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court interpreter

Types of Degrees court interpreter Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing court interpreter can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Master’s Degree	2

What court interpreter Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing court interpreter emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Foreign Language — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set developed in a court interpreter program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Monitoring — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to court interpreter careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Speech Recognition — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, court interpreter graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.1 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7
Getting Information	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	3.9 / 7
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public	3.8 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	3.7 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.6 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by court interpreter professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
OmegaT	Foreign language software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Intrado SchoolMessenger	Mobile messaging service software	—
Lingoes	Foreign language software	—
Stormdance CatsCradle	Foreign language software	—
Babylon Online Translator	Foreign language software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for court interpreter graduates include:

• Language Translator
• American Sign Language Interpreter (ASL Interpreter)
• Sign Language Interpreter
• Court Interpreter
• Bilingual Secretary
• Legal Translator
• Spanish Analytic Linguist
• Bilingual Interpreter
• Language Interpreter
• Farsi Linguist
• Braille Translator
• Community Interpreter
• Russian Linguist
• Medical Interpreter
• Technical Translator

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to court interpreter graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	48.6%
Master’s degree	24.8%
Postsecondary certificate	9.4%
High school diploma or equivalent	7.7%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	5.2%
Post-master’s certificate	3.3%
Some college courses	0.6%
First professional degree	0.3%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in court interpreter?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 50% women and 50% men among court interpreter graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1	50.0%
Men	1	50.0%

How Much Do court interpreter Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of court interpreter graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$37,277
4 years	$37,648
5 years	$42,965

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $42,965 — roughly 15% above the 1-year mark.

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

Is a Degree in court interpreter Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, court interpreter graduates earn a median of $37,648 four years after completion — about 1% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{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
Legal Support Services	22.03
Court Reporting and Captioning/Court Reporter	22.0303
Legal Administrative Assistant/Secretary	22.0301
Legal Assistant/Paralegal	22.0302
Legal Support Services, Other	22.0399
Scopist	22.0305

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.