<p>I plan to major in linguistics!
I will probably be going to law school or grad school (education).</p>
<p>Although I like the idea of being a lawyer or a professor (not that many high schools have linguistics classes...), are there any other, probably more obscure, career options?</p>
<p>Every time i mention linguistics people say "You could be a codebreaker! and work for the FBI!"<br>
or
"You could learn to speak like 500 languages!"
or
"What? What is that?"</p>
<p>hey me too! yay, linguistics. do you know where you're going to college yet? there are very few places with decent programs. my boyfriend tells me that i'm majoring in something that no one else wants to do, because so few colleges have programs, at least compared to his major (biology, wow <em>rolls eyes</em>).</p>
<p>there are bunches of things you can do besides being a lawyer or a professor (although those don't sound so bad). i personally haven't decided yet (i've got 8 years, with grad school & college, so i'm not too worried), but i've done lots of looking. i'll make you a nice list.</p>
<p>computers: this is where you go if you want to make a nice chunk of cash. possibilities include:
speech recognition
artificial intelligence
search engines
spelling & grammar checking devices (like for word processors)</p>
<p>education: you've already thought about being a professor. some other options include:
tefl (teaching english as a foreign language) or teaching a foreign language--linguistics teaches you how languages work, making it easier for you to teach others</p>
<p>translation/interpretation: linguistics makes it easier to pick up languages because you understand how they work</p>
<p>lexicographer: making dictionaries</p>
<p>speech coach: train business professionals to drop their burdensome accent or train actors to imitate one</p>
<p>market research: come up with non-biased, non-offensive questions to ask the public</p>
<p>standardized testing: same as market research, except for students</p>
<p>language consultant: advise police, fbi, etc. and testify in court</p>
<p>neuroscience: specialize in communication disorders</p>
<p>technical writing: simplify the instructions for confusing products, computer programs, etc. to make them understandable to the general public</p>
<p>government: codebreaking, translating/interpreting, writing speeches for the president, etc.</p>
<p>business: linguists are often recruited as senior advisors to help business executives through tough international negotiations</p>
<p>there are more options, i'm sure, but the bottom line is that you have very few restrictions when it comes to choosing a career.</p>
<p>Could you tell me more about the neuroscience aspect of linguistics</p>
<p>Mmm...language--> Broca's region --> frontal lobe --> psychology/linguistics/biology?? Therapy?</p>
<p>Sorry, I'm not really a science person!</p>