Blog

What are the highest-paying jobs for people that are fluent in Arabic? Although one might immediately think of becoming an Arabic phone interpreter or a professional offering Arabic translation services, the scope of opportunities extends much further than linguistics.

In fact, there’s a world of well-paid and very exciting career opportunities that you can consider if you can speak Arabic. The job market for bilingual Arabic employees is expanding rapidly. Right now, the demand for Arabic skills in the global economy exceeds the supply of native-level speakers.

In general, Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the highest in demand since it’s the most useful and versatile dialect, but many speakers of the Arabic language that speak the Levantine and Egyptian dialects also find that their language skills improve their employability factor.

Why Arabic is in Demand

There are roughly 315 million native Arabic speakers that live across 22 countries, which makes Arabic the world’s 5th most-spoken language.

The Middle East is becoming an integral player in global business, but very few Westerners can speak Arabic. This is why there’s a higher demand than ever before for Arabic speakers in the global employment market. Industries, including business and industry, finance, education, translation and interpretation, journalism, and consulting, are all recruiting Arabic speakers to help them engage with their Middle Eastern audiences in their target language.

With that being said, let’s explore some of the highest-paying roles that you can land with your Arabic skills!

Tops Jobs for Arabic Language Learners

Communications Professional

There’s a growing demand for Arabic-speaking reporters and foreign correspondents in the United States and abroad as communications agencies try to ensure that breaking news and key developments are relayed to audiences in Arabic-speaking communities and countries. It’s essential for communications experts to have a deep understanding of linguistic nuances, and as a bilingual employee, you’ll have a deeper knowledge of the Arabic culture that can ensure you always deliver content that’s relevant and sensitive to the native speakers of the language.

Finance Professional

A plethora of private clients and international banks that trade internationally need Arabic-speaking financial managers to take care of their business relations in Africa and the Middle East. The African and Middle Eastern banking sectors are both going through rapid growth stages, which can only be interpreted as a growing field of new job opportunities for Arabic language learners.

Consultant

You can always assist global brands to make deals with Arabic organizations when working as a corporate consultant. Alternatively, there’s the field of risk analyst to consider, where you’ll use your language skills to gather information on territories in the Arab world to determine the investment value. Another career avenue in this sector that pays very well is that of a legal assistant. As an Arabic-speaking legal assistant, you’ll work for law firms that have Arabic-speaking clients.

Government Jobs

The U.S. government has declared Arabic as a critical language, so there’s an exceptionally high demand for Arabic speakers in this sector, especially in the economic, humanitarian, and national security fields. Government jobs that offer high-paying salaries include the likes of government relations specialist, foreign-service officer, intelligence analyst, translator, and interpreter.

Teacher

If you speak a foreign language, it makes perfect sense to teach it too. And there are plenty of ways of teaching the Arabic language if you have the patience to get there. You’ll need teaching skills to become an Arabic teacher. A PGCE is suitable for anyone that wants to teach in secondary schools. You’ll also need qualifications to prove your linguistic skills. Many schools, academies, and cultural associations are looking for Arabic teachers. Alternatively, you can also teach English in Arabic-speaking countries doing TEFL, which is a highly rewarding and well-paying career option.

Translation Specialist

Arabic translators are in demand, but you must be bilingual (native level in both languages you speak) to pursue this career. Many Arabic speakers work for translation agencies, but you can also freelance and work for yourself. Naturally, it’s advisable to obtain at least a bachelor’s degree in translation if you want to earn the highest possible salary.

Alternatively, you can also work as an interpreter if you speak Arabic as a second language. While a translator works with written language, interpreters focus on spoken language. Interpreters are responsible for facilitating conversations between groups of people that don’t speak a mutual language. Similar to a translation role, it’s advisable to acquire further certification after obtaining your degree in languages if you want to make your way up the career ladder as an Arabic interpreter.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there’s a broad range of career opportunities waiting to be explored that aren’t all directly related to the Arabic language, where your linguistic skills can help you get your foot in the door. Any international career will benefit from foreign language skills, and with Arabic on the rise, your language-learning endeavors will be worth every bit of effort.