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Educational interpreter vs language translator

The differences between educational interpreters and language translators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an educational interpreter and a language translator. Additionally, a language translator has an average salary of $45,490, which is higher than the $39,807 average annual salary of an educational interpreter.

The top three skills for an educational interpreter include EIPA, facilitate communication and math. The most important skills for a language translator are proofreading, foreign language, and target language.

Educational interpreter vs language translator overview

Educational InterpreterLanguage Translator
Yearly salary$39,807$45,490
Hourly rate$19.14$21.87
Growth rate20%20%
Number of jobs5,54121,450
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 62%Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

What does an educational interpreter do?

An educational interpreter specializes in providing communication assistance to students with hearing problems or difficulty in understanding the language. It is their duty to develop strategies to convey lessons through various materials and efforts, interpret messages from the speaker and receiver, and monitoring the student's progress. They may also produce progress reports, coordinating with teachers and parents at all times. Furthermore, an educational interpreter must build a positive relationship with the student, helping them feel comfortable as they adjust to the classroom environment.

What does a language translator do?

Language translators are linguistic professionals who are responsible for converting information from one language to another to help people read the translation based on the original source. These translators must use a computer to translate the original language into their native language. They can work for software development companies as under contract independent foreign language translators. They must utilize target language to translate and transcribe critical information and performing immediate data analysis. Language translators must also provide interpretations for meetings, conferences, and administrative hearings for any sponsored functions.

Educational interpreter vs language translator salary

Educational interpreters and language translators have different pay scales, as shown below.

Educational InterpreterLanguage Translator
Average salary$39,807$45,490
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $61,000Between $29,000 And $70,000
Highest paying CityVallejo, CAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateNew YorkOregon
Best paying companyIrving IsdBloomberg
Best paying industryEducationGovernment

Differences between educational interpreter and language translator education

There are a few differences between an educational interpreter and a language translator in terms of educational background:

Educational InterpreterLanguage Translator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 62%Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common majorAmerican Sign LanguageEnglish
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Educational interpreter vs language translator demographics

Here are the differences between educational interpreters' and language translators' demographics:

Educational InterpreterLanguage Translator
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 16.9% Female, 83.1%Male, 39.4% Female, 60.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 10.3% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 31.5% Asian, 18.0% White, 38.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage15%15%

Differences between educational interpreter and language translator duties and responsibilities

Educational interpreter example responsibilities.

  • Manage marketing initiatives for all CME and CPE conferences which include e-mail deployments and content design for all marketing collateral.
  • Demonstrate natural leadership and mentoring skills working with groups of ASL students.
  • Interpret from ASL to English and English to ASL for students in classroom settings.
  • Serve as an educational assistant and dedicate aide in the special education department as well as in a general education kindergarten classroom
  • Interpret Farsi and Dari between clients and providers.
  • Provide Cantonese interpreting services on a monthly basis to underprivilege women diagnose with cancer.

Language translator example responsibilities.

  • Lead an international team of HUMINT collectors for the NATO mission in Bosnia where overt and covert collection protocols are observed.
  • Provide written translations from Dari and Pashto, and some Urdu, into English.
  • Consult employees on proper multicultural etiquette while connecting with Thai, Thai Yai, and Burmese sex workers.
  • Conduct interviews for a study on the male sex work industry and translate the answers from Thai to English.
  • Train soldiers to perform in a combat environment including tactical navigation, military communications, and several types of weapons.
  • Conduct monitoring, translating, transcribing, interpreting, perform translation/transcription, quality control and perform validating services.

Educational interpreter vs language translator skills

Common educational interpreter skills
  • EIPA, 28%
  • Facilitate Communication, 15%
  • Math, 8%
  • Mathematics, 7%
  • IEP, 7%
  • Educational Programs, 7%
Common language translator skills
  • Proofreading, 16%
  • Foreign Language, 15%
  • Target Language, 12%
  • Haitian Creole, 10%
  • Thai, 9%
  • Translation Services, 8%

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