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Interpreters and Translators

General Information

Description

Interpret oral or sign language, or translate written text from one language into another.

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Workplace at a Glance

What you can expect to experience while on the job

  • Responsibility
  • Exposure to job hazards
  • Physical activity
  • Decision making
  • Repetitiveness
  • Level of competition
  • Time pressure

Industry areas

  • Education & Training

Job Outlook

Employment of interpreters and translators is projected to grow 20 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations. About 9,200 openings for interpreters and translators are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

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Job Outlook

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Employment of interpreters and translators is projected to grow 20 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations. About 9,200 openings for interpreters and translators are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

Similar Careers

Related Military Careers

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Related MIlitary Careers X

    • Interpreters and Translators
      • Interpreters and translators are responsible for training military personnel in foreign language familiarization and foreign cultural awareness. They perform written translations and they identify, translate, and summarize communications. They utilize foreign language skills, including knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, to collect and analyze intelligence information. Navigate to Military Career Page
    • Language Officers
      • Language officers participate in and provide supervision in various language translation and interpretation activities related to military and intelligence operations. As part of their translation and interpretation duties, they use appropriate phrasing in their interpretation to successfully preserve the meaning and intention of the original language. They perform interviews with non-English speakers, prepare reports, and translate written material. Navigate to Military Career Page
    • Human Intelligence Officers
      • Intelligence officers who specialize in HUMINT manage operations to obtain intelligence information using humans as both intelligence data sources and collectors. Human intelligence officers may also be responsible for planning and overseeing psychological operations, which are designed to control, influence, predict, and understand persons and groups though communication and contact with these individuals. Intelligence officers who specialize in HUMINT have an expert level of knowledge about the history, culture, geography, and current politics and economics of the country or countries to which they are assigned. Navigate to Military Career Page
    • Human Intelligence Specialists
      • Human intelligence specialists identify adversarial elements, strengths, dispositions, tactics, equipment, personnel, and capabilities through collecting information from people. HUMINT specialists screen documents and other materials to identify potential source leads. They conduct and oversee interviews, interrogations, screenings, and debriefings in English, and work with translators when necessary. They also exploit information found in a variety of media. HUMINT specialists may also plan and implement psychological operations to control and influence groups through persuasive communications. Navigate to Military Career Page
    • International and Civil Affairs Officers
      • International and civil affairs officers have extensive in-country experience in a designated region. They build effective relationships with governments, militaries, and local citizens and they support a variety of international engagement activities, from humanitarian relief to intelligence collection. They serve as primary advisors to government agencies across service branches on all stages of operations planning because of their regional and cultural expertise. Navigate to Military Career Page
    • International and Civil Affairs Specialists
      • International and civil affairs specialists perform various duties incident to the planning, coordination, and conduct of civil-military operations. They support the operation of civil affairs planning and coordination centers. They also perform civil-military assessments of their assigned operational area and coordinate with a wide variety of civilian populations, organizations, and agencies.   Navigate to Military Career Page
    • Special Forces
      • Special forces members implement unconventional operations by air, land, or sea during combat or peacetime as members of elite teams. These activities include offensive raids, demolitions, reconnaissance, search and rescue, and counterterrorism. In addition to their combat training, special forces members often have specialized training in swimming, diving, parachuting, survival, emergency medicine, and foreign languages. Navigate to Military Career Page
    • Special Forces Officers
      • Special forces officers advise Commanders on all aspects of special operations. They are experienced subject matter experts in unconventional warfare and operations, fusing intelligence and planning at all levels across the operational continuum. They must have detailed knowledge of geography, economy, political structure, armed forces, and history. Navigate to Military Career Page
    • Intelligence Specialists
      • Intelligence specialists play a key role in ensuring that military operations are planned using the most accurate, current information about enemy forces and capabilities. They oversee efforts to collect, exploit, develop, analyze, and produce intelligence information for dissemination to key military leaders and consumers worldwide. The results of their work are used to develop targets and provide situational awareness to operations personnel and key leadership. Intelligence specialists may focus on one type of intelligence information, such as signals or human intelligence, or may consolidate all sources into usable products. Navigate to Military Career Page
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Salary

Average Salary

Salary

$49,110

Military salary*

$82,183

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State-by-state Salary

Gray states indicate no data available

$122,710
$24,520
No Information for this section

Education

Most Common Education Levels

People in this career achieve this level of education.

  • Bachelor's degree 54%
  • Master's degree 27%
  • High school 8%
  • Associate's degree 4%
  • Post-master's certificate 3%
  • Post-secondary certificate 1%
  • Some college 0%
  • Doctoral degree 0%
  • Post baccalaureate 0%
  • Less than high school 0%
  • Post-doctoral training 0%
  • First professional degree 0%

Related College Majors

Select major to see colleges that offer it

Knowledge

  • English Language
  • Foreign Language
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Administrative
  • Education and Training

Skills at a Glance

Skills helpful in this career

  • Verbal skills
  • Critical thinking & problem solving
  • Equipment operation & maintenance
  • Math & science skills
  • Technology design & control
  • Leadership
No Information for this section

* Military pay may be higher based on specialty pays or bonuses. Learn more about Military benefits.

Data supplied by Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Center of Education Statistics, Defense Manpower Data Center (View our update schedule). Contact any business, college or military service branch to answer additional questions.