A bilingual interpreter is employed by companies to help translate a foreign language to the native tongue or a preferred dialect. As implied by the title, these bilingual interpreters are fluent in two languages, making them bilingual. They are expected to be able to quickly translate any material without the help of a dictionary or a computer translator. They are also expected to understand and converse in a specific foreign language. At times, they are brought to formal events to help interpret any foreign language or to help translate speeches to the native tongue. In addition, they may also represent the company in functions that are held in a different language.
Bilingual interpreters may not have formal education specifically to become bilingual. They may be a native of a foreign language and have learned the native language through experience. Nonetheless, they should still at least have a high school diploma in order to understand, translate, and interpret any conversations that may require higher-order thinking. For native language speakers, they are expected to have a bachelor's degree specializing in a foreign language in order to become bilingual interpreters.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a bilingual interpreter. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.49 an hour? That's $46,781 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 19% and produce 14,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many bilingual interpreters 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.
If you're interested in becoming a bilingual interpreter, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 46.2% of bilingual interpreters have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 10.1% of bilingual interpreters have master's degrees. Even though most bilingual interpreters 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 a bilingual interpreter. When we researched the most common majors for a bilingual interpreter, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on bilingual interpreter resumes include high school diploma degrees or master's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a bilingual interpreter. In fact, many bilingual interpreter jobs require experience in a role such as customer service representative. Meanwhile, many bilingual interpreters also have previous career experience in roles such as cashier or bilingual customer service.