Interpreting or Marketing/Business

[Daniel Primed]

Hello folks,

I've locked in my University preferences in place, which is a degree for interpreting with my major being Chinese. But I have until January to change m preferences if I wish. I've been doing some thinking and I'm not sure if I should switch over to international business or marketing.

I've heard that you can make a good amount of money from trading with China as the economy is so strong. I'm also from Australia so there's more advantage there as well as we're close to China. I'm not sure what I should do. I've heard that interpreting jobs aren't very stable and are part time or freelance.

Can I get some +ves and -ves as to why I should choose either business or marketing over interpreting. And which out of business or marketing should I choose?

[imron]

Back in high-school, my interest was in IT, and so that's what I decided to study at Uni. I graduated just as the IT bubble was taking off, and as I was graduating, there were lots of people starting out in IT-related degrees because they thought they'd be able to make their millions. Cut to a few years later and those same people were graduating just as the bubble had burst, and they were finding that their skills were in worthless web-technologies and that even if they could find work, they didn't really want to be doing that sort of thing because their major incentive (i.e. making loads of money in a short space of time) was gone. Who knows where the Chinese economy will be in 3/4 years time, so my advice would be to think about what interests you the most, and do that. If you're choosing your university topic based on what other people tell you is hot now, by the time you graduate, something else will be the big thing and you'll have qualifications in something you don't want to spend the rest of your life doing.

Also, although it might seem like a big deal now, with everyone telling you that the choices you make now will be fixed/determine the rest of your life etc etc, the reality is that once you get to university, if you decide after one semester (or even 3 years), that you don't like what you're doing, or that it's not relevant for what you want in a career, it's a relatively painless process to transfer to another course, and still get credit (or partial credit) for the subjects you've completed. Things are a lot more flexible than you might imagine and than what others might be telling you.

The other thing to remember, is that if your major is Chinese, you could probably do a minor in international business, and likewise, if your major is business you could probably do a minor in Chinese. So just because you major in one thing, doesn't mean you can't learn about the other thing while you're at it.

Regarding finding work, if you're good at what you do, you will always find gainful employment. And if you enjoy what you do, you'll have a much better chance of being good at it, because you won't mind putting in the extra time and effort to learn. So, yes, a lot of interpreting/translating is freelance, but that doesn't mean you won't have a lot of work. Also, whatever you decide to study, you might find that upon graduation you never directly use many of the things you learn at university - at least regarding lectures/subjects. What you will learn is how to think and analyse, how to interact with others etc etc, and these are the skills that you will find useful later on in life. Also, a university degree doesn't just tell a prospective employer what you know, but rather it tells them you can apply yourself to achieving long term goals. In this respect, what you studied isn't as important as the fact that you completed your studies.

I would suggest that your next step should be to find out the contact information of the course coordinator of the Chinese course and the business/marketing course that you're thinking of doing, and arrange for a meeting with each of them to discuss these sorts of things. Most course coordinators will be happy to talk to you and offer their advice. They will also be able to tell you about other students who have similar interests to you, the choices they made, and the direction it took them for their career. They can tell you about the career options available for your course, and the feasibility/practicality of doing a business minor for your interpreting course, or a Chinese minor for your business course.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you end up deciding to do.

[bianfuxia]

Daniel,

Imron's advice is spot-on. You should follow it.

In a past life, I ran several recruitment rounds at a large organisation. The people who shone (and who we ultimately recruited) were the ones who best demonstrated the kinds of skills Imron mentioned: analytical skills, the ability to solve problems, communication and team-work skills. It was a legal environment so they all had to have law degrees, but beyond that we did not really care what subjects they had taken - because we knew that if they had these skills, they could quickly learn the specifics of our legal activity once they started the job.

This is especially the case when you are starting out as a graduate. You want to be able to convey to a prospective employer: "What separates me from my 500 fellow graduates is that I have superior analytical skills. I demonstrated this when I worked on the xyz team project and was able to find the solution to blah blah blah". Even if you only got a Credit and the other guy got a High Distinction, you will still be able to compete. When recruiting, you do sometimes see people with straight HDs, the Uni Medal, the Nobel Peace Prize, but who are incapable of communicating in clear or simple terms, and who look as though they wouldn't know one end of a fax machine from the other. Ultimately an employer wants someone who can do things in the workplace, and learn quickly. That HD in "Commercial Law B" may not mean too much more than the other guy's credit, especially if the guy with the credit brings something else to the table, like demonstrable skills.

Keep this in mind when choosing your subjects. Imron is exactly right when he/she says you should choose to do something you're interested in. You are more likely to be good at it, which means you'll get into it more, and then you'll find the opportunities to develop the skills you need. If you hate it, chances are you'll do the minimum needed to pass. And, importantly, you are more likely not to suffer a crisis two years after graduating when you realise you might be stuck in that field for the next 30 years! (Although these days it is rarely too late to change, if you're smart and haven't specialised too soon).

If you have a fail-safe crystal ball, then by all means choose a narrow path. But for most people, a good rule of thumb is "don't specialise too early". The first few years of your career are well spent gaining experience, learning how to get things done in the workplace, seeing how projects are managed, working with teams, building relationships, dealing with leaders, bad bosses, tight deadlines, unreliable colleagues, and all the features of the workplace. You'll be amazed how little you will actually use the theoretical things you learn at uni. They are an important background to the practical work your employer will teach you how to do.

With this in mind, it is not critical that you choose the hottest major, or try to pick which one will be hot when you graduate. Instead, aim for something that is generally respected, and then do your best to a) do well in it and B) gain the skills you need. This means participating in tutorials, asking questions, lining up some internships in 3rd year (or whenever), and if you can, get a part time job that you can describe later at an interview to demonstrate some of the "employability" factors. I once interviewed a guy who'd been a "panel operator" at the local BP service station - at first blush not the most amazing job, but he was very good at describing the responsibility and customer service angles of his position and it really enhanced his CV. (The point is, don't worry if you don't land the dream part-time job and can't say "yeah I was Kerry Packer's life coach").

Good luck, and enjoy uni. A mix of business and Chinese will be great. Add in a year in China down the track, and keep your life interesting with some other activities, and you will have a great time at uni and be marketable when you finish.

(PS - there are other ways though. I have a friend who had a very promising career in defence policy, working for the Minister, etc, but whose one love in life was ancient Icelandic. She left Australia, moved to Reykjavik, learned Icelandic, and is now nearly finished her Masters in Icelandic Translation. A very narrow field, not especially lucrative, I'm sure you'll agree! But she is good at it, and she loves it, and she is HAPPY. This, ultimately, is what we all should aim for).

[Daniel Primed]

Thanks for the great advice guys.

I think that I'll stick to my original plan of doing just interpreting as I have checked out about the marketing and business courses and they don't really suit me too much anyways.I'll also back that up with some digital design which I'll do at home. So that that possibility is open, which would be portfolio based.

Thanks again