Becoming a Professional, part 5: Interpreter (Bachelor’s Degree): Communication belongs to everyone – interpreters in working life

Both sign language interpreters and interpreters specialising in AAC instruction support people’s right to be understood, but by slightly different means. This blog looks at the roles and places where graduates have found employment in each field. We have previously published a separate blog post on the employment outcomes of communication instructors. You’ll find it at the end of this text.

Two professions, one goal 

Sign language interpreters and communication instructors both support successful communication and interaction, but by different means and with different target groups. A sign language interpreter conveys messages between sign language and spoken language, while an an interpreter and AAC instructor for the speech impaired uses augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) methods, such as plain language, key word signing and picture communication, to support people with speech impairments. At the heart of both professions, however, is the same thing: everyone’s right to be understood in their own way.

Sign language interpreter: a field grounded in law

The studies of a sign language interpreter provide skills in sign language interpreting, translation and interpreting services, and multilingual and multicultural communication. Graduates work as interpreters in the everyday lives of deaf and hard-of-hearing people. An interpreter may be present at meetings, in studies and in healthcare situations, for example, and may also provide speech-to-text interpreting. Some graduates also work in guidance and cultural work or in teaching and training roles.

The field employs strongly in the private sector, which accounts for two thirds of graduates, while the public sector employs a quarter and the rest work as entrepreneurs. The Sign Language Act guarantees the right to interpreting services, which creates stable, legally grounded demand in the field. 

Graduates’ jobs are strongly concentrated in the Helsinki metropolitan area and the largest cities, where most of the deaf population resides.

The sign language field is renewing and expanding

The development of hearing aids and cochlear implants is changing the field, reducing the need for traditional sign language interpreting. For both the field and its professionals, this calls for the ability to renew. Remote interpreting and digital interpreting services make it possible to reach clients regardless of location, and as multiculturalism increases, the need for interpreting in other languages is also growing. Community interpreting and workplace interpreting are new, growing areas in which interpreters’ expertise is used to support communication in multicultural work communities alongside traditional disability services. Tightening accessibility requirements in both public services and companies continuously create new demand.

Skills worth investing in as a sign language interpreting student 

Respondents to the most recent national UAS Career Monitoring Survey (2025) encourage current sign language interpreting students to develop especially time management and the organisation of their own work, as well as resilience in challenging situations. Many also recommended obtaining a second qualification alongside sign language, such as interpreting for people with speech impairments, speech-to-text interpreting or interpreting for deafblind people, as it was felt to bring more diverse job opportunities. 

Alumni also felt that practical training and the ability to handle unexpected situations were important skills. Foreign language and interaction skills and client encounters were likewise seen as crucial.

Communication instructor: a flexible field with even regional distribution

Interpreter and AAC instructor studies focus on augmentative and alternative communication methods. Graduates work, for example, as AAC instructors, in early childhood education, in the social and health sector and in teaching roles, supporting interaction between people with special needs and those close to them. The field is still small, but growing. Humak’s own 2024 employment study showed that graduates have found employment well and are mostly satisfied with their careers. More detailed results of the study can be found at the end of this text. 

The private and public sectors employ communication instructors in almost equal numbers, and the entrepreneurship rate is remarkably high, nearly 20%, which reflects a strong freelance culture in the field. Unlike sign language interpreters, communication instructors’ jobs are evenly distributed across Finland.

A small field with a growing need

Because the field is still small and multidisciplinary, many communication instructors build their careers by combining their expertise with other roles, for example in early childhood education or social sector guidance work. This extends the visibility of communication instruction expertise to new environments and at the same time creates new career paths. Ageing population significantly increases the need for the field, as dementia and strokes, for example, increase the need for communication support. The use of augmentative and alternative communication methods in services for older people, care homes and home care is indeed one of the fastest-growing areas of expertise in the field.

Skills worth investing in as an interpreter and AAC instructor student

In Humak’s own 2024 employment study, both graduates and final-year students considered in-depth mastery of communication methods and aids, such as key word signing and plain language, particularly important. Practice in using technical tools, such as various communication software and eye-tracking devices, was also considered a valuable part of their expertise. In addition, competence related to specific client groups, such as working with autistic clients, and mastery of new communication technologies and applications were seen as part of the core competence of today’s professionals.

A shared future: accessibility is growing

The futures of both sign language interpreters and communication instructors are linked by the same development: society’s need for accessible services is constantly growing, and the expertise of both professions can be used ever more widely, for example in developing communication in work communities in multicultural environments. Digitalisation, multilingualism and tightening accessibility legislation open up new opportunities for both fields.

Authors:

Sources:

Graduating Student Survey for Universities of Applied Sciences (AVOP), 2021–2025. 
Material from the joint workshop of Humak’s Executive Team and heads of divisions, 2026. 
Statistics Finland employment tracking data, 2023. 
Results of the National UAS Career Monitoring Survey, 2021–2025. 
Henriksson, J. & Pohjanmäki, T. (2025). Kommunikaatio-ohjauksen ammattilaiset tekevät palveluista saavutettavia. Sijoittumisselvitys Humakista valmistuneista tulkeista [AAC professionals make services accessible: An employment study of Humak’s interpreter graduates]. Humak blog series (in Finnish). 

Previously published in the Becoming a Professional blog series: 

• Part 1: Community Educator (Bachelor’s Degree), NGO and Youth Work: A profession that matters every single day

• Part 2: Community Educator (Bachelor’s Degree), Adventure and Outdoor Education: Let adventure lead you into a profession

• Part 3: Community Educator (Bachelor’s Degree), Workplace Community Development: A developer who helps work communities thrive

• Part 4: Cultural Manager (Bachelor’s Degree): The professional behind productions and experiences