Maya Barzilai '13
Analytical Linguist at Grammarly
Independent Scholar of Linguistics
Analytical Linguist at Grammarly
“I knew that I wanted to work in industry immediately after graduation instead of going straight into another academic setting; that variety was important to me. I looked for jobs that would allow me to use my knowledge of languages and linguistic analysis. I also prioritized jobs in places where I could imagine living, and with work cultures that seemed to fit what I was hoping for.”
Tell us what you do.
At Grammarly, I use my expertise in linguistic patterning, language data analysis, and research project management to help develop new writing assistant features
What have you done since Middlebury?
After graduating, I worked at a tech startup for 2 years. I then began a Masters in Computational Linguistics; after my first semester, I pivoted to pursuing a PhD in General Linguistics, focusing on phonetic and phonology. After finishing my PhD, I have had both teaching and industry roles, and am now in a full-time industry role.
How has your major influenced your life after graduation?
Being an Independent Scholar of Linguistics put me on the path towards pursuing linguistics research at a higher level both in and outside of academia.
When did you know which major you were going to choose?
After my FYSE in Language Acquisition, a subfield of linguistics.
How did you decide what career path you wanted to pursue after graduating?
I knew that I wanted to work in industry immediately after graduation instead of going straight into another academic setting; that variety was important to me. I looked for jobs that would allow me to use my knowledge of languages and linguistic analysis. I also prioritized jobs in places where I could imagine living, and with work cultures that seemed to fit what I was hoping for.
Finally, what advice or suggestions do you have for current students as they consider their post-Middlebury futures?
Think creatively about how you can market your skills to jobs that are interesting to you. For example, by completing a senior thesis that involves an experiment investigating second language phonology, you’re not just developing skills/knowledge in linguistic research, but also in things like data annotation, database maintenance, project management, research synthesis, (probably) data visualization and presentation, etc.
Connect with Maya on LinkedIn.