10 Jobs that Require Bilingual Language Skills
How the ability to speak multiple languages can open doors in your career
Welcome, aspiring polyglot! In the past we have discussed some of the benefits of being bilingual, but we haven't really taken a deep look at precisely which jobs and careers offer the most opportunity for bilingual speakers. Irrespective of whether or not you use your language skills in a career, they are still worth building up over time. The ability to break down language barriers when people who speak a different language are not expecting it will give you a significant advantage in the job market.
While there are many reason to learn a new language, one of the most common reasons to learn a language is for the business benefits. If you want to take a deeper look into choosing a language to learn, check out this article:
Starting a New Language in 2024
Growth opportunities for bilingual speakers
Learning a second language can not only change your life, but also your career. With today’s global economy, the demand for foreign language speakers continues to grow in many job sectors.
By knowing a second (or third+) language, you have a stronger ability to solve problems creatively, be flexible in a changing environment, strengthen relationships, provide support, and overcome obstacles. Not to mention, many regular jobs will also pay a higher salary for bilingual speakers. Notably, US employers are looking to hire candidates who can speak Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, German, Japanese, and Russian. Adding these languages to your repertoire can make you an attractive prospect.
Ultimately, knowing other languages outside of your native language can take you to new heights, help you land international clients, and serve as a lifelong useful skill. In this post, I’ll dive into some of the best jobs for people who speak multiple languages. I hope this encourages some of you to consider learning a new language that could benefit your current career or even open the door to a new one.
1. Flight Attendant
National Average Salary: $85,102
Though the ability to speak English is necessary as English the language of the skies, international airlines look for flight attendants with multilingual skills to attend to passengers and treat them with the utmost care. Your knowledge of a specific language could also benefit you to become the designated employee for flights to and from a region that uses that language. And if you love travel, why not get paid for it as a multilingual flight attendant?
2. International Travel Agent
National Average Salary: $44,906
In this role, knowing another language could open the doors to have clients from different regions of the world. Also, you may be able to get great deals for your clients if you know the language of the area they’re traveling to. For example, say you know Spanish and you’re working with a family that’s hoping to visit Spain on a budget. Your language skills can help you make connections on the ground and get discounted rates to hotels, excursions, or more. Your knowledge of a different language and culture could be the difference between curating a good trip and creating someone’s dream vacation.
In addition, you may be able to expand this role into other similar avenues such as study abroad programs, international volunteer groups, or foreign bilingual workers and intern programs.
3. Interpreter
National Average Salary: $50,945
Interpreters typically do some kind of “bridging” or facilitating communication between different parties. For example, when two heads of state need to talk to each other, the interpreter bridges their languages so they can both come to an understanding of what the other is saying.
Interpreters are a fairly visible role during public events where a lot of people who may not understand the speaker’s language are very interested in what is being said. The beginning of language acquisition can commonly feel like you’re being an interpreter for yourself since you are typically translating what is being said to you in your head before you think of a response.
Keep in mind that this is one of the top foreign language careers in high demand and it often requires the interpreter to have a bachelor’s degree, speak the target language fluently, and sometimes even hold a certification.
4. Translator
National Average Salary: $62,323
Translating is about converting written text from one language to another. Typically there is no lack of work in this field, and with technology this foreign language career often offers an opportunity for remote work. Unlike interpreters, translators typically work behind the scenes. Translation is one of the most difficult careers on this list and the bilingual skills will need to be higher level than most of these other jobs.
Here are some example of the different types of translators:
Literary translators work with books and novels. Many famous pieces of literature you know in English are actually translations of the original: “Anna Karenina” - written in Russian by Tolstoy, “The Odyssey” - written by Homer in Greek.
Legal translators convert texts within the field of law, including contracts, protocols, decrees, decisions, depositions, and even minutes proceedings.
Medical translators translate physicians’ diagnoses, treatment plans, patient information and pharmacological instructions, as well as instruction manuals for medical equipment.
5. Language Tutor
National Average Salary: $43,218
A tutor works in education and assists students in improving their knowledge of their target language. You can tutor small groups or one-on-one and often this is a good option for those interested in freelancing and setting their own hours. Language majors can apply communication skills to help students succeed and help in speaking, writing, culture for English or a foreign language.
6. Tour Guide
National Average Salary: $34,786
Have you ever been on a tour in a foreign country and the guide leading the group spoke your language, the local language, and potentially a few others? Did it make you vacation more meaningful and memorable to be able to learn about the history of the area in a way you could understand? T
hat’s the important role that a tour guide holds. A tour guide can bridge the language and cultural gap for tourists and make for a memorable experience. And the guide that can speak the language of their clients will be the most sought after and potentially paid better.
7. (Field) Researcher
National Average Salary: $43,313
Field research encompasses a lot of things, from anthropologists and archaeologists to geographists and environmentalists. Most of these jobs have language and travel in common. Being multilingual in this role can connect the language of the people in the field and the language of record, or the language the research will be written in. People tend to open up more to someone who speaks their language, which will help a researcher gather information in surveys and interviews. Imagine the discoveries you could make!
8. Product Localization Manager
National Average Salary: $73,113
Many global companies will specialize their products according to location to cater to the locals. For example, McDonald’s in India does not have Big Macs on the menu but instead has a beef-less Maharaja Mac. A localization manager is necessary to roll out products like this and to do it correctly through product research and development, labeling, and marketing. Product localization managers ensure that the good intentions of the company are properly translated and that can be greatly helped by someone that speaks the local language.
9. Hotel Manager
National Average Salary: $117,076
As a hotel manager, you get to meet new people from all walks of life. By knowing another language or two, you can provide exceptional service for customers and address international visitors’ needs accordingly. Most likely if you can offer multilingual services in a role like this you can negotiate a higher salary than those who speak only one language. This role is great for those that enjoy a diverse day to day work life and who enjoys providing excellent customer service.
10. Au Pair
National Average Salary: $28,006
Notably, this is a good job for a young adult or someone who is flexible on living location. Au pairs live with a family and help take care of little ones. The family typically pays for the room and board and provides a monthly stipend. In many cases, you may have the opportunity to tutor or teach the kids your native language or even a second language.
It may make you more competitive to offer language skills as part of your services. In many cases, you can stay with a family for up to two years abroad on a work visa. So this is a great chance to explore a new country on your days off or even travel with the family on their vacations.
**National average salaries are based on United States salary reports.**
Conclusion
This is far from a comprehensive list of all the ways being bilingual serves as a valuable skill on the job market. The hospitality industry is notorious for needing workers who can speak multiple languages. Bilingual customer service representatives are also common. Depending on the route you end up choosing, be sure to check into the requirements.
If you need a certification it is vital to know that before hand. Some bilingual jobs will only ask that you be able to communicate effectively. Even if your career does not expressly call for skills in different languages, having them is almost always an advantage.
Globally expanding companies are becoming more and more common and in today's competitive job market monolinguals will become increasingly more rare. Learning a new language can also make cultural differences easier to navigate.
Many employers also are looking for candidates from diverse backgrounds, bilingual speakers are always assumed to have a story. While I am sure you will have a rewarding career no matter what you do, adding two languages to your repertoire will ensure you remain in high demand.
Whether you think grammar or vocabulary is more important, you need to focus on both throughout your language learning experience if you want to develop your language skills to be well rounded. Learning a foreign language is no easy feat, it will be difficult irrespective of how you approach it. But you can do difficult things and be great, so continue to do difficult things and be great. I will be here by your side endeavoring to do the same.
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