An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Field of degree: Foreign language

PRINTER-FRIENDLY

Foreign language field of degree. Employment: 764,860. Median annual wage: $52,000.

View Chart Data

Table 1. Foreign language degree, 2018
Data	Foreign language	All fields
Employment	764,860	55,381,020
Median wage	$52,000	$59,000
Percent employed part time	20	15
Percent employed in occupations requiring at least a bachelor's degree	61	59
Percent with an advanced degree	51	37
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Types of foreign language majors, 2018
Foreign language majors	Major share
French, German, Latin, and other common foreign language studies	68%
Linguistics and comparative language and literature	17
Other foreign languages	15
Note: The sum of percents by major may not total 100 due to rounding. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Employment distribution of workers with a foreign language degree, by occupational group, 2018
Occupational group	Occupational group share
Educational instruction and library occupations	21%
Management occupations	14
Business and financial operations occupations	10
Office and administrative support occupations	9
Sales and related occupations	7
Other	39
Note: The sum of percents by major may not total 100 due to rounding. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.

View Chart Data

Table 2. Top-employing occupations for workers with a foreign language degree
Occupational Outlook Handbook profile	Percent growth, projected 2019–29	Typical entry-level education	Percent degree holders in this field, this occupation, 2018	Percent of this occupation with an advanced degree, 2018
Health specialties teachers, postsecondary	21%	Doctoral or professional degree	6%	74%
Management analysts	11	Bachelor's degree	2	36
Accountants and auditors	4	Bachelor's degree	2	26
Elementary school teachers, except special education	4	Bachelor's degree	8	50
Lawyers	4	Doctoral or professional degree	4	93
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education	4	Bachelor's degree	3	53
Education administrators, kindergarten through secondary	4	Master's degree	2	55
Physicians, all other; and ophthalmologists, except pediatric	4	Doctoral or professional degree	2	100
Personal service managers, all other; entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling; and managers, all other	-2	Bachelor's degree	4	21
Customer service representatives	-2	High school diploma or equivalent	2	4
Note: Occupational profiles may comprise multiple SOC occupations, which may have differing education categories. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program (projected growth, entry-level education) and U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (degree holders, advanced degrees).

Suggested citation:

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Field of degree: Foreign language,
at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/field-of-degree/foreign-language/foreign-language-field-of-degree.htm (visited September 08, 2021).

Last Modified Date: Monday, November 30, 2020