Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
SOC 25-1124BLS OEWS May 2025H-1B LCAs, last 12 months
Teach languages and literature courses in languages other than English. Includes teachers of American Sign Language (ASL). Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
National median · BLS
$79,350
▲ +3.04%YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$69,724
▲ +2.99%YoY · 447 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$89,990
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
19,830
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.
Pay range for Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 447 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.
Percentile
All U.S. workers (BLS)
H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay
$49,060
$52,860
25th
$62,510
$60,000
Median (50th)
$79,350
$69,724
75th
$102,730
$84,383
90th — top pay
$136,050
$95,000
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $69,724 for Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary —
12.1% below
the BLS national median of $79,350.
Hourly ⇄ annual pay
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Monthly—
Every 2 weeks—
Weekly—
Daily—
Based on
hrs/week ×
weeks/year
= 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035
Job outlook for Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
BLS projects employment of foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary to grow 0.2% from 2025 to 2035, slower than the 3.5% average for all occupations.
About 1,600 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.
Jobs 2025 → 2035
24,600 → 24,700
+100 jobs
Projected change
+0.2%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
1,600
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
0.2% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 5)
Extensive Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.
H-1B median$69,724
Change vs prior year+2.99%
After inflation (CPI-U)-0.14%
Wage level
LCAs
Share
P25
Median
P75
Level I
294
65.8%
$57,478
$65,970
$80,000
Level II
72
16.1%
$74,170
$84,383
$86,717
H-1B job titles
Salaries by job title in Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
The 9 most-filed job titles inside SOC 25-1124, from 447 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.
Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.
Top H-1B sponsors for Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
Employers with the most certified LCAs for this occupation nationwide. Browse all sponsors →
Employer
Certified LCAs
Median
Profile
Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary salaries by state
BLS state medians, plus the same figure adjusted for local prices (BEA Regional Price Parities). Tap a state for its full range and H-1B pay.
State
Median
Jobs
Cost-adjusted
Profile
Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary salaries by metro area
Search by city, ZIP code or metro name. Tap a metro for its full range.
Metro area
Median
Jobs
Cost-adjusted
Profile
Skills & tools
Skills needed for Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.
Top skills
Speaking4.1
Active Listening4.0
Instructing4.0
Learning Strategies4.0
Reading Comprehension4.0
Writing4.0
Active Learning3.9
Critical Thinking3.8
Monitoring3.6
Complex Problem Solving3.5
Top knowledge areas
Foreign Language5.0
English Language4.4
Education and Training4.1
History and Archeology3.3
Philosophy and Theology3.3
Sociology and Anthropology3.1
Administrative3.0
Geography3.0
Software and technology used
Learning management system LMSAdobe IllustratorAdobe PhotoshopGoogle DocsMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordZoomAdobe PageMakerAmerican Sign Language ASL browserAudacityBlackboard LearnBlackboard softwareCollaborative editing softwareComputer assisted language learning CALL softwareCourse management system software
Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
About the job
What foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary 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.
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.
Also called
French ProfessorProfessorSpanish InstructorSpanish ProfessorAssistant ProfessorAssociate ProfessorForeign Languages ProfessorGerman ProfessorInstructorModern Languages Professor
More job titles for this occupation (41)
Adjunct InstructorAdjunct Spanish InstructorArabic InstructorArabic Language InstructorArabic ProfessorArabic TeacherBiblical Languages ProfessorBilingual InstructorBilingual TeacherChinese InstructorChinese Language ProfessorChinese TeacherCollege Faculty MemberCollege ProfessorEnglish for Speakers of Other Languages Teacher (ESOL Teacher)ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor)Foreign Language InstructorFrench InstructorFrench TeacherGerman InstructorGerman TeacherGreek ProfessorHebrew ProfessorHebrew TeacherItalian TeacherJapanese ProfessorLanguage Arts TeacherLanguage InstructorLanguage TeacherLanguages ProfessorLecturerProgram InstructorRussian Language ProfessorRussian TeacherSpanish Language LecturerSpanish LecturerSpanish Literature ProfessorSpanish TeacherSwahili TeacherTeacherUniversity Faculty Member
Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.
Similar jobs and how they pay
Occupations O*NET lists as closely related to Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary, with BLS national medians compared with this occupation's $79,350.
