CDCareer Decision

Interpreters and Translators Career, Salary and Skills

Interpreters and Translators have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $60,170 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 52,060. Wage data is published for 209 locations.

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Occupation description

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

O*NET code

27-3091.00

Job zone

4

Typical education

Bachelor's Degree

Experience

Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years

National salary and employment

Median annual

$60,170

Hourly median

$28.93

Employment

52,060

Data year

2025

National salary distribution

$37,070
10th
$46,530
25th
$60,170
Median
$80,830
75th
$103,660
90th

Top skills

SkillImportanceLevel
Speaking4.124.00
Active Listening4.004.25
Reading Comprehension3.884.00
Writing3.754.00
Critical Thinking3.623.88
Monitoring3.623.75
Social Perceptiveness3.123.62
Active Learning3.123.00
Service Orientation3.123.12
Judgment and Decision Making3.123.00
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Typical tasks

  • 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.
  • Follow ethical codes that protect the confidentiality of information.
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Technology

  • AmoK Translator
  • Ashkon Translation Pad
  • Babylon Online Translator
  • DocTranslate
  • Electronic dictionaries
  • ExcelTrans Translator
  • Extensible hypertext markup language XHTML
  • Google Translate Client
  • HunterSoft Business Translator
  • Hypertext markup language HTML
  • Intrado SchoolMessenger
  • jalada GmbH Just Translate
  • Language Engineering Corporation Translate Pro
  • Lingoes
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Interpreters and Translators salary by location

Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.

All 209 locations →

Related careers

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Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.