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East Asian Languages Major

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East Asian Languages

1,596 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
143 Master's Degrees Annually
#144 in Popularity
$55,230 Median Salary

Types of Degrees East Asian Languages Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many East Asian languages graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree 1,596
Basic Certificate 287
Associate Degree 170
Master’s Degree 143
Doctor’s Degree 57
Undergraduate Certificate 31
Graduate Certificate 9

What East Asian Languages Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to East Asian and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for East Asian Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in East Asian should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

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  • Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
  • Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Skills for East Asian Majors

When studying East Asian, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

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  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for East Asian Majors

As you progress with your East Asian degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

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  • Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a East Asian Languages Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with East Asian:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Foreign Language and Literature Professors 11.7% $67,640
Interpreters and Translators 17.7% $49,930

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in East Asian Languages?

1,596 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
58% Percent Women
45% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 1,596 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in East Asian languages in 2021, making it rank #144 in popularity. This major is dominated by women with about 58% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of East Asian majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 351
Black or African American 68
Hispanic or Latino 132
White 714
International Students 132
Other Races/Ethnicities 199

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in East Asian, too. About 8.3% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

  • China
  • South Korea
  • Japan
  • Taiwan
  • Hong Kong

How Much Do East Asian Languages Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

The U.S. Department of Education found that students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree in East Asian languages made a median starting salary of $27,933 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $23,928 (25th percentile) and $30,773 (75th percentile).

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Note that some of these people may have jobs that are not directly related to a East Asian degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $55,230 to $79,160 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to East Asian. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Median Salary for an East Asian Languages Major  ( 55230 to 79160 )
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250K
Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )
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250K
Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )
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250K
Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )
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250K

Some degrees associated with East Asian may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to East Asian have obtained the following education levels.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) 0.5%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) 0.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 5.6%
Bachelor’s Degree 30.1%
Master’s Degree 21.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. 4.3%
Doctoral Degree 37.8%

Online East Asian Languages Programs

In 2020-2021, 200 schools offered a East Asian program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 5 0
Certificate (2-4 Years) 0 0
Associate’s Degree 45 2
Bachelor’s Degree 4 0
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 49 0
Post-Master’s 3 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 29 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

Is a Degree in East Asian Languages Worth It?

The median salary for a East Asian grad is $55,230 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 38% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $306,600 after 20 years!

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You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to East Asian.

Major Number of Grads
Romance Languages 15,009
Linguistics & Comparative Literature 8,539
American Sign Language 2,724
Classical Languages & Literature 1,428
Germanic Languages 1,425
Slavic, Baltic & Albanian Languages 607
Middle Eastern Semitic Languages 607
Foreign Language, Literature & Linguistics (Other) 500
Second Language Learning 108
Southeast Asian & Pacific Languages 38
South Asian Languages 24
Native American Languages 16
Iranian & Persian Languages 4
Celtic Language & Literature 4
African Languages 4
Greek Language & Literature 3
Turkic & Central Asian Languages 0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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