Career
Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary
Teach languages and their literature at a college.
$79,350
Median pay
+0.2%
Job growth, 2025–35
1,600
Openings a year
Doctoral or professional degree
Typical education
7–8 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on people & care, then ideas & analysis?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Writing.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
7–8 years of education after high school (doctoral or professional degree), for a median of $79,350 a year and 1,600 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Teaching (by Subject)See the degree →
- Romance LanguagesSee the degree →
- LinguisticsSee the degree →
- Foreign Language Teacher EducationCIP 13.1306
- French Language Teacher EducationCIP 13.1325
- German Language Teacher EducationCIP 13.1326
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary$78,760 · +0.0%
- Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary$85,020 · +2.7%
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$72,040 · -0.2%
- Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors$61,540 · -13.9%
- History Teachers, Postsecondary$83,820 · +0.0%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
Not sure this fits who you are? Start with Vocational Finder →
Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.