East Asian Languages

Types of Degrees East Asian Languages Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many East Asian languages graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	143
Doctor’s Degree	57
Graduate Certificate	9

What East Asian Languages Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to East Asian were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for East Asian Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in East Asian should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• 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.

Skills for East Asian Majors

A major in East Asian prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• 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.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for East Asian Majors

East Asian majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• 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.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a East Asian Languages Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with East Asian:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Foreign Language and Literature Professors	11.7%	$67,640
Interpreters and Translators	17.7%	$49,930

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in East Asian Languages?

This major is dominated by women with about 66% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of East Asian majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	24
Black or African American	0
Hispanic or Latino	6
White	36
International Students	72
Other Races/Ethnicities	5

Geographic Diversity

East Asian appeals to people across the globe. About 50.3% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• South Korea
• Japan
• Taiwan
• Hong Kong

How Much Do East Asian Languages Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

East Asian majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $55,230 to $79,160 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to East Asian Languages

Some careers associated with East Asian require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for East Asian careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.5%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.5%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	30.1%
Master’s Degree	21.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	4.3%
Doctoral Degree	37.8%

Online East Asian Languages Programs

In 2020-2021, 200 schools offered a East Asian program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	5	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	45	2
Bachelor’s Degree	4	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	49	0
Post-Master’s	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	29	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in East Asian Languages Worth It?

The median salary for a East Asian grad is $55,230 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 38% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $306,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to East Asian Languages

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to East Asian.

Major	Number of Grads
Linguistics & Comparative Literature	1,748
Romance Languages	1,304
Classical Languages & Literature	303
Middle Eastern Semitic Languages	160
Germanic Languages	149
American Sign Language	115
Slavic, Baltic & Albanian Languages	74
Foreign Language, Literature & Linguistics (Other)	51
South Asian Languages	22
Second Language Learning	19
Celtic Language & Literature	3
African Languages	3
Greek Language & Literature	1
Turkic & Central Asian Languages	0
Iranian & Persian Languages	0
Native American Languages	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Betoseha under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.