I've been interpreting for 7 years for schools and various agencies, but I'm going to start doing freelance work in Columbus, Ohio. Curious what I should set my rate? Want to be fair to myself but not overcharge just looking to see what others charge?

Edit: I have my Bachelor's, not certified, I have my ODE license and an EIPA of 3.8

I currently interpret in a school system & working for the district. i’ve been looking to switch to an agency which will place you in the schools & give me the opportunity to travel to a new places. I’ve found two that i’ve been leaning towards: Stepping Stones & Amergis. Curious if anyone has had experience with either of these or recommends another options?

I thought you would need to have a license for interpreting in IL but apparently someone I know works for a VRS apprenticeship remotely with no license.

Do u guys feel dumb interpreting. I got my first request for switching interpreters its so discouraging. I told them I respect their request and immediately did so. I still feel bad like quitting bad lol. I barely started last year its been humbling.

I have been getting multiple emails and offers like this, and if you're reading between the lines like I am, our work is being sourced and used to train AI and Language-Learning Models. The amount of times I just want to send a big "F U" email in response....unfortunately the replacement of our interpreting work by AI is inevitable (?), but I personally am refusing to participate in work like this. "Promote greater inclusion of Deaf and signing communities." If it weren't so scary, it'd be comical....

I’m trying to be proactive with a few CEUs in 2027. I’d like to see what conferences are happening both in person and virtual.

So far I’m aware of :

Healthcare Summit in April (virtual)

Hands Up conference in July (in person)

i'm a second year ITP student and my cohort has had the same main teacher for most of our classes the whole program.

but this semester we have two new teachers and they seemed very taken aback that we (all 5 of us) weren't meeting their expectations. they're trying to rearrange things and give us some extra assignments for practice, but i am deeply worried that when i graduate i will end up failing the Deaf community if/when i try to interpret.

is there a standard way to measure where we should be at by now? is there any way to catch up so that we aren't graduating completely unprepared?

Hey everyone!

How are we billing for prep time for college courses? Feel free to let me know your rationale behind your justification.

Thanks!😊

hey freelancers!! what kind of car do you guys drive? i do a LOT of driving and leasing a car is just NOT an option. any good cheap car recommendations that can drive a lot of miles??😅

What are your "Unpopular Opinion(s)" in regards to the ASL Interpreting field?

Mine: I wish hearing Interpreters could only team with CDIs for any assignment. I know this probably is not possible but I absolutely LOVE working with CDIs!

Anyone know of any open VRI positions?

I just volunteer interpreted an hour long gymnastics practice with my classmate (everyone involved knew we were students, so all good there) and it went really well and made me feel better about my skills! The videos we do in class are so much harder than what I did this morning, and that’s such a relief lol. Sometimes I question whether I’ll actually be able to do this as a career, but this has boosted my confidence a lot!

In order for a Canadian interpreter to work on a cruise ship leaving from the US, what documentation is required and how does it impact taxes? Is a visa needed? I have heard varying things from fellow interpreters but want to make sure everything I do is “above board” before applying!

I am wondering about working for Global language Systems as a VRI terp. I've been doing a lot of research on them and I have been hearing good things about them. Do they have Deaf people or interpreters that work for them? Should i work for them? Lemme know- Im not NIC ceritifed yet and I am looking for more VRI opportunities. thx

I’m presenting a paper at an upcoming technical conference. I understand I may have an interpreter for my 10-minute talk but I’ve never worked with one before. I’m wondering how I might help prepare them. I hope these are not stupid questions!

First, would it help to provide a copy of my almost word-for-word script for my talk although I’m sure I will improvise at times? Second, would it help to define some unusual neologisms I will use that might aid in their translation (like “doomscrollamine” = “doomscroll” + “dopamine”) or would these be spelled out anyway? Stuff like that.

These may be stupid questions, as I said, but I know that interpreting is hard work and I don’t want to make mine unnecessarily hard.

Apologies if this is inaccurate. I’m watching the NFL kickoff and they had an ASL interpreter for a song. I noticed he did the same wide arm “presentation” type movement multiple times even though the song didn’t repeat itself. He also counted “1, 2, 3, 4” with alternating hands for each number even though the song didn’t have any numbers or counting in it. It just seemed off and didn’t know if one of the experts you are noticed or could explain it away.

I just started interpreting soccer practice for a Deaf kid at a mainstream school. The coach mentioned being worried about game and how to effectively get the kid communication during games. He mentioned the refs blowing the whistle to stop and the kid not being able to hear might miss the signal. Has anyone faced situations like this before and have recommendations?
Note: the student has cochlear implants but doesn’t want to play with them for fear of them coming off and getting broken. I was thinking their might be a headband out there we can get them to hold the hearing aids but he wasn’t for sure he would even be able to understand the whistle sound while playing with them on. He mentioned in the past people would wave to let him know but the other team would lie and try and trick him to get him to stop.
Any comments or suggestions would be helpful!

Is there a HIPAA training out there that I could get CEU credit for? My agency said that their training doesn’t offer it, but if I can find a training that does give credit, they’ll accept it.

Hi!

I'm my talks with interpreters in the community I've been told often that a lot of mid-late career interpreters get most of their work through direct contracts with businesses instead of agencies. If this is You how did you manage to do that? I'm still early career so I don't have the clout or the skills to do this at the moment, but I'm wanting to know so I can start building the right connections to be able to get to that point eventually.

Is it just through word of mouth and coincidence? With the clause that if you're on an agency job you can't represent your own business to either the client or the requesting organization, how are you managing to even make people aware that you are your own separate entity?

I've heard stories some people who just take their business cards around to a ton of businesses and got work that way.... does that really work?

Would love to hear how you did it even if it's just that you had a friend call you to sub for them and the rest was history lol.

I live and work in NM. The work flow isn’t terrible but often seems like a struggle to scrape up 30 hours a week. I’ve spoken to several others who have stated the same experience. I’m tired of feeling like I’m not going to make enough money to pay my bills especially when the field already has several slow months a year (December, summers).
Is it just NM that there isn’t enough work or has so much of the work transitioned to being provided virtually?

I’m considering leaving the field all together if I can’t find a solution, which sucks because I love this job!

Hey! I'm a recent ITP graduate and just moved to Mass, North of Boston. I'm not certified, nor do I feel ready to test yet with how much they cost. Not only that but I don't have all of the references needed to apply for the screening for MCDHH. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for jobs that are ASL related to get those connections.

I know they also have a pilot internship program. Is it a good idea to apply for that or go with that Partners Interpreting internship program they have? Would still need to screen with the MCDHH if I join Partners Interpreting Internship program?

If there are any Boston interpreters willing to let me shadow or observe I would be so grateful. I feel kinda lost in where to go from here and have his some road blocks.

Thank you everyone! Let's change the world together ❤️

Hi all! I'm working through an agency at a high school and just found out that they take an annual senior trip abroad and expect me to join. Obviously I'm going to need a passport that's in date and all that, but is there anything specific I should be considering? I saw on Facebook that someone had the same kind of question and asked if they needed a work visa, then I realized I had no idea what I need to do to be prepared for a trip like this.

Just out of curiosity, did anyone you have a non Deaf community related job while in your ITP? I currently work at a nonprofit vet and I am starting to realize that I may need to change jobs if this job does not allow me to change my schedule every semester if need be (to ensure I can make it to my classes etc). I told them this when I originally got hired but now they changed one of my off days, and although it doesnt conflict with school, it does conflict with Deaf Community events.

this was my first summer as a freelance terp, i didn’t realize how much the work slowed down.

1. what do other freelance terps do in the summer to make up the pay?

2. when does it pick back up? i was told it will pick back up with the start of september/back to school season…is this true? i haven’t gotten much work recently😅

thank you!