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[Gamerlord]

Hang on man. You don't have to wait long.

[Il Palazzo]

Could you elaborate how knowing languages is a good way to earn money? Because over here it's hammered into me that having a university diploma in English is useless and will make you at the very most an English teacher.

Hey! What's wrong with being an English teacher? Reasonably good money, ~20h working week, summer and winter breaks, stimulating and satisfying job. Or, if you prefer private language schools, all the benefits of freelancing, and probably somewhat cooler people to work with.

And speaking of sign language.
A friend worked for an outsourcing company organising translators for hospitals, police and courts in the UK. All those institutions are required by law(and common sense too, especially hospitals) to provide a translator for people unable to communicate in English. Turns out, the most in-demand translators were those of sign language(UK version, of course). This means they get some serious cash for the little work they do. We're talking a 100 quid for a 15 minutes translation.
They're constantly on call, though, so they often have to drive as much as hundred miles to their assingment, but it's also a time they get recompense for.

[Leatra]

@Leatra: I picked up some german, but I can only understand it, I'd only butcher everything I say. Cool, taking sign language? I'd love to  learn it too someday, but the fact that different countries have different sign language, is pretty scary, since I only want to learn one. But probably ASL, or whatever the equivalent is in UK.

Could you elaborate how knowing languages is a good way to earn money? Because over here it's hammered into me that having a university diploma in English is useless and will make you at the very most an English teacher.

Well, here, unemployement rate is high. There are engineering specialists looking for job. But sometimes people are just hired because they know English. My father has a friend who started living at his Summer house. He makes his living by translating stuff that his boss sends him via e-mail and that's it. Imagine that life, man. There are a lot of corporations willing to pay nice money for translators.

And if you are going for simultaneous translation, future you is making good money right now. But it's very difficult. I'll probably go for writing translation jobs. Translating books doesn't pay much but if I manage to get a job in a corporation (dean of the faculty might help me with that) I may be able to work from home, or anywhere I want. It mostly depends on the corporation though.

I don't know about your country, but getting a university diploma in English is considered as a big deal here. Lessons are very easy (for someone who can rock English while he is asleep, like me. I have English dreams sometimes) and fun too. Except for linguistics. That course is always making me sleepy. Heh. I may study for a year at Poland or Germany via Erasmus programme and it's gonna be a great chance to learn languages.

And I wouldn't want to be an English teacher I guess. Teaching seems stressful.

[Rooster]

@Nenjin What you wrote is very insightfull. I suppose I needed advice exactly like this, and it means a lot. Applying it in practice is another matter entirely of course. I suppose I'll have to do baby steps for now.

@Gamerlord: Thanks

@Il palazzo: When I was very little I wanted to be an english teacher, because I tought I could make a difference. A lot of teachers are not there to teach but to get a paychek. I had one really cool teacher in highschool, and it really showed he was teching because he wanted to. He didn't need the money because he sold cars on the side. Didn't even try to persuade us to be jehovah's witnesses (he was one). Even when you didn't do homework, and couldn't care less, just listening in class was more effective than many hours of reading a textbook. I guess I would love to be a teacher, but there are so many unemployed ones, that chances of landing a job or slim, or so I was repeatedly told.

@Leatra: I think in english, to the point of forgetting how something is called in polish but knowing the english word for it. Teaching is stressful when you have arguments with students. The teacher I described previously had so much respect from us that we were always silent while he talked, and we did it only on his classes and no one else's

[Leatra]

Being the "cool teacher" will surely make things easier but still, teaching doesn't sound like a job everyone can do. Plus, my country is full of unemployed teachers and I don't think I can find a job here when I graduate.

I have this forgetting the name of something in your language but knowing the English word thing too. It's weird.

Hopefully I can make a living by translating. I'd suggest you to think about it too but it's your life. Do what you like.

[Il Palazzo]

From what I've been told by the teachers I spoke to, in Poland, English teacher is the most likely to land the job, precisely because there's so many opportunities outside the public education system.
You might worry about unemployment if you graduate with Polish Literature, or History degree, but English is pretty safe.

If you're at all interested in translating texts professionally, head to e.g.TED ( http://www.ted.com/pages/293 ), or some other non-profit organisation like that, and start translating as a volunteer. It's a great workout for both your English and your Polish, and a good way to find if it's for you.
Also, they give you credit for your work, so you can use it as a selling point in your resume or when freelancing.

[ChairmanPoo]

I may study for a year at Poland or Germany via Erasmus programme

Hurry up because it is rumored Erasmus is getting axed soon.

[Leatra]

I may study for a year at Poland or Germany via Erasmus programme

Hurry up because it is rumored Erasmus is getting axed soon.

Wait, what? Why is that? I was thinking about saving it for my master's degree, as someone in the university advised, rather than next year.

So I googled about it for a while. Like always, money seems to be the problem. I don't think something big like Erasmus could vanish this easily though.

[Rooster]

@Il Palazzo: I can translate, and do it on my computer? Sweet. I'll try it out.

[dwarf_reform]

This is kind of a hunk of generic advice, and also coming from an uninformed place (I had the best two parents in the world, but endured many other tough experiences..)

All I can truly say about this, at least a part of the whole thing, is that (around) thirty-five or forty years ago your parents were both small clueless children. People aren't perfect, usually by choice or weak will, but sometimes because of honest medical issues that may never come to light. Lastly, life is ever-changing and ever-evolving, also (usually) pretty long, and no single sample of your to-date experience should be used as a "norm" to judge the rest of your life by..

Obviously the parents don't always "shape the children", nor are you doomed to be the apple that fell from that tree. Basically, judging what you wrote, for you to end up like your parents you'd either have to suffer some brain damage, or just totally give up on yourself.

 Wisdom isn't gained by shuttling to work every day and learning how to work a checkbook. Wisdom basically only comes from the prusuit and the respect of wisdom, and unless you craft a lesson from every scar and live by it then every victory is useless. Honesty and kindness are also kind of handy.

Then again, in the interest of a harsh truth versus a sweetened lie, everything you have, everything you know, everything could flash-fire into an inferno at a moments notice and prove to you that the "bottom" part of hitting rock bottom isn't exactly real, and there will always be a distance to freefall into an even inkier darkness, and the bottom, I suppose, will eventually reveal itself to be cold death And that is a less generic bit of advice, and will generally ring true throughout the rest of yours, and everyone's, life (thanks to death, generally..).

In a much less fatal and pessimistic way, we'll just say "Enjoy the little things." from Zombieland and call it golden Don't guess the "little things" will involve Twinkies much longer, and that gives Zombieland a zest of Nostradomaliciousness..

Also don't let me derail this lighthearted language-learning/teaching discussion occuring currently I can understand the 2 minutes of conversation a day statement (except that I usually seek silence by choice :|  )

[Rooster]

@dwarf_reform: The coincidence of watching zombieland just yesterday was not lost on me. There was also something about cardio, but last time I was in good shape was 4-5 years ago.

[dwarf_reform]

Great I would be violently consumed by zombies due to lack of mobility.. But we've yet to experience the real zombie! :| An actual zombies only real objective would be to stay moist and try to keep as much of its orignal flesh as preserved as possible.. SO they would, instead of eating flesh, they'd only need the living for a) bathing in their blood to keep hydrated and moist, b) harvesting fresh flesh from us and then learning to stitch with a needle and thread to sew up their injuries and apply patches.. As long as they were organically sound I guess they'd be peaceful. And besides the obvious facts above, the stereotypical movie zombie would have a constant entourage of flies and maggots, maybe some sure-footed beetles, trailing it wherever it went.. Plus stereozombie would be constantly leaking fluid and losing blood and big chunks of itself, leaving a trail like a snail.. And they're like a rotten fruit, you'd see skeleton-escape, basically the sharp bones punching through their soft doughskins from the exertion of doing all their zombie activities.. AND then.. what happens when a zombie rots down to just a skeleton? Game over? That seems unfair.. And if a zombie just lays down and stays nice and still til it mummifies then would it live forever? :| Thats a self-preserving zombie And zombie heaven??

[IronTomato]

I don't know what to say. I would've never been able to tell a story like that, but you were able to do it. And for that, I commend you. As for the computer thing, I am a bit of a geek myself. I wouldn't call it an addiction though, I plan to go to Full-Sail University and teach myself how to make PC games. I'm teaching myself how to use Blender now, and I plan to teach myself how to script in C#. Also, I'm in middle school. If you want to do something, do it now is what I say.

[Rooster]

@IronTomato: Good for you, I wasted quite a lot of time doing nothing productive in middle school


I am having some router problems, so no internet, and no ability to reply to this thread for some time, BUT I've decided to make a game with rpgmaker and take up translating TED, before moving to warsaw with my friend and learn english in university.
Thank you to everyone posting in this thread, and giving positive feedback, who knows, if I even chose to go to university without it.

[nenjin]

Just a friendly word of caution about "projects", because I've been there. They can easily become an escape just like reading the internet or gaming is. If you're the creative type, you can totally go into a Strange Mood and emerge 4 or 5 days later with a half-finished project and a bit of depression. I'd encourage you to still get out of the house on a daily basis and do something that other people define as productive.