think it’s necessary.</p>
<p>It would seem a little late to study pharmacy or computer science for graduate school, if you have taken little or no science or tech courses at an undergraduate level. But I don’t know that for sure.</p>
<p>But given your chinese language skills, I agree that an MBA makes some sense.</p>