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Linguists


Overview

Linguists

Introduction

Linguists study the components and structure of the world's various languages, the relationships among them, and their effects on the societies that speak them. They teach, conduct research projects, and offer interpretation and translation services.

Quick Facts


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Median Salary

$71,600

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Employment Prospects

Fair

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Minimum Education Level

Bachelor's Degree


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Experience

Student teaching


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Skills

Foreign Language
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Personality Traits

Curious
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Earnings

In its 2018–2019 salary survey, the American Association of University Professors reported the following average salaries for full-time faculty by rank: full professors, $136,506; associate professors, $93,133; and assistant professors, $80,289.

Social sciences professors (including those who teach linguistics) earned salaries that ranged from less than $39,760 to $175,110 or more in May...

Work Environment

Working conditions for linguists employed by colleges and universities are usually very good. Linguistics professors usually share a linguistics lab that has the sound spectrographs, recording devices, computers, and other equipment they will need for their work. Linguistics professors commonly spend 12 to 16 hours a week in the classroom and divide the rest of their workweek between meeting st...

Outlook

While the employment outlook for linguists has improved over the past decade, it is still not good. There are more qualified linguists than there are jobs for them, and most openings will occur as other linguists retire or leave the field. The U.S. Department of Labor predicts that employment for college and university social sciences professors will grow just 1 percent through 2028; linguistic...