Interpreter's salary

diehardbiker said:
I can understand why, most employer is required to provide insurance to protect their employees, and there is overhead costs involved, and employer has to pay higher taxes, etc, etc and that adds up the cost, that is why it always cost more.

Go down to auto shop, and find out their labor rate, pretty much same thing, they generallly bill 75 dollars an hour, and pay employees around 15 dollars an hour.
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Except the agencies I've worked for have very little overhead. The "office" is one or two small rooms with a computer, phone, fax, and vrs equipment, a few file cabinets, and a couple desks and chairs. All our business is transacted by email, text msg, phone calls, and fax. Payroll is outsourced. No insurance provided except some malpractice protection. No benefits, no employer contributions to retirement, etc.

The person sitting in the agency office (or at home) doing the "office" work gets paid at least $60,000 per year. My best year interpreting I got almost $16,000. That included working Monday-Saturday, evenings, late nights, on-call emergencies, and many hours on the road. (Some of my local colleagues also fly to their assignments.) The agency owners are literally millionaires, and don't even live in this region.

Like I said, I don't mind the owners getting a profit but I think the percentages are out of balance. I usually get less than half of what is charged, and get mileage only sometimes.
 
Reba said:
The person sitting in the agency office (or at home) doing the "office" work gets paid at least $60,000 per year. My best year interpreting I got almost $16,000. That included working Monday-Saturday, evenings, late nights, on-call emergencies, and many hours on the road. (Some of my local colleagues also fly to their assignments.) The agency owners are literally millionaires, and don't even live in this region.
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Yikes...you really should move to the DC area Reba! It is becoming more and more clear to me how good we have it here...
 
Etoile said:
Yikes...you really should move to the DC area Reba! It is becoming more and more clear to me how good we have it here...
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Yes, you do have it good there. I know some terps who have moved from there to here. They told me what they made there.

Ah, but your cost of living is higher, too. ;)

Besides, I'm not leaving Hubby and the grandkids for anything. :)
 
Wow, I'm going move to SC and want see Reba to interpreting at my new college. :eek3:
 
My friend says thank for all info but he wants to know how long it takes for him to be legitmate interpreter? From what i have heard that hearing person dont have to undergo any training as long he is from deaf family OR know someone closely enough that he doesn't have to go training. Any truth to that ?
 
lumbingmi said:
My friend says thank for all info but he wants to know how long it takes for him to be legitmate interpreter? From what i have heard that hearing person dont have to undergo any training as long he is from deaf family OR know someone closely enough that he doesn't have to go training. Any truth to that ?
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No truth to that at all. An expert, native-like signer does NOT necessarily make for a good, ethical interpreter.
 
lumbingmi said:
My friend says thank for all info but he wants to know how long it takes for him to be legitmate interpreter? From what i have heard that hearing person dont have to undergo any training as long he is from deaf family OR know someone closely enough that he doesn't have to go training. Any truth to that ?
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Tousi's right. Fluency in ASL is not the only requirement for professional interpreters.

Your friend will need at least a two-year college degree in interpreting (a four-year degree is preferable, and will eventually be required for certification).

That's the starting point.
 
I do believe the UALR program is a 2 year program but I dont know much beyond that as far as getting the actual certification, and any possibilities of job placements upon graduation/certification.

But then again alot of Arkansas educators are walking around with basic 4 year degrees and very few carry a Masters. My dad has a 4 year degree plus 15 hours towards a Masters. Alot of the Kindergarten teachers in this area have gotten their certs through a 2 year degree.

So seeing that kind of educational field, I am sure here in this part of the country you probably could get by with a 2 year degree in ASL + certification.

But DC they probably expect much more since that part of the country teachers tend to carry higher educational degrees. Alot of the teachers out there carry a Masters plus 15 hours. So I would expect terps to have a 4 year degree plus certification.

And as with anything - the more education you have in your background, the higher your potential pay can be.
 
The SSA, they pay interpreters on average $90 an hour for 2 hours minimum paid compensation. So even if the interpreter only interpreted for 15 minutes they'd get $180.00 for the day.

VRS at my company pays around $30-45 (depending on experience and certifications).

I got lucky. My college has a great Deaf Studies program. I am getting a Bachelor's Degree in Deaf Studies Emphasis in Interpreting - I don't think 2 years is enough school to start interpreting. Mostly because I think their should be a TON of emphasis on the Deaf culture before going into ASL and interpreting.

I'd also like to learn other forms of Sign Language eventually.
 
Tousi said:
No truth to that at all. An expert, native-like signer does NOT necessarily make for a good, ethical interpreter.
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Correct. There is far more to interpreting than fluency in ASL, although of course that's a good place to start. By all means, an interpreter training program is the best way to go about it but at the very, very, very least the books "So You Want to Be an Interpreter?" and "Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters" should be read.
 
Tousi said:
No truth to that at all. An expert, native-like signer does NOT necessarily make for a good, ethical interpreter.
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Do you realize that there are some interpreters who works at school specifically community community that does not have any certificate or degree ??

Also I happened to meet several interpreters who just passed the test to get certificate without undergo any training because they re already proficient at asl.

so yes there is truth to it.
 
Why not give them a little competition? You could fill out a DBA statement to register your business for a few bucks, and the Small Business Development Centers throughout the US offer free advice. If they're too far away, you can always get free marketing, accounting, et cetera advice from score.org online.

You might be able to provide a much more cost-efficient service for all (especially if the agencies there are overpriced) and make a few bucks out of it too. I like the idea. I keep thinking about organizations who just meet the requirements and must provide an interpreter, but can't afford to pay expensive agency fees.

I think that'd rock.



Reba said:
Except the agencies I've worked for have very little overhead. The "office" is one or two small rooms with a computer, phone, fax, and vrs equipment, a few file cabinets, and a couple desks and chairs. All our business is transacted by email, text msg, phone calls, and fax. Payroll is outsourced. No insurance provided except some malpractice protection. No benefits, no employer contributions to retirement, etc.

The person sitting in the agency office (or at home) doing the "office" work gets paid at least $60,000 per year. My best year interpreting I got almost $16,000. That included working Monday-Saturday, evenings, late nights, on-call emergencies, and many hours on the road. (Some of my local colleagues also fly to their assignments.) The agency owners are literally millionaires, and don't even live in this region.

Like I said, I don't mind the owners getting a profit but I think the percentages are out of balance. I usually get less than half of what is charged, and get mileage only sometimes.
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lumbingmi said:
Do you realize that there are some interpreters who works at school specifically community community that does not have any certificate or degree ??

Also I happened to meet several interpreters who just passed the test to get certificate without undergo any training because they re already proficient at asl.

so yes there is truth to it.
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Yes, of course there are uncertified interpreters working in schools and other settings. For one thing, it is difficult to be skilled enough to pass the test without some practice first. Also, there simply are not enough certified interpreters. RID has about 12,000 members and only 6,000 of them are certified. They have 4,000 Associate members which means the person is working as an interpreter but is not certified So yes, there are thousands of uncertified interpreters out there.

Also, I would doubt that anybody could pass the test without ANY interpreting training. The written part of the exam includes a lot about ethics and history and best practices...you cannot pass the test based ONLY on your signing skills. (For one thing, interpreting requires different skills than having a conversation in ASL does.)

There are a lot of qualified interpreters out there who are not certified. And there are some certified interpreters who are not qualified. So it goes both ways really.
 
lumbingmi said:
Do you realize that there are some interpreters who works at school specifically community community that does not have any certificate or degree ??

Also I happened to meet several interpreters who just passed the test to get certificate without undergo any training because they re already proficient at asl.

so yes there is truth to it.
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Yes, but, as I said, that does NOT NECESSARILY make them good, ETHICAL interpreters. There are untold numbers of examples of unethical behavior. And just to be fair, I know of just one person (a CODA) who went the route you mentioned and over the years, this person has proven to be an exemplary interpreter, both skill-wise and ethically.
 
lumbingmi said:
Do you realize that there are some interpreters who works at school specifically community community that does not have any certificate or degree ??

Also I happened to meet several interpreters who just passed the test to get certificate without undergo any training because they re already proficient at asl.

so yes there is truth to it.
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No kidding there are community college interpreters who don't know anything about professional ethics. I've worked with some doozies.

The first place most people find a job out of their ITP is the community college setting because up until now there have been no standardized requirements for interpreting there. So it's also easy for proficient signers with no interpreting education to get jobs there.

This isn't always a disaster but it often is. Getting a certificate or getting a job does not, as others have said, make you a good interpreter. You can have the best language skills in the world and you can be a terrible interpreter. I worked at a school with someone like this. Excellent interpreting skills but his way of interacting with students, other interpreters, and teachers was so abysmal eventually no interpreter or student would work with him again.

"Being a good interpreter" doesn't only mean interpreting well. It means being ethical, knowing the appropriate way of working with deaf and hearing clients, setting boundaries (the biggest problem with untrained interpreters, since they are used to interpreting with their family), and basically being a professional. You do not learn how to be a professional along with learning a language, even if that language is your first.
 
I agree with most of the people here it all depends on your level of interpreting and certification plays an important role. The salaries vary depending what kind of interpreting, education, mental health, medical , legal and etc.. and also if you freelance with agency on the average most interpreters start maybe at $14-$18 an hour depending on your skill level and certification pays more money by the hour. Best to research in your area the varies salaries.
 
The only reason you make so much more in DC is because of the cost of living! Don't be so snotty!
 
interpreter said:
The only reason you make so much more in DC is because of the cost of living! Don't be so snotty!
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I'm not being snotty, like I said I am embarrassed by how much more I make living here in DC.

And no, it is not just because of the cost of living. That is part of it, but it is also because we have a very large client base here and many of them are in professional and government positions, so they require very good interpreters. I think it is mainly because interpreters here are seen as a valued resource, while other areas may not realize just how important interpreters are. ALL interpreters deserve to make as much as we do, regardless of where they are, but I think DC realizes how important we are and pays accordingly, whereas other areas may not.

So you see, it is not just the cost of living. It's the culture of the region. Don't be so accusatory if you're going to be wrong.
 
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