---

Other East Asian Languages

Types of Degrees Other East Asian Languages Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Other East Asian Languages have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	60
Master’s Degree	16
Doctor’s Degree	15

What Other East Asian Languages Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Other 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 emphasized by a Other 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

Innate abilities most relevant to Other 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, Other 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 Other East Asian Languages professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Moodle	Computer based training software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Adobe Photoshop	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Audacity	Music or sound editing software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Other East Asian Languages graduates include:

• Teacher
• Hebrew Teacher
• Language Teacher
• Language Arts Teacher
• Bilingual Teacher
• ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor)
• Language Instructor
• Spanish Teacher
• French Teacher
• University Faculty Member
• Chinese Language Professor
• Russian Teacher
• Modern Languages Professor
• Greek Professor
• German Teacher

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Other 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 Other East Asian Languages?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 58.2% women and 41.8% men among Other East Asian Languages graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	53	58.2%
Men	38	41.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	36	39.6%
Asian	12	13.2%
Hispanic or Latino	9	9.9%
Black or African American	2	2.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	1	1.1%
Two or More Races	5	5.5%
Race Unknown	4	4.4%
International Students	22	24.2%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Other East Asian Languages Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Other 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 Other East Asian Languages Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Other 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	16.0300
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.