English, a gateway to varied career options

By: Bharti Rai
One language sets you in corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way."
This quote by Frank Smith applies to the learning of English language as well. With the rise in globalization and immigration, English language has become an inevitable need of the world. From the perspective of career opportunities, there is a general perception that pursuing English as a degree course leads to opportunities in education sector only. But in actuality, the scenario is different. Career in teaching is one of the many opportunities. Beginning with teaching as a career, let us shed light on opportunities available in private as well as public sector like audio and visual media, defence, parliament, embassies, etc.
In the field of teaching, English, Hindi and mathematics provide the aspirants with a wider platform because these subjects are taught at all the stages of school education. After completing graduation in English, and B.Ed followed by CTET/STET, one is eligible to be a PRT/TGT at primary and secondary level of school education. If the candidate has passed MA (English) and BEd, he/she is eligible to become a PGT (Post Graduate teacher) in educational institutions. From time to time vacancies are advertised by KVS, NVS, state selection boards, DSSSB, DIET etc. Moving to opportunities in higher education, a post-graduate in English can qualify UGC NET/JRF and be eligible for the post of assistant professor in colleges and universities. Post-Graduation in Linguistics too provides opportunities on the same plane in higher educational institutions. Since communication is a very important soft skill in corporate sector, IIMs, IITs and NITs offer teaching opportunities as assistant professor in literature, linguistics as well as in Communicative English too.
In defence, there are opportunities for post-graduates and graduates in English in the non-technical branch as Ground Duty Officers. The candidate should have passed graduation with 60% and post-graduation with 50% marks, respectively.
With the increasing immigration and globalization, there has been a high demand for translators and interpreters. According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, employment of translators and interpreters is projected to grow by 17% from 2017 to 2026. Candidates holding graduate and post-graduate degree or having diploma/certificate in Hindi as well as English are eligible to be appointed as translators. Translators have ample opportunities in various government and non-government bodies like Parliament of India, Rajya Sabha, embassies, call centres, multinational companies etc.
Earning a bachelor's degree in English can also help the aspirant to grab a job as content editor in news agencies, visual and audio media bodies. Content editor primarily deals with delivering and engaging written and visual content to a target audience by conceptualizing, producing, editing and analysing content.
In the multi-cultural world of today, there has been a significant rise in the field of voice-dubbing. As a dubbing artist, one can venture into a career in voicing by lending one's voice to films, documentaries, programmes, ad films, animation cartoons etc. Freelancing holds yet another very important career perspective. India has about 15 million freelancers and it ranks as the 7th largest freelance workforce. If you have a critical and analytical insight in your area of interest and good communication skills, freelancing can reap name and fame for you.
More career opportunities in English will be discussed in a sequel article.
(The writer is assistant professor in the Department of English at H D Jain College, Ara)