← All careers

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 →

How to qualify

Estimate

Cost to qualify

$40,000–$150,000

Time to qualify

4 yr

Renewal

—

  1. 1

    Bachelor's degree

    Degree

    Four years at public in-state rates — average published tuition & fees ≈ $11,610/yr, plus books. Private and out-of-state run higher; grant aid lowers most students' actual net price.

    $40,000–$150,000 · 4 years source

Estimated typical U.S. route for "Interpreters and Translators" — built from BLS education requirements and College Board 2024–25 average published prices (public, in-state tuition + fees + books). Not yet verified against a specific state's licensing rules — confirm with your state licensing board or program.

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

Explore all

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