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Staff interpreter vs translator

The differences between staff 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 staff interpreter and a translator. Additionally, a translator has an average salary of $44,278, which is higher than the $43,714 average annual salary of a staff interpreter.

The top three skills for a staff interpreter include ASL, mental health and interpretation services. The most important skills for a translator are target language, translation services, and vice versa.

Staff interpreter vs translator overview

Staff InterpreterTranslator
Yearly salary$43,714$44,278
Hourly rate$21.02$21.29
Growth rate20%20%
Number of jobs71,8001,206
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 52%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

Staff interpreter vs translator salary

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

Staff InterpreterTranslator
Average salary$43,714$44,278
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $70,000Between $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 staff interpreter and translator education

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

Staff InterpreterTranslator
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 52%Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common majorAmerican Sign LanguageEnglish
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityHarvard University

Staff interpreter vs translator demographics

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

Staff InterpreterTranslator
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 24.5% Female, 75.5%Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 23.7% Asian, 11.5% White, 52.8% 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 staff interpreter and translator duties and responsibilities

Staff interpreter example responsibilities.

  • Help to build collaboration with internal and international patients with medical staff, social organizations and insurance companies.
  • Create education and promotional materials relate to Latino health and wellness.

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

Staff interpreter vs translator skills

Common staff interpreter skills
  • ASL, 38%
  • Mental Health, 18%
  • Interpretation Services, 12%
  • Sign Language, 11%
  • LEP, 8%
  • Social Services, 6%
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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