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Linguists

Earnings

In its 2018–2019 salary survey, the American Association of University Professors reported the following average salaries for full-time faculty by rank: full professors, $136,506; associate professors, $93,133; and assistant professors, $80,289.

Social sciences professors (including those who teach linguistics) earned salaries that ranged from less than $39,760 to $175,110 or more in May 2018, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, with median earnings of $71,600.

The new field of computational linguistics offers an attractive alternative to academia. In February 2020, most computational linguists earned salaries ranging from $75,000 to $120,000, averaging $92,705, according to ZipRecruiter. Computational linguists often receive stock options as well.

Benefits for full-time workers include vacation and sick time, health, and sometimes dental, insurance, and pension or 401(k) plans. Self-employed linguists must provide their own benefits.