Universiteit Leiden

nl en

Linguistics (BA)

Career prospects

What is your preferred career path? Would you like to teach? Do you enjoy doing research? Or would you prefer a job that involves writing and editing? Your Linguistics degree provides excellent preparation for a wide range of career paths.

These skills will help you

As a Linguistics graduate, you will have developed not only strong academic skills, but also resourcefulness, the ability to set priorities, work independently, process complex information, and stay self-motivated. These skills are valued by employers. If you gain relevant work experience during your studies, this will help you find a job more quickly.

Our job market survey shows that 85% of our graduates find a job within two months, and 85% of them are in highly qualified positions.

What will your professional field be?

Your degree in Linguistics makes you an attractive candidate for a variety of potential employers. For example, you could work in research, education, IT, or communication and marketing.

  • 23 % Education
  • 18 % Research
  • 14 % IT
  • 14 % Communication
  • 9 % Government and semi-government
  • 9 % Information management
  • 5 % Non-profit (e.g. NGOs)
  • 5 % Business services
  • 3 % Other

Source: Job market survey 2020 among Linguistics graduates 2016-2019. Career Service Humanities.

Our graduates have found employment in organisations such as:

  • Brill Publishers
  • Leiden University Centre for Linguistics
  • McKinsey & Company | Global
  • Consultancy firms
  • Translation agencies
  • PhD positions at various universities
  • Institute for Dutch Language