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Alamo Colleges DistrictCareer Explorer

Interpreters and Translators

Part of Education & Training, in the Professional Support Services pathway.

Job zone 4: considerable preparationO*NET 27-3091.00

What the work is

Interpret oral or sign language, or translate written text from one language into another.

On a typical day

  • Follow ethical codes that protect the confidentiality of information.
  • Identify and resolve conflicts related to the meanings of words, concepts, practices, or behaviors.
  • Translate messages simultaneously or consecutively into specified languages, orally or by using hand signs, maintaining message content, context, and style as much as possible.
  • Check translations of technical terms and terminology to ensure that they are accurate and remain consistent throughout translation revisions.
  • Refer to reference materials, such as dictionaries, lexicons, encyclopedias, and computerized terminology banks, as needed to ensure translation accuracy.
  • Compile terminology and information to be used in translations, including technical terms such as those for legal or medical material.

What it pays

$51,820
Median pay per year, San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX metro
New workers start near $26,930
Experienced workers reach $102,440
  1. $27k10th
  2. $27k25th
  3. $52kMedian
  4. $82k75th
  5. $102k90th
Wage percentiles: 10th $26,930, 25th $26,930, Median $51,820, 75th $81,690, 90th $102,440

About 380 people do this job in the San Antonio area.

Job outlook

Alamo region (Bexar and 12 surrounding counties), Texas Workforce Commission projection 2024 to 2034. U.S. figures from the BLS for comparison.

+23.5%

employment change in the Alamo region, 618 to 763 jobs · U.S. +2%

76

openings a year in the Alamo region, from growth and people leaving · U.S. 6,900

618

employed in the Alamo region in 2024 · U.S. 75,300

Typical entry education: Bachelor's degree

Skills this career uses

The skills O*NET rates most important for the job, with how much of each the work needs on a 1 to 7 scale.

  1. Speaking4.0
  2. Active Listening4.3
  3. Reading Comprehension4.0
  4. Writing4.0
  5. Critical Thinking3.9
  6. Monitoring3.8
  7. Social Perceptiveness3.6
  8. Service Orientation3.1

Education people in this job have

Share of workers by highest education, from O*NET surveys. It shows what others did, not what you must do.

  1. High school or less8%
  2. Certificate1%
  3. Associate degree4%
  4. Bachelor's degree55%
  5. Master's degree32%

Job zone 4, considerable preparation: Usually a bachelor's degree, sometimes a strong associate plus experience.

Alamo programs that lead here

  • Northeast Lakeview
  • Northwest Vista
  • Palo Alto
  • St. Philip's
  • San Antonio
  1. Spanish

    Transfer pre-major · Creative & Communication Arts

  2. Chinese

    Transfer pre-major · Creative & Communication Arts

  3. French

    Transfer pre-major · Creative & Communication Arts

  4. German

    Transfer pre-major · Creative & Communication Arts

  5. Japanese

    Transfer pre-major · Creative & Communication Arts

  6. Spanish

    Transfer pre-major · Creative & Communication Arts

  7. World Languages

    Transfer pre-major · Creative & Communication Arts

  8. World Languages

    Degree · Transfer pre-major · Public Service

  9. Spanish

    Transfer pre-major · Creative & Communication Arts

  10. American Sign Language and Interpreter Training

    Degree · Certificate · Creative & Communication Arts

  11. World Languages

    Transfer pre-major · Online option · Creative & Communication Arts

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