Career Prospects
Introduction
Studying for a Spanish and Portuguese degree at Queen’s will assist students in developing the core skills and employment-related experiences that are valued by employers, professional organisations and academic institutions. Graduates from this degree at Queen’s are well regarded by many employers (local, national and international) and over half of all graduate jobs are now open to graduates of any discipline.
The First Destination Survey showed that none of our language graduates were unemployed six months after graduating in 2010. A Higher Education Funding Council report for 2008 also showed that 3.5 years after graduation, languages students have the fourth highest mean salary (after graduates in Medicine, Pharmacy and Architecture).
Although the majority of our graduates are interested in pursuing careers in law, business, banking and translation, significant numbers develop careers in a wide range of other sectors. Typical careers pursued by graduates in Spanish and Portuguese can include publishing, education/teaching, translation/interpreting, PR, fast stream Civil Service, and banking.
http://www.prospects.ac.uk
Employment after the Course
Spanish graduates go on to work in a very wide range of sectors, including media and communications, advertising, journalism, tourism, teaching and translation. They are particularly in demand in careers requiring a high level of communication and presentation skills, as well as strong critical and analytical thinking.
Employment Links
Graduate Careers and Achievements:
Many of our former graduates have risen to the top of their fields and include many famous figures; for example:
Stephen Wilkinson, Relationship Director Global Financial Instutions - Americas, Barclays Corporate
Clodagh Shortt, Entrepreneur, Founder of Honey Boutique
Kaniah Cusack, Press Officer at Dáil Éireann
Professional Opportunities
We regularly consult and develop links with a large number of employers including, for example, Santander and the British Council who provide sponsorship for our year abroad placements as well as Rolls Royce, Price Waterhouse Coopers and Moy Park / MARFRIG who are members of the employer liaison panel for the course.
Placement Employers:
Our past students have also gained work placement with organisations such as the British Council Assistantships Program, Santander Bank, and Price Waterhouse Coopers.
What employers say
‘We are looking for graduates who can be our future leaders who demonstrate qualities of courage, judgement and breadth. Where do we find such qualities? Linguists or arts graduates.’
Miles Cowdry, Director of Global Corporate Development, Rolls Royce PLC
Additional Awards Gained(QSIS ELEMENT IS EMPTY)
Prizes and Awards
their second year of study on the BA Spanish programme at joint honours level or above.
Certificates of Distinction in Spoken Spanish: A certificate of Distinction in spoken Spanish is awarded to students whose performance is 1st class in their final year oral examination.
Queen’s Foundation Scholarship: Awarded by the School for the best overall performance in Portuguese at Level 1.
Queen’s Foundation Scholarship: Awarded by the School for the best overall performance in Spanish at Level 1.
The O’Rawe Prize for Academic Progress: This award recognises the achievements of the student at level 2 who has demonstrated the most significant academic improvement
The total sum of £500 will be awarded to the student or divided between students who, according to the established criteria shows the most academic improvement between
Xavier Giralt Prize: This prize, which is derived from funds bequeathed by the late Xavier Giralt, will be awarded each year to one or more Final Year candidates in Spanish language, whose exceptional academic performance merits recognition.
Degree plus award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Degree Plus. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.