Interpreter Questions

[Hbemel]

1. what is your specialty in?
2. why do you like your specialty?
3.what dont you like about you specialty?
4. Describe a typical day or appointmentin that specialty
5. Recommendations for any interpreter who wants to make it their specialty.
6. what level of certication are you.
7. what is the average pay for an interpreter.

 

[Etoile]

1. I guess you could call it "business" - I work in government settings. In particular I work exclusively with the IT department of a Defense agency.
2. I have a computer background anyway, so working in the IT department is a good fit for me. But also, I like being in a professional "business" setting. Before I started interpreting I worked in the computer industry, part of the business world, so I am in a comfortable space here. Cube farms are comfortable to me, and that's where I interpret.
3. Not much opportunity for variety or interacting with other interpreters. I used to freelance and I did all kinds of work! Medical, educational, theatrical, all kinds of interesting stuff, often with other terps. Now I am the only terp for this department and I do the same thing all the time. I'm good at it, but it's lonely.
4. A large part of my day is five-minute chats with co-workers. I have one primary deaf client whose office is near mine and he will come get me so he can talk to a co-worker. The rest of my day is group meetings, training sessions, presentations, etc. I usually do these by myself which can be kind of exhausting, especially things like a two-hour computer training all by myself.
5. Be prepared for office politics. Also, if you are working in government, you will probably be a contractor. (Actual government interpreting positions are quite rare.) Being a contractor is like being a lesser person in the federal setting...we are always "below" the federal government employees.
6. I have national certification. I have my CT from RID. Planning to take the CI test soon once their backlog gets a little less because I don't want to wait 10 months like I did for my CT!
7. It depends where you are. I work in the Washington DC area which probably pays the most for interpreters out of anywhere in the country. It also depends what you're doing - educational terps don't make as much legal terps, for example. So it depends entirely on location and type of work.

 

[Interpretrator]

Planning to take the CI test soon once their backlog gets a little less because I don't want to wait 10 months like I did for my CT!

Hey, did you hear that Sorenson donated money to RID to pay for extra CI/CT performance raters? According to Angela Jones, "We anticipate that most current CI and CT performance tests will be rated within a few months of the [rater] training."

I'm planning to take the CI probably in late summer.

 

[Etoile]

Hey, did you hear that Sorenson donated money to RID to pay for extra CI/CT performance raters? According to Angela Jones, "We anticipate that most current CI and CT performance tests will be rated within a few months of the [rater] training."

I'm planning to take the CI probably in late summer.

Wow, really? Man, Sorenson is all over the place. There's a Sorenson building at Gallaudet now...where on earth did they get so much money?! Still, it's good to hear they are catching up on the tests. 10 months for my CT was insane.