Interpreters

ANZSCO ID 272412

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
4,000
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
22%
Female Share
67%
Average age
50

Summary

Interpreters transfer spoken or signed languages into other spoken or signed languages, usually within a limited timeframe in the presence of the participants requiring the translation.

Tasks

  • Provides simultaneous and consecutive verbal or signed renditions of speeches into another language.

  • Renders the meaning and feeling of what is said and signed into another language in the appropriate register and style in a range of settings such as courts, hospitals, schools, workplaces and conferences.

Characteristics

Job Type
Professionals
Skill Level
Very high skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
Unemployment Rate
n/a
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
  • Vocational Education and Training (VET)
Interests
  • Creative
  • Helping
Physical Demand
  • Sedentary

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. Employment projections data are only produced for occupations at the broad four digit Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) level. While data are not available for this occupation, projections data are available for the parent occupation, Social Professionals, under the outlook section.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 22% of people employed as Interpreters work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 44 percentage points below the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 41 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Sources:Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average.


Industries

Main industries

1
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
52.5%
2
Health Care and Social Assistance
18.7%
3
Public Administration and Safety
12.1%
4
Education and Training
9.1%
5
Other industries
5.3%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

29.2% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

32.6% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

15.9% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

9.2% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

8.5% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

1.7% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

1.7% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.2% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Interpreters All Jobs Average
NSW 29.2 31.6
VIC 32.6 25.6
QLD 15.9 20.0
SA 9.2 7.0
WA 8.5 10.8
TAS 1.7 2.0
NT 1.7 1.0
ACT 1.2 1.9



Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
50
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
67%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Interpreters is 50 years. This is higher than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 45 to 54 years.

    Females make up 67% of the workforce. This is 19 percentage points above the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Interpreters All Jobs Average
15-19 0.4 5.0
20-24 3.2 9.3
25-34 14.8 22.9
35-44 19.8 22.0
45-54 23.4 21.6
55-59 13.3 9.0
60-64 10.8 6.0
65 and Over 14.4 4.2
Median Age 50 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

Formal qualifications and the ability to speak foreign languages fluently are both needed to work as an Interpreter. University and Vocational Education and Training (VET) are both common study pathways.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Community Services VET training pathways.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Interpreters All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 22.3 10.1
Bachelor degree 31.3 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 25.2 11.6
Certificate III/IV 6.8 21.1
Year 12 10.8 18.1
Year 11 0.9 4.8
Year 10 and below 2.7 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Social Professionals who have good leadership and planning skills, with a strong ability to communicate.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 61%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 61%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 59%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 57%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 54%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 50%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 50%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 46%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 45%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 45%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 43%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 43%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 43%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 43%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 43%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 36%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 32%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 30%

    Systems evaluation

    Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

  • 29%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 29%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 95%

    Foreign language

    Foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

  • 83%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 72%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 64%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 59%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 57%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 55%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 52%

    Philosophy and theology

    Philosophical systems and religions, including their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and impact on society.

  • 52%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 51%

    Geography

    Describing land, sea, and air, including their physical characteristics, locations, how they work together, and the location of plant, animal, and human life.

  • 48%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 47%

    Sociology and anthropology

    Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

  • 43%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 42%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • 37%

    History and archeology

    Events of the past, their causes, how we learn about them, and how they influence the way we live today.

  • 37%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 34%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 33%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

  • 33%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 29%

    Therapy and counselling

    Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 71%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 70%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 66%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 64%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 61%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 59%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 55%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 54%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 52%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 50%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 45%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 45%

    Speed of recognition

    Quickly make sense of and organize things you can see like letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 43%

    Auditory attention

    Pay attention to a certain sound when there are other distracting sounds.

  • 43%

    Brainstorming

    Come up with a number of ideas about a topic, even if the ideas aren't very good.

  • 43%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 43%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 43%

    Multitasking

    Do two or more things at the same time.

  • 41%

    Originality

    Come up with unusual or clever ideas, or creative ways to solve a problem.

  • 41%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 39%

    Hearing sensitivity

    Tell the difference between sounds.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 85%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 85%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 76%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 72%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 71%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 70%

    Working with the public

    Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.

  • 70%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 68%

    Communicating with the public

    Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 65%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 63%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 61%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 57%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 56%

    Thinking creatively

    Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.

  • 54%

    Scheduling work and activities

    Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

  • 51%

    Making sense of information and ideas

    Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.

  • 50%

    Coaching and developing others

    Working out the needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or helping them to improve.

  • 47%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 47%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 47%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 44%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 86%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

  • 76%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 52%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 48%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 29%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 19%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 76%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 60%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 57%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.

  • 52%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 52%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 52%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 97%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 92%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 84%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 82%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 80%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 79%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 79%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 78%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 78%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 77%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 75%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 73%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 71%

    Loud or uncomfortable sounds

    Be exposed to noises and sounds that are distracting or uncomfortable.

  • 67%

    Spend time sitting

    Spend time sitting at work.

  • 65%

    Disease or infection

    Be exposed to disease or infections.

  • 62%

    Competition

    Compete with others, or be aware of competitive pressures.

  • 62%

    Making repetitive motions

    Spend time making repetitive motions.

  • 62%

    Angry or unpleasant people

    Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.

  • 60%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 59%

    Spend time standing

    Spend time standing at work.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 27-3091.00 - Interpreters and Translators.


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