#careermanagement

Language Is Alive and Evolving, So Too Must the Role of the Linguist

Posted by Yung-Chung Heh

by Victoria Shimkus (MATLM 2026)

It’s not every day that you get a private lecture from the CEO and CMO of the world’s largest language service provider, but when they are longtime friends and colleagues of Winnie Heh, anything is possible. Simon Yoxon-Grant (CEO) and Suzanne Franks (CMO) of LanguageLine Solutions joined us on campus in Monterey to talk about how the role of linguists is evolving in the age of AI. The good news? Language is innately human, and humans will always need to be looped into language services, especially when those services are critical.

LanguageLine Solutions provides on-demand interpretation via phone and video, face-to-face interpretation, translation and localization, and linguist testing and training, all on a massive scale. They shared many stats about their services, but one that stood out is that they service 85 million interactions a year. In Suzanne’s words, “people are calling us to create mutual understanding 85 million times each year.” As a trained linguist, Suzanne connected with us on both a professional and emotional level. She highlighted that in the U.S., 20% of the population speaks a language other than English at home. This emphasizes the need to have language access “embedded” in client services and to involve linguists earlier in the design phase, giving them greater impact in the workflow.

 To really show the human impact of this work, Suzanne shared a video where one of their interpreters, Rosalva, described what it means to show up professionally in moments of real human need. Her message was clear: accuracy, cultural context, and empathy are non-negotiable when interpreting in critical moments. Interpreters often step into intense and unpredictable situations, and it takes composure and a “servant’s heart” to do this work well. As Rosalva put it, you put your emotions aside because you are there to assist the client and the community.

Simon and Suzanne reminded us that while technology has an important role to play, it can never replace the human ability to handle nuance, emotion, creativity, and cultural context, the qualities demonstrated in Rosalva’s video. AI may be useful for low-risk interactions, but the vast majority of LanguageLine’s calls are high-stakes. That’s why they always keep humans in the loop; any interaction can be escalated to a human interpreter, who is always there as a safety net.

Our presenters spoke about how clients are demanding AI and other technologies be integrated into their services, and when asked how well informed he thought their clients are when it comes to risk assessment, Simon explained that their clients are beginning to ask smart questions about AI, risk, and efficiency. LanguageLine’s approach is to be transparent: technology can expand access and help reduce costs, but clients need to assess their own risk tolerance, especially when lives and livelihoods are on the line.

While traditional roles for translators and interpreters will always be essential, new opportunities are emerging. These include post-editing machine translations, integrating AI and speech technologies, training AI models with linguistic nuance, developing accessibility tools, serving as hybrid communication specialists, and ensuring fairness and bias reduction. When a student asked whether these jobs truly exist in the industry, Simon confirmed by explaining that their parent company has 500,000 employees worldwide and all of these roles are present in their various business units, with many now emerging at LanguageLine.

This confirms that the role of the linguist is shifting, involving a wider range of responsibilities such as quality checking machine output, refining workflows, and shaping AI systems to be more culturally competent and accurate. It is important to remember that tools should be there to support linguists rather than replace them, and that we need to be the humans in the loop who live the culture of a language and train the language models to do the same. We are entering a hybrid future where linguists work alongside technology to expand access, and where learning and leveraging technology will be essential.

There was also a question about whether there were any training or academic programs available to practice the skills needed for these emerging roles, and we were told that “there isn’t a whole lot out there since the jobs are so new.” So then how can early career professionals like MIIS students obtain the training needed? Simon’s response: “Find companies that are progressive when it comes to leveraging new technologies. Get yourself hired. Be part of the team that develops the new technology or incorporates the new technology into the workflow.” Along with this advice, Simon and Suzanne shared that if they were hiring for new, undefined roles, the top skills they would look for in candidates are: curiosity, critical thinking, adaptability, and persistence in seeking answers.

So where does this leave us? With opportunity. With a growing demand for linguists who understand technology, who can adapt to new tools, and who never lose sight of the human side of communication. Language is alive and evolving every day, and so too must the role of the linguist.

Higher Ed Should Enable Students to get an Education AND a Career

Posted by Yung-Chung Heh
Image credit: AHA World Campus

And I am not talking about getting the “training” (vs. “education”) to make a buck. Hear me out.

A friend relayed what an Ivy League professor said to her recently: “Students these days seem not  interested in getting an education. They flock to engineering and fields that would help them get a job. Parents are responsible for pushing students in this direction.”

As a parent who has just finished paying for her son’s college education and as a Career Advisor in the last 6 years helping graduate students launch into the professional world, I have something to say about this: The professor seems to see getting an education and gaining the ability to make a living as mutually exclusive. This is not the first time I have heard this binary debate and I am still puzzled by this narrow view. For me, there is no choice to be made. It is not about getting either an education or building a career. I want both. My upbringing has formed this view.

Growing up in Taiwan in the 60’s and 70’s when it advanced from among the least developed countries in the world to being one of Asia’s four “Tiger Economies,” I was raised by a college-educated father who impressed upon his 3 daughters:

  1. The importance of becoming a learned and cultured person through formal education and life-long learning.
  2. How empowering education is – it gives you the freedom to shape your life, choosing what you do, where you live. My father’s mantra was: “Education is the best way to be in control of your own destiny.”

In other words, education is for BOTH cultivating your mind and building a career; there is no conflict between the two. My family did not have the means to fund my MA studies in the U.S. Between working 4 jobs 6 days a week for 2 years and a generous scholarship from Rotary International, I was able to earn an MA degree in Translation and Interpretation from the then Monterey Institute of International Studies. And that did reshape my life.

For U.S. college students, what is the reality they face today? What are the reasons behind, as the Ivy League professor said, young people choosing fields based on career considerations? Student debts fueled by decreasing public financial aid and increasing tuition costs have created the financial imperative. Expanded access to higher ed also means that educators need to acknowledge and support the diverse needs in terms of educational outcomes. The elitist approach of higher ed prior to the 1950’s no longer serves the needs today. Finally, beyond meeting financial needs, engaging in productive work is as much a form of life-long growth as the years spent on campus. Rather than dismissing productive work, educators should view it as their duty to help students bridge into professional lives.  

I became aware of the U.S. student loans issue through my students. It’s understandable that students across the board are anxious to find means of supporting themselves post-graduation, be it through employment or freelance work, but the level of panic among the American students stood out to me. This scene plays out every Spring – my American students say to me: “I have to find a job because I need to start repaying my student loan in 6 months.” A former student told me that by the time she finished graduate school, she was carrying a debt load of $140,000 and she said: “I don’t think I will be able to pay it off in this lifetime.”

I wanted to make sense of the student debt problem in the U.S. How did we go from higher ed being a public good to saddling students with 1.7 trillion dollars of debt?

History of expansion of access to higher education

According to a report by the Department of Defense, the 1944 GI Bill was passed to prevent the potential for economic instability as the 16 million veterans returned to the post-World War II U.S. economy. It contributed greatly to the doubling of college and university degree-holders between 1940 and 1950.

The Pell Grant was passed in 1972 with the goal of narrowing the higher ed attendance gap between low-income students and those with more resources. It was described as the GI Bill for the general population. In subsequent decades, the total population attending higher ed continued to increase, but affordability decreased. Pell Grants’ coverage of college costs has been shrinking. In Dan Barret’s article “The Day The Purpose of College Changed”, he wrote: “under Reagan, the maximum Pell Grant decreased by about a quarter. Student loans became a more common way to pay for college.” President Biden tweeted in August 2022, Pell Grants “used to cover 80% of the cost. Today, it’s only 33%.” Student loans have taken up an ever-increasing share of college costs.

Increase in tuition

Another key factor driving down affordability of higher ed is the increase in tuition. Between 1980 and 2022, the cost of higher ed has increased by 1200% while inflation increased by 236%, according to Visual Capitalist. 

 

Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/rising-cost-of-college-in-u-s/

Here is the example of a friend: she attended UC Riverside in the early-80’s and paid  $700/term for fees, making her cost of attendance  $2,100/year. According to the table below from UC Admissions, she would have to pay about $15,000 (tuition + fees, excluding insurance, housing, meals) now. The $2,100 in 1981 is worth $6,800 today after adjusting for inflation. This means UC tuition has increased at double the rate of inflation in the last 40 years. What makes matters worse is the wage stagnation experienced by the U.S. workers during the same period of time, making family support of higher ed costs less and less attainable.

Source: https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/tuition-financial-aid/tuition-cost-of-attendance/

Expansion of access to higher ed creates diverse needs for career outcomes among graduates

My analysis shows that in 1950, 1.5% (2.3 million) of the US population was enrolled in college and in 2020 it increased to 5.7% (19 million) – a 7 times increase.  US higher ed institutions are no longer educating just the financially privileged minority anymore.

Source: Educationdata.org and US Census Bureau

In the final analysis, to stay relevant into the future, higher ed needs to deliver on academic excellence AND career readiness. Why? Career readiness no doubt serves a practical need, but it also has a lasting impact on mental health.

  • The good news is access to higher ed has broadened. The democratization of higher ed means it is no longer reserved for the well-heeled. Yes, there will always be the privileged group that do not need to worry about paying back student loans or making a living. Period. But the vast majority needs to pay back loans, make a living and build a career. In other words, the needs of the students we serve have changed, but educators seem to still hold on to the idea of being educated for its own sake. This disregard of the students’ reality is counter-productive.
  • Some educators unwittingly make working “unsavory.” In my mind, working is not merely about making a buck. Having the ability to work and contribute leads to self-sufficiency and self-actualization. Isn’t this the purpose of education after all? My observation among my students is: those who are “under the gun” to support themselves tend to be more motivated and hence get better career outcomes, leading to a better sense of accomplishment. The ones who hover, but never land, are those who can’t bridge the knowledge acquired with real-life contribution – unique or prosaic. The learned helplessness is the price this “hovering” exacts on them, their families and society.

We need to stop pitting “getting an education” against the need to work, to build a career, to build a productive life after formal education is completed. Until and unless U.S. colleges become free, students need to work to fund their education. Above and beyond that, achieving self-sufficiency through productive work is how responsible citizens are built. Every chance they get to solve a problem through work, they are changing the world.

Winnie Heh

Career Advisor

MIIS

How Two Degrees in Japanese Literature Translated Into a Localization Career – A Conversation With Jamie Cox

Posted by Yung-Chung Heh
Jamie Cox
Jamie Cox is a Localization Producer at Blizzard Entertainment with years of experience on both the vendor and client sides of the localization industry. His October 2020 post on LinkedIn was on an issue near and dear to my heart – with two degrees in Japanese literature, how he “stumbled” into localization and how liberal arts and foreign language skills can translate into a successful career outside the classroom. I am always on the lookout for role models for language students, hence this conversation on lessons learned in navigating his career path.

Q: Please tell us about what sparked your interest in Japanese literature.

In high school, my family hosted an exchange student from Japan for a couple of weeks. This student taught me about Japanese culture and sparked my interest. I then was able to visit him in Japan a year later and I fell more in love with Japanese culture and the language. Japanese literature was the available major at my undergrad university (University of Montana), and so that’s where my passion for Japanese literature began.

Q: You used the word “stumble” in describing how you got into localization. How did it happen?

After graduating with my MA in Japanese Literature from Portland State University and moving to California, I didn’t know what to do next. A friend suggested I do some freelance translating for a company called Gengo. I noticed Gengo had an office close to where I was living at the time, and I reached out to see if they had any internships available. As luck would have it, they were looking for a project management intern at the time. That was over seven years ago, and I’ve been a localization project manager ever since!

Q: Have your two degrees in Japanese literature helped you in your career in localization? In what ways?

In the localization industry, it’s definitely a plus to know an additional language, even if you don’t actually use it for your own work. In my case, my knowledge of the Japanese language helped me secure the internship at Gengo, because Gengo is a Japanese company with its main office in Tokyo. In a practical sense at work, I don’t often use Japanese, but in the past I have occasionally done a quick check to make sure characters are appearing correctly in a delivery, or line breaks are accurate, those small types of things that every project manager will do from time to time.

Q: In addition to one’s language skills and cultural knowledge, are there any additional skills that can help one’s career in the localization industry?

I think soft skills that one tends to learn from education around language  (like foreign language learning or other liberal arts degrees) help tremendously in being able to accurately and easily convey information, either written or verbal. Additionally – at least for project managers – organization and documentation is paramount, so learning how to stay organized in your personal life will help you in your professional one as well.

Q: Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently in terms of managing your career?

The more you can offer to a company in terms of the skills you bring to the table, the better. There have been times I’ve wanted to streamline or modify a workflow but haven’t had the technical knowledge to do so, whether through Excel macros, database queries with SQL, or something similar. If I could do things differently, I would try to focus on cultivating some of those more technical skills to be a more well-rounded project manager.

Q: What is the best career advice you have ever received?

The most important thing to know about the localization industry is that it is a small one – you never know when the person you worked with (and hopefully made a great impression on) will pop back up later on in your career. Networking is very important, and so is making sure you’re always putting your best foot forward at work. We work in a great industry with amazing people from all over the world, so be sure to enjoy the connections you make.

Winnie Heh

Career Advisor

MIIS