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What is a russian language instructor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted expert
Larry Herzberg Ph.D.

Russian is one of the ten most commonly spoken languages in the United States, so there is definitely a healthy demand for Russian language instructors. Russian language instructors help their students be conversational in the Russian language. They do this by supervising several classes and developing a curriculum for their students. Aside from the language, they may also pepper their lessons with notes on Russian literature, customs, and culture.

Most employers require their Russian language instructors to have bachelor's degrees at the very least. American Russian language instructors commonly major in linguistics, Russian, and English. Because this is such a high-skill position, many of them spend more time establishing their expertise by pursuing a master's degree.

The average Russian language instructor working in the United States earns a yearly salary of $63,000. That's more or less $30 an hour. However, top earners can make as much as $89,000. Employers like CACI International, ICA, and Concordia College offer their Russian language instructors highly competitive salaries.

What general advice would you give to a russian language instructor?

Larry Herzberg Ph.D.Larry Herzberg Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Professor of Asian Languages, Director of Asian Studies, Calvin University

The pandemic has only exacerbated the decline in enrollments in humanities programs that had already been occurring in colleges and universities across the U.S. This has resulted in graduates' academic jobs in Asian languages, literature, linguistics, and Asian Studies will be extremely hard to find for the next few years. The vast majority of higher learning institutions in our country have hiring freezes for this year and next, particularly in the humanities.

Anti-China sentiment in the U.S. has reached a fever pitch as the Trump administration has further demonized China and seeks to decouple the U.S. economy from China. Travel between China and the U.S. is severely restricted right now, and prospects for Chinese graduates seeking to enter the business world are not very promising shortly, as the U.S.-China trade relationship is strained and affected by the U.S. imposed tariffs. The Japanese economy, which had already been in decline for the past several decades, is further hurt by the pandemic, diminishing prospects of jobs in the business world for Japanese language majors looking for careers outside academia.

Given these factors, my advice to current graduates is to be patient. In a post-pandemic world and hopefully, with a more rational approach in Washington to our relationship with China, interest in learning the Chinese language and culture will once again increase, leading to job openings in academia as well as in the business world. Japan and Korea will continue to be essential players in the world in the years to come, and there will be jobs for graduates with knowledge of the languages and cultures of those two East Asian countries.

In the meantime, I would advise current graduates to seek jobs teaching English in China, Japan, and Korea. All three of those countries have handled the pandemic far better than has the U.S. and are, therefore, far safer places to be right now. Teaching English at a university in those countries will enhance your knowledge of the language and culture you've been studying. That, in turn, will increase the likelihood of you getting a fellowship for graduate study and your prospects of a job in the business world. The JET Program provides the best English teaching jobs in Japan. Many universities in China and Korea are seeking university graduates who are native speakers of English to teach in their schools. Best to get certification in ESL before applying, however.
ScoreRussian Language InstructorUS Average
Salary
5.1

Avg. Salary $64,990

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
5.2

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
5.2
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 11.28%

Black or African American 7.15%

Hispanic or Latino 10.19%

Unknown 4.93%

White 66.17%

Gender

female 76.90%

male 23.10%

Age - 46
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46
Stress level
5.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level
9.9

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
6.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Russian language instructor career paths

Key steps to become a russian language instructor

  1. Explore russian language instructor education requirements

    Most common russian language instructor degrees

    Bachelor's

    53.6 %

    Master's

    31.7 %

    Doctorate

    6.6 %
  2. Start to develop specific russian language instructor skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Grammar11.21%
    Blackboard11.10%
    Foreign Language9.75%
    ILR8.66%
    Target Language6.97%
  3. Research russian language instructor duties and responsibilities

    • Lead weekly instruction sessions in Russian language, literature, and culture.
    • Manage conceptual development of the textbook and create relevant grammar exercises.
    • Supervise and manage class; facilitate and teach conversational Tagalog including cultural aspects.
    • Evaluate student performance according to ILR language proficiency scale.
  4. Get russian language instructor experience

    Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a russian language instructor. The most common roles before becoming a russian language instructor include teacher, interpreter and translator team lead and language instructor.
  5. Prepare your russian language instructor resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your russian language instructor resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a russian language instructor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable russian language instructor resume templates

    Build a professional russian language instructor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your russian language instructor resume.
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    Russian Language Instructor Resume
    Russian Language Instructor Resume
    Russian Language Instructor Resume
    Russian Language Instructor Resume
    Russian Language Instructor Resume
    Russian Language Instructor Resume
  6. Apply for russian language instructor jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a russian language instructor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first russian language instructor job

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Average russian language instructor salary

The average russian language instructor salary in the United States is $64,990 per year or $31 per hour. Russian language instructor salaries range between $37,000 and $113,000 per year.

Average russian language instructor salary
$64,990 Yearly
$31.25 hourly

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A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2021
Cons

It is wonderful to see your students fluent in a foreign language


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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