Po studiach chciałabym zostać tłumaczką albo programistką.

It means after university / after finishing one’s studies.

A useful thing to know is that studia in Polish usually refers to higher education, university studies, not just “studies” in the general English sense.

So:

• po studiach = after university
• more literally: after (one’s) studies

In context, it usually implies after graduating or after completing higher education.

Because the preposition po meaning after normally requires the locative case.

The basic form is:

• studia = nominative

After po, it changes to:

• po studiach = locative plural

So this is a case change, not a different word.

A couple of similar examples:

• po pracy = after work
• po szkole = after school
• po wakacjach = after the holidays

Because studia is a plural-only noun in Polish when it means university studies / higher education.

That means Polish treats it as grammatically plural even when English might think of it as a single concept.

So you say:

• te studia są trudne = these studies are difficult
• skończyć studia = to finish university
• po studiach = after university

There is no normal singular form for this meaning.

Chciałabym means I would like.

It comes from chcieć = to want, but in this form it sounds softer and more natural than a direct I want.

So:

• chcę zostać tłumaczką = I want to become a translator
• chciałabym zostać tłumaczką = I would like to become a translator

In English, would like is often more polite or less blunt, and Polish works similarly here.

It is the conditional form.

A simple way to understand it is:

• chciała = past-tense feminine form of wanted
• bym = conditional particle for I

Together:

• chciała + bym → chciałabym

So literally it is something like I would want, but in natural English it is usually translated as I would like.

Because the speaker is female.

In Polish, past-tense-based forms and the conditional often show the speaker’s gender in the singular.

So:

• chciałabym = I would like (said by a woman)
• chciałbym = I would like (said by a man)

This matches the later nouns too:

• tłumaczką
• programistką

Both are feminine job titles.

In this sentence, zostać means to become, not to stay.

This is a very common Polish verb with more than one meaning. Here it means:

• zostać tłumaczką = to become a translator
• zostać lekarzem = to become a doctor

So the sentence means the speaker wants to become one of those professions after university.

Because zostać emphasizes becoming something, entering a new role.

• zostać tłumaczką = become a translator
• być tłumaczką = be a translator

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a future career choice, so zostać is the most natural verb.

You could say:

• Po studiach chciałabym być tłumaczką.

That means After university I’d like to be a translator, which is understandable, but zostać is better because it clearly expresses the idea of becoming one.

Because after zostać meaning to become, Polish uses the instrumental case for the profession or role.

The dictionary forms are:

• tłumaczka = translator
• programistka = programmer

In the sentence they become:

• tłumaczką
• programistką

This is a standard pattern:

• zostać nauczycielką = to become a teacher
• zostać lekarzem = to become a doctor
• zostać inżynierem = to become an engineer

Because they are:

1. feminine nouns, and
2. in the instrumental singular

For many feminine nouns ending in -ka, the instrumental singular ends in -ką:

• tłumaczka → tłumaczką
• programistka → programistką
• nauczycielka → nauczycielką

So this ending is not random; it is a normal case ending.

Both usually mean or.

In this sentence, albo is completely natural and common.

Very roughly:

• albo = everyday, common in speech
• lub = also means or, often a bit more formal or written

So you could also say:

• Po studiach chciałabym zostać tłumaczką lub programistką.

That would still be correct.

Not necessarily.

In practice, albo often just gives alternatives, like English or. It does not always strongly mean one and not both.

So here it simply means the speaker is considering two possible careers:

• translator
• programmer

The sentence does not need us to analyze strict logical exclusivity.

No, Polish word order is fairly flexible because the endings show grammatical relationships.

The original order is neutral and natural:

• Po studiach chciałabym zostać tłumaczką albo programistką.

But other orders are possible, for example:

• Chciałabym po studiach zostać tłumaczką albo programistką.
• Tłumaczką albo programistką chciałabym zostać po studiach.

These versions may shift emphasis a little, but the basic meaning stays the same.

A man would say:

Po studiach chciałbym zostać tłumaczem albo programistą.

The changes are:

• chciałabym → chciałbym
• tłumaczką → tłumaczem
• programistką → programistą

That is because Polish marks gender in both the conditional form and the profession nouns.

Yes. In many contexts, po studiach can be translated as:

• after my studies
• after finishing my studies
• after university

Which English version sounds best depends on context. But in normal usage, Polish speakers often understand studia here specifically as university studies.