Interpreters and Translators
Interpret oral or sign language, or translate written text from one language into another.
Most important skills
- Speaking
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Active Learning
- Social Perceptiveness
Key knowledge
- English Language
- Foreign Language
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- Administrative
- Public Safety and Security
- Law and Government
- Computers and Electronics
What the work involves
- Follow ethical codes that protect the confidentiality of information.
- Identify and resolve conflicts related to the meanings of words, concepts, practices, or behaviors.
- Translate messages simultaneously or consecutively into specified languages, orally or by using hand signs, maintaining message content, context, and style as much as possible.
- Check translations of technical terms and terminology to ensure that they are accurate and remain consistent throughout translation revisions.
- Refer to reference materials, such as dictionaries, lexicons, encyclopedias, and computerized terminology banks, as needed to ensure translation accuracy.
- Compile terminology and information to be used in translations, including technical terms such as those for legal or medical material.
- Listen to speakers' statements to determine meanings and to prepare translations, using electronic listening systems as necessary.
- Compile information on content and context of information to be translated and on intended audience.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Artistic, Social.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Bachelor's Degree (54.7% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (27%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (35.6%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Interpreters and Translators is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | High | Higher on contact with others than 64% of occupations compared | 71% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 70% of occupations compared | 27% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 89% of occupations compared | 88% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Moderate | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 57% of occupations compared | 56% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | High | Higher on time pressure than 63% of occupations compared | 72% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Higher on conflict situations than 56% of occupations compared | 36% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 70% of occupations compared | 32% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | High | Higher on consequence of error than 73% of occupations compared | 51% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: high
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 5.29%
- Contact with others about half the time: 5.17%
- Contact with others most of the time: 18.24%
- Constant contact with others: 71.3%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 19.31%
- Fairly important: 23.76%
- Important: 26.97%
- Very important: 7.19%
- Extremely important: 22.77%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2021
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 5.29%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 1.43%
- Very important: 5.29%
- Extremely important: 88%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2021
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 7.01%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 4.97%
- Some freedom: 55.82%
- A lot of freedom: 32.2%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2021
Time pressure
- Never: 15.85%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 11.31%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 0%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 0.83%
- Every day: 72.01%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2021
Conflict situations
- Never: 16.76%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 35.81%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 7.53%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 18.22%
- Every day: 21.68%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2021
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 10.34%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 31.75%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 16.48%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 11.97%
- Every day: 29.46%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2021
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 4.72%
- Fairly serious: 35.64%
- Serious: 8.88%
- Very serious: 0.19%
- Extremely serious: 50.57%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2021
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O*NET-SOC 27-3091.00 · SOC 27-3091 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8