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General East Asian Languages

Types of Degrees General East Asian Languages Majors Are Earning

People majoring in General East Asian Languages may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	19
Bachelor’s Degree	188
Master’s Degree	92
Doctor’s Degree	30

What General East Asian Languages Majors Need to Know

Programs in General East Asian Languages develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that General East Asian Languages graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing General East Asian Languages emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Foreign Language — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills built by a General East Asian Languages program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to General East Asian Languages careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, General East Asian Languages graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.3 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7
Working with Computers	4.0 / 7
Getting Information	4.0 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.0 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	3.9 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.9 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.9 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by General East Asian Languages professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Moodle	Computer based training software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Desire2Learn LMS software	Computer based training software	—
Zoom	Video conferencing software	—
Skype	Desktop communications software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General East Asian Languages graduates include:

• Language Instructor
• Language Arts Teacher
• Language Teacher
• Teacher
• French Teacher
• Hebrew Teacher
• Spanish Teacher
• Bilingual Teacher
• ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor)
• French Professor
• Japanese Professor
• Professor
• Assistant Professor
• Instructor
• Arabic Language Instructor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to General East Asian Languages graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	45.2%
Doctoral degree	28.2%
Master’s degree	15.1%
Post-master’s certificate	3.8%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.9%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	2.6%
High school diploma or equivalent	2.0%
Postsecondary certificate	0.3%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in General East Asian Languages?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 62% of General East Asian Languages degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	204	62.0%
Men	125	38.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of General East Asian Languages graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	109	33.1%
Asian	80	24.3%
Hispanic or Latino	17	5.2%
Black or African American	17	5.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1	0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.3%
Two or More Races	26	7.9%
Race Unknown	5	1.5%
International Students	73	22.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General East Asian Languages Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of General East Asian Languages graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$27,756
4 years	$45,953
5 years	$53,377

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $53,377 — roughly 92% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in General East Asian Languages Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, General East Asian Languages graduates earn a median of $45,953 four years after completion — roughly 21% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.03
Chinese Language and Literature	16.0301
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other	16.0399
Japanese Language and Literature	16.0302
Korean Language and Literature	16.0303
Tibetan Language and Literature	16.0304
American Indian/Native American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.1001
American Sign Language (ASL)	16.1601
Ancient/Classical Greek Language and Literature	16.1202
Arabic Language and Literature	16.1101
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other	16.1299
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.1200

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.