Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary

Pay and outlook

Median annual wage, May 2025

$79,350

Half earn more, half earn less

Middle half earn

$62,510 – $102,730

25th to 75th percentile

People employed, May 2025

19,830

Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)

Projected change, 2025–35

+0.2%

Growing slower than all jobs (0% to under 3.5%)

Openings a year (projected)

1,600

New jobs plus replacing people who leave

Typical education to enter

Doctoral or professional degree

BLS

• All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
• Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
• Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.

What the work involves

Teach languages and literature courses in languages other than English. Includes teachers of American Sign Language (ASL). Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

Main tasks

• Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
• Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
• Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
• Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
• Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as how to speak and write a foreign language and the cultural aspects of areas where a particular language is used.
• Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in scholarly journals, books, or electronic media.
• Keep abreast of developments in their field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional organizations and activities.
• Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.

Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.

Getting in

Typical education to enter (BLS)

Doctoral or professional degree

O*NET Job Zone 5

Extensive preparation

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Fields of study that lead here

From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 88 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.

Related careers

Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.

• English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary

  $78,760 median · 0% projected

• Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary

  $85,020 median · +2.7% projected

• Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

  $72,040 median · -0.2% projected

• Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors

  $61,540 median · -13.9% projected

• History Teachers, Postsecondary

  $83,820 median · 0% projected

• Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

  $64,370 median · -0.4% projected