Arabic is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with over 300 million native speakers in over 20 countries. There are many forms of Arabic, from Classical Arabic used in the Qur'an and other classical literature to a variety of local dialects. It's no wonder that many businesses need Arabic linguists to make sense of this useful, beautiful, yet highly complicated language.
Arabic linguists have a variety of duties depending on where they work. Linguists working at an international business or nonprofit provide translation or interpretation services. Those working for the government or intelligence services may monitor Arabic language communications. Meanwhile, Arabic linguists working in universities research the language and teach it to eager students.
Obviously, to be an Arabic linguist, one needs to know Arabic very well. Even native speakers usually get a bachelor's or post-graduate degree. They can specialize in the field they want to go into, such as business or political science, in addition to studying Arabic.
Arabic Linguist Overview
Arabic Linguist Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an arabic linguist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $56.27 an hour? That's $117,039 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 19% and produce 14,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Arabic Linguist Do
There are certain skills that many arabic linguists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed business skills, cultural sensitivity and dexterity.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an arabic linguist, we found that a lot of resumes listed 24.3% of arabic linguists included clearance, while 10.0% of resumes included internet, and 9.3% of resumes included target language. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the arabic linguist job title. But what industry to start with? Most arabic linguists actually find jobs in the technology and professional industries.
How To Become an Arabic Linguist
If you're interested in becoming an arabic linguist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 50.5% of arabic linguists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 16.6% of arabic linguists have master's degrees. Even though most arabic linguists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an arabic linguist. When we researched the most common majors for an arabic linguist, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on arabic linguist resumes include associate degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an arabic linguist. In fact, many arabic linguist jobs require experience in a role such as interpreter and translator. Meanwhile, many arabic linguists also have previous career experience in roles such as arabic translator or interpreter.
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Arabic Linguist Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, an arabic linguist can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as analyst, progress to a title such as manager and then eventually end up with the title chief of staff.
What is the right job for my career path?
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Average Salary for an Arabic Linguist
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
The Creative Group Arabic Linguist Arabic Linguist | The Creative Group The Creative Group | 08/04/2019 08/04/2019 | $29,21808/04/2019 $29,218 |
Robert Half Arabic Linguist Arabic Linguist | Robert Half Robert Half | 07/27/2019 07/27/2019 | $29,21807/27/2019 $29,218 |
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Top Colleges for Arabic Linguists
1. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
2. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Public
3. University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA • Public
4. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC • Public
5. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
6. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
7. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
8. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Public
9. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
10. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Public
Top Skills For an Arabic Linguist
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 24.3% of arabic linguists listed clearance on their resume, but soft skills such as business skills and cultural sensitivity are important as well.
- Clearance, 24.3%
- Internet, 10.0%
- Target Language, 9.3%
- Vice Versa, 5.5%
- Cultural Knowledge, 5.0%
- Other Skills, 45.9% See All Arabic Linguist Skills
How Do Arabic Linguist Rate Their Jobs?
Top Arabic Linguist Employers
Arabic Linguist Videos
