Also called: Sociolinguistics Researcher
Studies how language varies by region, age, and community, like why people say "y'all" or "you guys."
A sociolinguist records conversations in neighborhoods, analyzes accents and slang, and studies how language changes over generations.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 9 years after high school. A bachelor's in linguistics, then a PhD in linguistics focused on sociolinguistics and how language varies across communities.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Linguistics, Sociology, Anthropology.
Growing slowly (about 0% over 10 years). BLS 2025-35 projection band for SOC 19-3099: Little or no change.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI can sort large speech datasets; recording real communities and explaining language variation stay human.
Classes: A world language, AP Statistics, AP English Language.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-3099.
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.