Careers / Interpreters and Translators
Interpreters and Translators — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$60,170
United States, 2025
Employment
52,060
United States, 2025
Typical education
Bachelor's Degree
Job Zone 4
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Interpret oral or sign language, or translate written text from one language into another.
- O*NET code
- 27-3091.00
- Job zone
- 4
- Experience required
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years
Typical tasks
- 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.
- Check translations of technical terms and terminology to ensure that they are accurate and remain consistent throughout translation revisions.
- Identify and resolve conflicts related to the meanings of words, concepts, practices, or behaviors.
- Compile information on content and context of information to be translated and on intended audience.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$37,070
25th percentile
$46,530
75th percentile
$80,830
90th percentile
$103,660
Most important skills
- Speaking4.1
- Active Listening4.0
- Reading Comprehension3.9
- Writing3.8
- Monitoring3.6
- Critical Thinking3.6
- Social Perceptiveness3.1
- Active Learning3.1
- Service Orientation3.1
- Judgment and Decision Making3.1
- Learning Strategies3.0
- Time Management3.0
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 15 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
15
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | 4.0 | 4.3 | Not selected | 4.3 |
| Speaking | 4.1 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.9 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Writing | 3.8 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.6 | 3.9 | Not selected | 3.9 |
| Monitoring | 3.6 | 3.8 | Not selected | 3.8 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.1 | 3.6 | Not selected | 3.6 |
| Service Orientation | 3.1 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Active Learning | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Learning Strategies | 3.0 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Time Management | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Coordination | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Instructing | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Interpreters and TranslatorsHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC | $109,970 | 280 | 2025 |
| San Jose, CA | $101,530 | 300 | 2025 |
| Washington, DC | $94,510 | 1,630 | 2025 |
| Bridgeport, CT | $93,960 | 60 | 2025 |
| MD | $88,550 | 1,150 | 2025 |
| New York, NY | $87,590 | 2,520 | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $84,960 | 30 | 2025 |
| NY | $84,090 | 3,240 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $83,680 | 760 | 2025 |
| Baltimore, MD | $83,200 | 370 | 2025 |
| Santa Maria, CA | $82,440 | 70 | 2025 |
| RI | $82,320 | 200 | 2025 |
| Salem, OR | $80,960 | 100 | 2025 |
| Akron, OH | $80,640 | 100 | 2025 |
| Boise City, ID | $80,250 | 140 | 2025 |
| Lancaster, PA | $78,890 | 40 | 2025 |
| Richmond, VA | $78,030 | 140 | 2025 |
| Rochester, NY | $77,770 | 450 | 2025 |
| Oxnard, CA | $75,920 | 70 | 2025 |
| Albuquerque, NM | $75,230 | 210 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Interpreters and Translators to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.