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Interpreters and Translators

Occupation · SOC 27-3091.00

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

Also called: Interpreter · Medical Interpreter · Sign Language Interpreter · Translator · American Sign Language Interpreter (ASL Interpreter) · Court Interpreter · Educational Interpreter · Linguist · Spanish Interpreter · Spanish Translator · Arabic Translator · Bilingual Interpreter

Job family: Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations

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AI work map

A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.

Often handed to AI

Task areas most often handled directively in observed AI conversations — candidates to delegate with light review.

  • Read written materials, such as legal documents, scientific works, or news reports, and rewrite material into specified languages. · 45.2%
  • Proofread, edit, and revise translated materials. · 19.6%
  • Translate messages simultaneously or consecutively into specified languages, orally or by using hand signs, maintaining message content, context, and style as much as possible. · 2.2%
See how AI is used here →

Use as a copilot

Task areas where people work with AI — iterating, learning, or checking — staying in the loop rather than handing the task off.

  • Check original texts or confer with authors to ensure that translations retain the content, meaning, and feeling of the original material. · 0.6%
See collaboration patterns →

Keep a human in the loop

Task areas where a human was still judged necessary in a large share of observed conversations — not a safety ruling, an observed-need signal.

  • Discuss translation requirements with clients and determine any fees to be charged for services provided. · 100.0% need a human
  • Proofread, edit, and revise translated materials. · 98.0% need a human
  • Compile terminology and information to be used in translations, including technical terms such as those for legal or medical material. · 95.8% need a human
See the boundary tasks →

91st-percentile task overlap — yet about 6,900 openings a year (+1.7% projected, BLS), and observed AI use leans 4022% copilot, not hand-off (AEI) . What exposure means →

AI & job outlook

What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.

Exposure to current AI

Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.

Measure Rank vs all occupations Percentile Score
Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) High 79th 1.1
LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) High 75th 0.9
AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) High 100th 0.5

OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.9), with simple added tooling (β 0.9), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.9). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.

This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.

Historical automation estimate (2013)

A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.

Frey–Osborne probability 0.4 · 43rd percentile among occupations · Moderate

How AI is actually used in this job

Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.

Read written materials, such as legal documents, scientific works, or news reports, and rewrite material into specified languages. 46.4%
Proofread, edit, and revise translated materials. 26.1%
Translate messages simultaneously or consecutively into specified languages, orally or by using hand signs, maintaining message content, context, and style as much as possible. 8.7%
Adapt translations to students' cognitive and grade levels, collaborating with educational team members as necessary. 2.9%
Check original texts or confer with authors to ensure that translations retain the content, meaning, and feeling of the original material. 1.5%
Follow ethical codes that protect the confidentiality of information. 0.9%

Job outlook

Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.

Outlook About average · +1.7% by 2034
Projected annual openings 6,900
Employment 2024 → 2034 75,300 → 76,600

“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.

Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient

The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.

59% mean task exposure (2025)
97th percentile of 427 placed occupations
+0 pts shift 2023 → 2025
International occupation (ISCO-08) Task exposure (2025) Most tasks fall in
Translators, Interpreters and Other Linguists · 2643 59% Gradient 3

Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.

Working with AI in this job

How people actually apply AI to this occupation's tasks, from Claude.ai (Free and Pro) conversations in the Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15. This is one AI assistant's consumer sample — not all AI, not the whole workforce. Autonomy and the collaboration mix are model-rated estimates; figures below the sample floor are hidden.

Augmentation vs. automation 40.2% working with AI · 56.9% handed to AI
Most common way people use AI here Directive · AI does it; you give the instruction
Typical AI autonomy 3.0 / 5 · higher = AI acts more independently
Used for work (vs. personal / coursework) 63.2%

What people delegate to AI

The role's most common tasks in AI conversations, each tagged with how people work with the AI on it. “Usage” is the share of observed conversations, not of the job.

Task How Usage
Read written materials, such as legal documents, scientific works, or news reports, and rewrite material into specified languages. Directive 45.2%
Proofread, edit, and revise translated materials. Directive 19.6%
Translate messages simultaneously or consecutively into specified languages, orally or by using hand signs, maintaining message content, context, and style as much as possible. Directive 2.2%
Adapt translations to students' cognitive and grade levels, collaborating with educational team members as necessary. Directive 0.8%
Compile terminology and information to be used in translations, including technical terms such as those for legal or medical material. Directive 0.7%
Check original texts or confer with authors to ensure that translations retain the content, meaning, and feeling of the original material. Iteration 0.6%
Check translations of technical terms and terminology to ensure that they are accurate and remain consistent throughout translation revisions. 0.5%
Discuss translation requirements with clients and determine any fees to be charged for services provided. 0.4%

Where a human is still needed

Tasks where the model most often judged that a person remained necessary — a useful read on the current boundary, not a guarantee.

Discuss translation requirements with clients and determine any fees to be charged for services provided. 100.0%
Proofread, edit, and revise translated materials. 98.0%
Compile terminology and information to be used in translations, including technical terms such as those for legal or medical material. 95.8%
Adapt translations to students' cognitive and grade levels, collaborating with educational team members as necessary. 94.8%
Read written materials, such as legal documents, scientific works, or news reports, and rewrite material into specified languages. 93.5%
Check translations of technical terms and terminology to ensure that they are accurate and remain consistent throughout translation revisions. 93.3%

What people most often hand AI here

Example prompts phrased from the tasks people most often delegate to AI in this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index). Each shows the underlying measured task and its share of observed AI use. They are suggested phrasings of real tasks — starting points, not endorsed instructions.

  • Help me read written materials, such as legal documents, scientific works, or news reports, and rewrite material into specified languages.

    From: Read written materials, such as legal documents, scientific works, or news reports, and rewrite material into specified languages. · 45.2% of measured AI use · directive

  • Help me proofread, edit, and revise translated materials.

    From: Proofread, edit, and revise translated materials. · 19.6% of measured AI use · directive

  • Help me translate messages simultaneously or consecutively into specified languages, orally or by using hand signs, maintaining message content, context, and style as much as possible.

    From: Translate messages simultaneously or consecutively into specified languages, orally or by using hand signs, maintaining message content, context, and style as much as possible. · 2.2% of measured AI use · directive

  • Help me adapt translations to students' cognitive and grade levels, collaborating with educational team members as necessary.

    From: Adapt translations to students' cognitive and grade levels, collaborating with educational team members as necessary. · 0.8% of measured AI use · directive

Tasks

All 17 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.

Work activities

Knowledge, skills & abilities

O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).

Knowledge

English Language 4.7
Foreign Language 4.1
Customer and Personal Service 3.9
Education and Training 3.4
Administrative 3.2
Public Safety and Security 3.1
Law and Government 3.0

Abilities

Oral Expression 4.3
Oral Comprehension 4.1
Written Comprehension 4.0
Written Expression 4.0
Speech Recognition 3.9
Speech Clarity 3.9
Information Ordering 3.8
Problem Sensitivity 3.6
Near Vision 3.6
Deductive Reasoning 3.1
Selective Attention 3.1
Fluency of Ideas 3.0
Originality 3.0
Inductive Reasoning 3.0
Category Flexibility 3.0
Speed of Closure 3.0
Time Sharing 3.0
Auditory Attention 3.0

Essential skills

Speaking 4.1
Active Listening 4.0
Reading Comprehension 3.9
Writing 3.8
Critical Thinking 3.6
Monitoring 3.6
Active Learning 3.1
Learning Strategies 3.0

Transferable skills

Social Perceptiveness 3.1
Service Orientation 3.1
Judgment and Decision Making 3.1
Coordination 3.0
Instructing 3.0
Complex Problem Solving 3.0
Time Management 3.0

Skills in demand

Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.

Tools & technology

Example Category
Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet software Hot technology In demand
Microsoft Office software Office suite software Hot technology In demand
Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation software Hot technology In demand
Hypertext markup language HTML Web platform development software Hot technology
Microsoft Access Data base user interface and query software Hot technology
Microsoft Outlook Electronic mail software Hot technology
Microsoft Word Word processing software Hot technology
Productivity software Project management software In demand
AceTools.biz Ace Translator Foreign language software
Adapt It Foreign language software
AmoK Translator Foreign language software
Ashkon Translation Pad Foreign language software
Babylon Online Translator Foreign language software
DocTranslate Foreign language software
Electronic dictionaries Dictionary software
ExcelTrans Translator Foreign language software
Extensible hypertext markup language XHTML Web platform development software
Google Translate Client Foreign language software
HunterSoft Business Translator Foreign language software
Intrado SchoolMessenger Mobile messaging service software
jalada GmbH Just Translate Foreign language software
Language Engineering Corporation Translate Pro Foreign language software
Lingoes Foreign language software
OmegaT Foreign language software
Smart Link Corporation ImTranslator Foreign language software
Stormdance CatsCradle Foreign language software
Voice over internet protocol VoIP system software Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software
Web browser software Internet browser software

Work context

How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.

Importance of Being Exact or Accurate 4.9
Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team 4.7
Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams 4.6
Contact With Others 4.6
E-Mail 4.5
Frequency of Decision Making 4.5
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks 4.5
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results 4.1
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled 4.1
Freedom to Make Decisions 4.1
Time Pressure 4.0
Level of Competition 3.9
Telephone Conversations 3.6
Spend Time Sitting 3.6
Consequence of Error 3.6
Physical Proximity 3.5
Determine Tasks, Priorities and Goals 3.4
Work Outcomes and Results of Other Workers 3.3
Dealing With Unpleasant, Angry, or Discourteous People 3.2
Coordinate or Lead Others in Accomplishing Work Activities 3.1
Conflict Situations 2.9
Deal With External Customers or the Public in General 2.9
Exposed to Disease or Infections 2.9
Exposed to Sounds, Noise Levels that are Distracting or Uncomfortable 2.8
Public Speaking 2.8
Written Letters and Memos 2.8
Spend Time Standing 2.7
Spend Time Walking or Running 2.6
Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions 2.6
Exposed to Contaminants 2.0
Outdoors, Exposed to All Weather Conditions 1.9
Health and Safety of Other Workers 1.9
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets 1.9
Dealing with Violent or Physically Aggressive People 1.8
Degree of Automation 1.8
Wear Specialized Protective or Safety Equipment such as Breathing Apparatus, Safety Harness, Full Protection Suits, or Radiation Protection 1.7
Pace Determined by Speed of Equipment 1.6
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls 1.6
Exposed to Cramped Work Space, Awkward Positions 1.5
Exposed to Radiation 1.5

How to get in

Job zone
Zone 4 — Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Education
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
Related experience
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Preparation level
SVP (7.0 to < 8.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.

What to study: Area, Ethnic, Cultural, Gender, and Group Studies , Education , Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics , Legal Professions and Studies , Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.

Education of current workers

Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.

Bachelor's Degree 54.7%
Master's Degree 27.9%
High School Diploma 8.0%
Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) 4.4%
Post-Master's Certificate 3.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate 1.3%

Interests & work styles

The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.

Interest areas

Humanities 5.3
Health Care Service 3.5
Law 3.4
Personal Service 2.7
Social Service 2.6
Office Work 2.3
Social Science 2.3
Teaching/Education 2.1
Public Speaking 2.0

Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)

Conventional 4.8
Artistic 4.3
Social 3.5
Investigative 3.2

Work styles

Dependability 4.0
Attention to Detail 3.0
Integrity 2.8

Wages & employment

U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)

$36k10th$45k25th$59kMedian$80k75th$100k90th
Annual wages by percentile — U.S. (BLS OEWS). The light band spans the 10th–90th percentile; the darker band is the middle half (25th–75th); the line is the median.
75k202477k2034 (proj.)+1.7% · About average
Projected U.S. employment, 2024–2034 (BLS Employment Projections). A labor-market forecast for the occupation, not an AI-impact forecast.
10th percentile $35,630
25th percentile $45,020
Median (50th) $59,440
75th percentile $80,020
90th percentile $99,830
People employed 53,360

Industries that employ this occupation

Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.

Industry Workers National median pay
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector 21,060 $59,020
Educational Services · Sector 12,180 $60,560
Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector 9,180 $57,530
Information · Sector 2,350 $80,120
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector 2,190 $33,670
Manufacturing · Sector 600 $49,600
Finance and Insurance · Sector 470 $51,490
Other Services (except Public Administration) · Sector 420 $49,900
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation · Sector 360 $37,960
Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector 330 $58,240
Transportation and Warehousing · Sector 260 $43,870
Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists · National industry 220 $62,630

Where this work is most concentrated

Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).

Industry Concentration Workers
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector 5.65× 21,060
Educational Services · Sector 2.58× 12,180
Information · Sector 2.34× 2,350
Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists · National industry 1.33× 220
Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers · National industry 1.22× 190
Health Care and Social Assistance · Sector 1.15× 9,180
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector 0.7× 2,190
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation · Sector 0.39× 360

Part of the Education and Public Service & Safety career clusters.

Exposure quadrant: AI task-overlap percentile vs Median pay Interpreters and Translators sits at the 91st percentile of AI task-overlap and the 45th percentile of median pay, placed here against 12 adjacent occupations on the same two axes. Lower overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · higher pay Higher overlap · lower pay Lower overlap · lower pay Interpreters and Translators Speech-Language Pathology Assistants Speech-Language Pathologists Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education Word Processors and Typists Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary Tutors Proofreaders and Copy Markers AI task-overlap percentile → ↑ Median pay
AI task-overlap percentile (horizontal) vs. median-pay percentile (vertical), across all scored occupations. This occupation is highlighted; related occupations are plotted alongside it. Overlap measures shared tasks with AI, not automation.

Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.

What you can do with this

Options the data surfaces for Interpreters and Translators — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.

Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation

Interpreters and Translators show 91st-percentile AI task overlap — and about 6,900 annual U.S. openings

  • Interpreters and Translators rank in the 91st percentile (High band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
  • The occupation is projected to see about 6,900 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • BLS projects employment to be about average (+1.7%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
  • Median annual pay is $59,440, across about 53,360 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
  • Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 40% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census.2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2
Copy the whole kit
Interpreters and Translators show 91st-percentile AI task overlap — and about 6,900 annual U.S. openings

• Interpreters and Translators rank in the 91st percentile (High band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE)
• The occupation is projected to see about 6,900 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• BLS projects employment to be about average (+1.7%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34)
• Median annual pay is $59,440, across about 53,360 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024))
• Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 40% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census. (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2)

Source: Singulariki — "Interpreters and Translators". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-27-3091-00
Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.

AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom

Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Interpreters and Translators." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-27-3091-00

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Interpreters and Translators. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-27-3091-00

BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-27-3091-00,
  title  = {Interpreters and Translators},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-27-3091-00}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.

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