Career profile for Languages Professor

What does a Languages Professor do?

Languages Professors teach languages and literature courses in languages other than English.

In addition, Languages Professors

includes teachers of American Sign Language (ASL),
includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

What kind of tasks does a Languages Professor perform regularly?

Languages Professors are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, or handouts.
Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, papers, and oral presentations.
Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as anatomy, therapeutic recreation, and conditioning theory.
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.
Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks and performance pieces.
Advise students on academic and vocational curricula, and on career issues.
Write letters of recommendation for students.
Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues.
Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department heads.
Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities.
Organize and direct study abroad programs.
Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments.
Participate in campus and community events.

The above responsibilities are specific to Languages Professors. More generally, Languages Professors are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Training and Teaching Others		Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Thinking Creatively		Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Working with Computers		Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge		Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Training and Teaching Others

Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

Thinking Creatively

Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.

Working with Computers

Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge

Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

What is a Languages Professor salary?

The median salary for a Languages Professor is $69,920, and the average salary is $80,410. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Languages Professor salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Languages Professors earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Languages Professors earn less than $40,970 per year, 25% earn less than $54,110, 75% earn less than $98,710, and 90% earn less than $135,800.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Languages Professors is expected to change by 9.6%, and there should be roughly 2,900 open positions for Languages Professors every year.

Median annual salary: $69,920
Typical salary range: $40,970 - $135,800
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 9.6%

What personality traits are common among Languages Professors?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Languages Professor are usually higher in their Social, Investigative, and Artistic interests.

Languages Professors typically have very strong Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Also, Languages Professors typically have strong Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Lastly, Languages Professors typically have strong Artistic interests. Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Languages Professor tend to value Relationships, Independence, and Achievement.

Most importantly, Languages Professors very strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Languages Professors very strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Lastly, Languages Professors strongly value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Languages Professors must consistently demonstrate qualities such as self-control, persistence, and stress tolerance.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Languages Professors, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Persistence		Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Stress Tolerance		Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Achievement/Effort		Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Persistence

Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

Stress Tolerance

Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Achievement/Effort

Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

What education and training do Languages Professors need?

Many Languages Professors have earned a graduate degree. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a doctoral degree, such as a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D..

Languages Professors may need some on-the-job training, but most candidates will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Educational degrees among Languages Professors

0.6% did not complete high school or secondary school
1.4% completed high school or secondary school
2.0% completed some college coursework
1.8% earned a Associate's degree
14.6% earned a Bachelor's degree
32.1% earned a Master's degree
47.4% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Languages Professors

Languages Professors may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as foreign language, education and training, or history and archeology knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Languages Professors might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Foreign Language		Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Education and Training		Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
History and Archeology		Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Philosophy and Theology		Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Sociology and Anthropology		Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

Foreign Language

Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

Education and Training

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

History and Archeology

Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

Philosophy and Theology

Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

Sociology and Anthropology

Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

Important Abilities needed by Languages Professors

Languages Professors must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Languages Professors need abilities such as speech clarity, oral expression, and oral comprehension in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Languages Professors, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Speech Clarity		The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Speech Clarity

The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Written Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Critical Skills needed by Languages Professors

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Languages Professors frequently use skills like speaking, reading comprehension, and active listening to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Languages Professors, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Reading Comprehension		Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Writing		Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Learning Strategies		Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Reading Comprehension

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Writing

Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Learning Strategies

Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Languages Professor

Languages Professor

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