Foreign service officer vs diplomatic interpreter

The differences between foreign service officers and diplomatic interpreters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes More than 10 years to become a foreign service officer, becoming a diplomatic interpreter takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a foreign service officer has an average salary of $87,433, which is higher than the $44,283 average annual salary of a diplomatic interpreter.

Foreign service officer vs diplomatic interpreter overview

	Foreign Service Officer	Diplomatic Interpreter
Yearly salary	$87,433	$44,283
Hourly rate	$42.04	$21.29
Growth rate	6%	20%
Number of jobs	57,644	3,544
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 100%
Average age	52	42
Years of experience	-	4

Foreign service officer vs diplomatic interpreter salary

Foreign service officers and diplomatic interpreters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Foreign Service Officer	Diplomatic Interpreter
Average salary	$87,433	$44,283
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $137,000	Between $27,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between foreign service officer and diplomatic interpreter education

There are a few differences between a foreign service officer and a diplomatic interpreter in terms of educational background:

	Foreign Service Officer	Diplomatic Interpreter
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 100%
Most common major	Political Science	Linguistics
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Harvard University

Foreign service officer vs diplomatic interpreter demographics

Here are the differences between foreign service officers' and diplomatic interpreters' demographics:

	Foreign Service Officer	Diplomatic Interpreter
Average age	52	42
Gender ratio	Male, 69.3% Female, 30.7%	Male, 50.0% Female, 50.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.8% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 35.3% Asian, 14.4% White, 41.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	12%	15%

Differences between foreign service officer and diplomatic interpreter duties and responsibilities

Foreign service officer example responsibilities.

Perform and successfully manage the daily administration and oversight of projects to ensure efficient delivery of goods and services.
Conduct interviews, file benefit claims and represent veterans at local and BVA hearings before the VA appeals division.
Act as control officer for congressional delegations, visiting ambassadors, and other VIPs.
Develop and coordinate comprehensive USG strategy to monitor and combat incitement to violence.
Charge with cultivating relationships with foreign individuals and institutions to promote USG policy.
Develop and implement staff share program within perioperative services, coordinate with site managers to maintain adequate staffing for each location.

Diplomatic interpreter example responsibilities.

Coach and teach students to achieve grades at or beyond expect IEP goals.
Help to build collaboration with internal and international patients with medical staff, social organizations and insurance companies.
Contract to provide assistance with an MIT language experiment.

Foreign service officer vs diplomatic interpreter skills

Common foreign service officer skills

USG, 12%
International Organizations, 11%
Technical Assistance, 10%
CUI, 6%
Law Enforcement, 6%
DOS, 5%

Common diplomatic interpreter skills

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Foreign Service Officer
Foreign Service Officer vs Diplomatic Interpreter

Updated January 8, 2025

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