Long-Term Prospects

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Job Satisfaction

General quality of life statement

This is the part where we let you know what a freshly graduated linguistics major should expect based on the stats. Well, we're going to call shenanigans…on ourselves.

Major plot twist. Hang onto your hats, Shmoopers.

Linguistics statistics generally aren't all that accurate. Most stats lump linguistics in with literature, English, or the foreign languages. Also, there are a lot of linguistics jobs that end up in the computer science, law, or psychology category. Womp womp.

We do have some advice for you, though. We wouldn't leave you out in the cold like that.

So yeah, computers. They're kind of a big deal nowadays, and majoring in computational linguistics will make you some serious bank, especially if you have an advanced degree. People in speech pathology and law generally have salaries above $60k, but these require more advanced degrees. Not that that's a bad thing.

We're pretty sure hot-shot professors like Papa Noam are pretty well-off, too.

But people who major in plain ol' linguistics do tend to have trouble finding employment. The whopping 10% unemployment rate is more or less accurate in that regard. It's tough for those with unspecialized English or foreign language skills to land a job and when they do, they generally end up in the low- to mid-level salary range. Specialization in your studies can break you free from that path.

So if you're interested in linguistics, our advice is to look up potential linguistics-related careers that seem appetizing and plan out your college roadmap from there. It's not enough just to be a master linguist—you also need a specified skill set to actually land a job. For, you know, ShamWows and Snuggies and stuff.

25th Percentile Salary

Median Salary

75th Percentile Salary

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