Also called: DLI Foreign Language Instructor, Military Language Teacher
Teaches troops a new language like Arabic, Korean, Chinese or Russian from zero in intensive courses that last up to 64 weeks.
Instructors, most of them native speakers, teach small classes of service members for six or seven hours a day in Monterey, California. They build lessons from real news and radio, give tests, and coach struggling students. Graduates go on to become military linguists and analysts.
Federal faculty pay in Monterey, CA, 2026 estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 5 years after high school. Bachelor's degree (master's preferred) and native or near-native fluency in the target language plus English.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Foreign Languages, Linguistics, Education.
Growing about average. Federal civilian defense jobs track the defense budget; steady hiring with retirements (approx.).
Medium risk for 10 years. AI tutors and translators help practice; teaching fluent listening and culture stays human.
Classes: Foreign language, English composition, World history.
Official data: O*NET occupation 25-1124.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.