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Site interpreter vs translator

The differences between site interpreters and translators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a site interpreter and a translator. Additionally, a site interpreter has an average salary of $44,292, which is higher than the $44,278 average annual salary of a translator.

The top three skills for a site interpreter include social services, historic sites and target language. The most important skills for a translator are target language, translation services, and vice versa.

Site interpreter vs translator overview

Site InterpreterTranslator
Yearly salary$44,292$44,278
Hourly rate$21.29$21.29
Growth rate20%20%
Number of jobs11,1751,206
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 62%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

Site interpreter vs translator salary

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

Site InterpreterTranslator
Average salary$44,292$44,278
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $72,000Between $27,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-New York
Best paying company-Apple
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between site interpreter and translator education

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

Site InterpreterTranslator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 62%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common majorHistoryEnglish
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Site interpreter vs translator demographics

Here are the differences between site interpreters' and translators' demographics:

Site InterpreterTranslator
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 38.0% Female, 62.0%Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 13.2% White, 51.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 32.0% Asian, 18.4% White, 37.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage15%15%

Differences between site interpreter and translator duties and responsibilities

Site 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.
  • Provide professional media relations, and VIP presentations to donor associations and government officials.

Translator example responsibilities.

  • Manage proofreading, typesetting, and editing of English/Spanish projects.
  • Lead an international team of HUMINT collectors for the NATO mission in Bosnia where overt and covert collection protocols are observed.
  • Translate scripts for 2D and 3D animations from English into Urdu, Punjabi, and Hindi.
  • Translate patient materials and informational brochures issue by hospitals and medical facilities into another language.
  • Conduct research on Turkish tourism.
  • Translate tourism articles from English to Chinese.
  • Show more

Site interpreter vs translator skills

Common site interpreter skills
  • Social Services, 35%
  • Historic Sites, 21%
  • Target Language, 20%
  • LEP, 6%
  • Interpretation Services, 6%
  • ASL, 4%
Common translator skills
  • Target Language, 24%
  • Translation Services, 17%
  • Vice Versa, 9%
  • Medical Terminology, 5%
  • Web Pages, 5%
  • English-Language, 4%

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