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Opening the Door to a Wide Range of Intercultural Career Choices

For most graduates, the Master’s in Intercultural Relations (MAIR) offered by the School of International Studies at University of the Pacific leads to varied and rewarding professional lives that place them at the forefront of change in our rapidly globalizing world. The MAIR program builds skills and competencies (see link to skills and competencies page) for which there is growing demand by governments, universities, institutions, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and corporations.

Intercultural careers exist everywhere, yet it is not easy to identify them by looking at employment ads. Instead, you need to be systematic and resourceful in assessing your intercultural competencies, transferable skills, career requirements, and, of course, your personal preferences.

Whether you are interested in intercultural training, diversity work, international education, global human resources, language education, international development, intercultural conflict mediation, multicultural counseling, or global leadership development, there are increasing opportunities to pursue an intercultural career all over the world.

Examples of Intercultural Careers
In the United States, the fastest growing areas for intercultural career jobs are information technology and health care, with additional increases in the hospitality industry and social services. Each of these arenas has high potential for interculturally competent trainers and managers.

A sampling of job titles that value degrees in intercultural studies illustrates the broad range of intercultural careers. In education, these include student admission officers, international student advisors, intercultural programmers, language teachers, student affairs professionals, resident life coordinators, study abroad advisors, as well as teachers and curriculum experts.

Community and human service providers and NGOs often look to graduates in intercultural studies to fill such roles as immigrant and refugee service provider, social service provider, affirmative action/equal opportunity officer, language interpreter, sign language educator, conflict resolution specialist, diversity trainer, international emergency aid trainer, workforce development specialist, and cross-cultural healthcare provider/trainer, among other roles. Most of these are growing professions.

Corporations also offer intercultural careers, sometimes in similar or parallel capacities, including organizational development specialist, diversity manager, global diversity trainer/educator, curriculum development specialist, consultant, training designer and developer, human resource staff and management, intercultural marketer, and global virtual team manager.

An Intercultural Career: Is It Right for You?
If you are thinking about pursuing an intercultural career, regardless of the arena, the following questions can help size up assets in terms of your experience and direction
in terms of your interests.

• What are your transferable skills from your own culture and work experience that will serve you well in an intercultural career?

• What is important to you as you seek a new position: Recognition? Environment? Colleagues of a like mind? Making the world a better place? Serving others? Being creative? Freedom and autonomy? Money? Travel?

• Do you have or are you willing to get a graduate degree? Most professionals agree that at a minimum, a master's degree is essential.

• What significant experience have you had working across cultures? Living in another culture?

• Do you want to work in a domestic diversity context or a global context?

• Do you prefer an academic, corporate, government, religious, healthcare, or social services organization?

• Do you want to train, educate, manage, administrate, mediate, or advise others? Do you have existing transferable skills that will advance your ambition?

• Do you want to work independently, or as part of a larger organization?

• Do you want to find an organization that is already dedicated to intercultural work, or would you prefer to convert an existing job to a more intercultural focus?

• Are you changing careers, just starting out, or seeking career enhancement?

• And…What is it that you do NOT want to do?

Intercultural Career Advice from Experts
If you decide to pursue an intercultural career, professionals offer the following recommendations to enhance your experience and prospects.

• Start adding intercultural components to your existing career to increase your skills, reputation, and experience.

• Find a mentor.

• Do volunteer activities to get diverse experience with unfamiliar cultures.

• Build your knowledge of theory to professionalize your practice.

• Enhance your communication skills, including writing, speaking, training, and marketing.

• Write articles, present at professional conferences; be visible.

• Participate actively in intercultural professional associations.

• Network graciously with others.

• Share your own work generously to enhance the field.

• Keep up with the quality benchmarks of intercultural work: the most valid literature, the most responsible writers, the most current ethical perspectives, and the most essential issues for various culture groups.

For more information about the Master’s Degree in Intercultural Relations (MAIR) offered at the School of International Studies, University of the Pacific, click here.