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Creative & Media

Interpreters and Translators

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

Median salary (BLS)

$60,170

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$37k – $104k

Job outlook

+2% (about average)

AI exposure

Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $91,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.

Plan a path to Interpreters and Translators

Qualification costsStack incomeBest cities/statesSchool ROIJob-posting fitTailored resume

Education

Typical entry: Bachelor's degree

Plan my path to this →

Typical progression

  1. Interpreters and Translators Intern

    Internship

    $36,000

    ~4 mos to advance

  2. Junior Interpreters and Translators

    Entry / Junior

    $37,070

    ~2 yrs to advance

  3. Interpreters and Translators

    Established

    $60,170

    ~3 yrs to advance

  4. Senior Interpreters and Translators

    Senior

    $81,915

Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.

Key skills

A typical day

  • •Follow ethical codes that protect the confidentiality of information.
  • •Translate messages simultaneously or consecutively into specified languages, orally or by using hand signs, maintaining message content, context, and style as much as possible.
  • •Listen to speakers' statements to determine meanings and to prepare translations, using electronic listening systems as necessary.
  • •Compile terminology and information to be used in translations, including technical terms such as those for legal or medical material.
  • •Refer to reference materials, such as dictionaries, lexicons, encyclopedias, and computerized terminology banks, as needed to ensure translation accuracy.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Creative & Media

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Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.