Job in Sweden with a linguistics deegree

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Strictly my opinion.  Degrees offer 2 important things; the first is proof of an ability to absorb information and to present/discuss the information with a view to developing your information.  The other thing is some degrees offer proof of technical skills, by technical, I don't just mean engineering type things, but also things like linguistics, you need oil for an engine, you also need the ability to communicate effectively between different and potentially conflicting views.

So to answer your question, yes linguistics is an extremely important skill-set and with a degree, should be useful to many business operations.  The important thing I've learned about learning another language is that it's important to try and be able to speak in a dialect/accent understood by who you're talking to.  It's not a lot of good being able to communicate in English if the other guy can't understand you because of a thick Polish accent.  My wife (who is multi-lingual) tells me that I speak German like a native, of Turkey (and I'm a native English speaker!).

One last point - why do you think that the Polish borders are going to close?  You may not like the current politics, but the point is to try and use your skills to change peoples minds/views, not run off to another country.  As for Sweden, it's a lovely country but is also having internal political issues just like Poland.

I wish you the best of luck for the future.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Thank you very much for such a long reply.
Getting rid of an accent is a bit of a conundrum  to me. I've watched multiple videos on the internet about Polish accent reduction and I really try to work on it, so thanks for pointing this out as I also think speaking with a proper accent is an important skill.
I've heard that it is crucial that one should speak from the back of their mouth, but I cannot comprehend it. Is this really a thing? Do native English speakers really generate sounds like that?
To say something about this "border-closing" joke of mine, I am simply scared of people who are xenophobic, racist and homophobic and I don't like spending time with them. Some Polish people are really radical concerning their views, they do not intend to acknowledge that there are other points of view in the world as well. Another thing is that even if I was focused on ignoring their ignorance, it would still affect me in terms of everyday life.  Apart from that, I really doubt that my country will ever change. Many before me had tried to do something about this situation, but facts are undeniable - most of Polish people are ones who do not tolerate any other kind of folks. Even if they say they are tolerant, they deny it seconds later when they are confronted with something/someone  different from their own experience. Polish mentality is very complex and I'm not the one who could change it. Minority has little rights in terms of democracy. I will always keep on voting and saying my opinions outloud, but I don't want to deal with "the Polish mindset" my whole life.
Have a nice day

kabelek wrote:

Hi, I'm a young person and I wonder whether I will be able to find a job in Sweden after mastering Swedish, English and/or German. My native language is Polish. Is there a demand for translators in Sweden?
I just want to run away from my home country before the borders close, lol, so if anyone knows whether my future degree will be useful while moving abroad anywhere, let me know :')

Answer to your question both Yes and No. There are jobs but hard to believe that a person can support oneself only from that job, it is more like a freelance, part time job.
There are approx 100000 polish people liv here and approx 15% of them were born here and also unknown number of polish construction workers come and go everyday. Peoples that take care of them by themselves so translation Polish/Swedish is not a huge necessity. Other European languages are also pretty much covered. Chinese may has a little bit more demand. However this site may provides you with more info www.semantix.com
All the best!

If I would evaluate this situation for myself, I'll ask this question to myself.

What do I offer as non native speaker of Swedish or German?

Bear in mind, there are a lot of people who come in from Germany also. I have seen some translation jobs but they are not really good in paying, I assume they are for students. Also I know lot of young people here study different languages. English does not offer you any advantage here, most people know English, they simply don't prefer to communicate in English.

About your perception about racism and xenophobia, its everywhere including Sweden and the latest elections in Sweden confirm that. However people of different nationalities are living in Sweden with different types of jobs, so you might want to consider some other options too.

"About your perception about racism and xenophobia, its everywhere including Sweden and the latest elections in Sweden confirm that."

According to English oxford dictionary definition of the word racism is following "Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior."
In my 22 years of time here in Sweden I have been to almost every where in Sweden and I personally have never came cross a single Swede (or a Scandinavian for that matter) who said that they are superior than me or others and I have never been discriminated either.

If you mean SD gains more and more foothold by "latest elections confirm that" according to the definition of the word and according to SD itself they are not a racist political party. What they are saying simply is this "Swedish taxpayers can not afford anymore this massive reception of refugees so we want to stop it however we are agree to help them on the spot where there they are" So how can a person who vote for SD count as a racist or come to the conclusion that all this has an origin of racism? That is only politics and all about the budget. Different parties have different political ideologies.

Yes here and there media find some members of that party who are clear open racists but sometimes media also make racism out of patriotism. However that is not enough material to claim Sweden as a country has begun more in to racism. Well they got approx 20% of vote but I happen to know few expats who campaigned hard for them at the latest election, one of them is from our neighbor country Bangladesh. (I also have to say that all this political explanation is only to clarify your statement. I my self have manged so far not to involve in politics, I mean I never even have used my vote in my entire life, not in any country.)       

Having said that I can not claim that real racism does not exist in Sweden but I my self have witnessed much worse racism in my birth country Sri Lanka and unfortunately I am also ware that real racism may exists in every corner of the world.