Also called: Simultaneous Interpreter
Translates speeches live—while the speaker is still talking—at the UN, summits, and international meetings.
Sits in a soundproof booth wearing headphones, listening to a diplomat in French and speaking the English version a few seconds behind, switching with a partner every 30 minutes.
Estimate; UN and top freelancers earn the high end.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 6 years after high school. Master's in conference interpreting (e.g., Middlebury Monterey) plus near-perfect command of 2-3 languages.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Foreign Languages, Translation & Interpretation.
Growing about average (about 2% over 10 years). Estimate.
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. Live AI speech translation is improving fast for business meetings; top diplomatic and legal settings still hire humans.
Classes: Two AP world languages, Speech and debate, Model UN.
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.