Also called: Over-the-Phone Emergency Interpreter, 911 Language Line Interpreter
Joins 911 calls within seconds to interpret between dispatchers and callers who speak another language during emergencies.
Interpreters sit on headsets, often at home, waiting for a 911 center to patch them in. A caller may be screaming in Spanish, Vietnamese or Somali about a fire or a baby not breathing, and the interpreter must relay every word fast and exactly while the dispatcher gives CPR instructions. Then the next call comes.
Hourly; rare languages pay more. Estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
High school diploma, about 0 years after high school. Fluent in English and another language; company testing and medical-terminology training.
Ways in: On-the-job training, Certification. Training cost: Under $15k.
Majors to look at: Translation and Interpretation, Modern Languages.
Growing about average. Demand grows with more languages spoken, but AI translation is advancing (approx.).
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI translation is advancing fast; human interpreters remain for rare languages and high-stakes calls.
Age 18+. One way to start: Apply to interpreting companies (LanguageLine, Propio) for phone interpreter jobs; pass their language test First: Company language test plus a few weeks of medical and emergency call training
Classes: A second language, Health-science CTE.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-3091.
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.