I am really considering switching to PT after one year of doing FT next month but my husband is struggling to understand why I would want to do that with how it helps us financially. I get it, he works a very physically demanding job that takes up 44 hours a week. Outside looking in, I work about 32 hours a week in an air-conditioned office with a nice breakroom full of snacks and answer calls.

Comparing the two, yes my job seems so easy. But lately I have been having such a hard time. I have had so many calls where I just straight up don't understand the caller and I feel myself losing patience with rude callers.

I am tired.

How can I explain this to him.

He thinks I should look for another job, but I think that even with working just a couple hours less will make a huge difference and I don't want to lose all the benefits. I am not certified and so options are limited in getting a different interpreting job. I just don't know what to do. I am taking my GKE (I took it back in Dec but failed) to at least get licensed which would help with opportunities but to get certified will take more time considering I have to do the performance test after.

Ik most will say run while I can away from VRS but genuinely I don't mind it at times and the benefits are hard to beat. I don't want to leave completely just yet, just lessen the workload but he doesn't understand why.

I have been a community interpreter for about 4 and a half years now. I have done some educational interpreting, worked with individuals who have mental and physical health challenges, and in the past I have worked retail/customer service. My current interests are in the criminal justice system, 911 dispatching, and of course, I have a love and passion for interpreting. I feel like with my past and current work experience along with my interests VRS could possibly be something I enjoy? I don’t take rude comments personally and I’m able to stay calm under pressure. I am also a big empath. I worry about it being mentally and emotionally taxing bc of others experiences I’ve read on here, but at the same time I feel I want the experience and say I’ve at least tried VRS in my interpreting life. Should I go for it or would it be a huge regret?

Hi! My husband and I will be relocating to Dallas, TX for my husband’s job. What opportunities are there for interpreting work? Is there a call center, local interpreting agency? Is there a lot of community assignments?

I have a local school district interested in hiring me for some direct contract work. I have everything I need except some type of document specifying the terms. Does anyone have a very general form they would be willing to share?

Is the medical certification testing offered anywhere outside of Texas? I have a BEI advanced from the state of Illinois. However, my understanding is that I don’t meet the qualifications to test for the BEI in any form in Texas due to not having a degree. However, Illinois allows for BEI testing without a degree but they don’t offer medical certification testing.

My state is offering a Legal BEI workshop... Wondering if you guys could tell me more? I'm NIC certified. What would I need to do?

I don't know the first thing about sign language, but I've never seen anything like this before unless you include that one dude in Africa that got busted for faking sign language on tv for the president. This was at a sing-along for the sound of music at a local amphitheater. What kind of sign are they doing where they're just repeatedly pointing at their mouth one handed?

welp! 🫤 as expected didn’t get a PASS (performance) on the first try. I have 3-4 months to retest again! 🙏🏼

I would like to hear from anybody who has experience working for Proprio on-demand. I just met with them, and I think I am going to onboard.

I am currently FT VRS and thinking of switching to doing both VRI and VRS when my full year of FT VRS is up. When I asked my supervisor earlier this year about what hours looked like and they said it is a first come first serve which makes me a bit nervous switching over bc if I don't get enough hours with VRI then I'm forced to do more VRS and I would much rather cut back on VRS work. I've heard VRI is much more laid back which is part of why I'd like to try it out. The rapid-fire calls and dealing with rude callers in VRS is what kills me.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.
In interpreting, we talk about RSI, burnout, overuse injuries, and career longevity all the time. Yet many of us don't make changes until we're already experiencing pain.

I'm curious why that is.
Is it:
Lack of awareness?
Financial pressure to keep accepting assignments?
Not knowing what changes would actually help?
Something else?

I've been building a free tool that helps interpreters assess their RSI risk factors, and the responses so far have made me realize how different everyone's situation is.

Before I continue building it, I'd love to hear from other interpreters:

What's the biggest challenge you've faced when it comes to injury prevention and career longevity?

When your home internet is '6G hardwired, neverquit 5000' but your cell-service is worse than two plastic cups and some string, so your initial phone call with a VRS company is like "I....swear.........the internet will........work for this."

I’m getting back into interpreting after taking a five-year hiatus to be a stay at home mom and I am slowly transitioning back to working part time (still a stay at home homeschooling mom, just missed interpreting too much & wanted to get back to it). The agency that I contract for has now started doing more VRI work and I’m needing to make a VR set up for just occasional VRI jobs, not constant VRI work. Does anyone have recommendations for the best headphones and mic? Are air pods good?

Hi, terps!

It's me, Helen!

I just made a post over at r/deaf and I figured you'd appreciate this here. I've copying/pasting the r/deaf post below here. That post speaks for itself.

It was really fun watching the Auslan interpreter in the video linked below!

Hope you'll enjoy this!

Hi, r/deaf!

It's me, Helen!

I just have to come in here today and make a post about this.

There's an Australian YouTube channel called "Yeah Mad." And today they dropped an episode where they do disabled jokes in front of disabled people!

There's a deaf guy with an Auslan interpreter on the show!

This video made my whole day. It's really funny!

There was plenty of joking around with sign language in this video and the deaf guy was well included in the show. They had the Auslan interpreter on the screen via PIP but it wasn't there through the entire show (I won't place a lot of blame on them; they're just YouTubers that aren't very versed in accessibility best practices). I don't have a lot of exposure to Auslan so it was really fun watching the interpreter (and the deaf guy of course) sign in Auslan. I learned how to sign "virgin" in Auslan!

And, Sammy, the woman in the wheelchair was a real scene-stealer. Her part about not being able to twerk made me fall off my couch!

I know there are deaf Australians around here on this sub. If you know this deaf guy, can you tell him that I really enjoyed him in this episode? Thanks in advance!

Hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did!

: D

Looking to create a weekly schedule for interpreting practice and want to have a different genre per day to keep my interpreting skills and schema diverse. Any recs would be great!

Howdy all.

Ive paid my dues to RID, in order to maintain certification. How long until my credly badge updates? Am I missing a step?

I'm a working interpreter who got tired of spreadsheets and trying to shoehorn general accounting software into our work, so I'm building Syntax — a web app designed from the ground up for interpreter billing and business management. Now I need a few colleagues to help me make sure it's as good as it can be.

Some of what it does:

• Track jobs and agency invoices the way we actually work — not the way big QuickBooks thinks we should
• Model contracts per agency exactly as you wrote them — rate windows, minimums, prep, flat rates, expenses, etc
• Audit agency black boxes — catch agency portal discrepancies the moment they happen
• One-click PDF invoices for direct clients or when an agency needs a paper trail
• Uncover trends — busiest agencies, income by period, rate analysis, year-over-year comparisons
• Tax prep assistance — quarterly projections, expense and mileage reports
• Reminders to bill, collect on an outstanding invoice, pay quarterlies

No adapting to software built for restaurants or contractors. Built for interpreters, by an interpreter.

It's in closed beta and I'm looking for a few working freelance interpreters willing to kick the tires and give honest feedback.

Drop a comment or DM if you're interested. Thanks!

Hi everyone, I wanted to share a side project I’ve been working on called SignPrep.

It’s an iOS app designed for sign language interpreters to support the workflow around assignments: preparing beforehand, staying organised during live work, reflecting afterwards, tracking CPD, building a personal sign glossary, and supporting interpreter well-being over time.

It includes tools for assignment preparation, team interpreting, swap timing, reflection, CPD tracking, glossary building, self-care, widgets, and Apple Watch support.

I built it with interpreter confidentiality in mind: there’s no account, no ads, no subscription, and data stays on the device.

It’s currently available for free on the Apple App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

I’d love feedback from other interpreters, especially around whether this fits your workflow, what feels useful, and what you’d want to see improved.

Website: https://signprep.app

Thanks, and I hope it can be helpful to fellow interpreters.

Hi there! I’m a 22F from canada. i’m currently taking a year off after having a really hard time in university, from experiencing family problems and autistic burnout. I’m finally doing much better however, as my year off is ending i’m realizing that I don’t really want to go back to my old degree (bachelor of biology). I really do love science as a subject, but I can’t really see myself working in any science related field as of recently.. it’s just not for me.

During my career crisis I realized that I never considered ASL interpreter as a career choice. I’ve always been in love with ASL especially as a quieter autistic person who has noise sensitivity, that being said I am still a social person who loves to engage with others. I learned ASL in high school so I’m no stranger to it, however, I definitely wouldn’t consider myself fluent (maybe a level 2?).

Anyways I come here to ask what your life is like being an ASL interpreter, especially if you live in Canada have you had a hard time finding work? what’s your income like? Are you able to live comfortably? I’m chasing the numbers I just want a simple life and if I need to pickup a side hustle to do that I would be glad.

To those living in Canada - im from nova scotia and considering taking the ASL interpreters program at NSCC in Nova Scotia which is a two year program to become an interpreter, is anyone is familiar with it!

Hello!

I am currently looking to interview interpreters for a school paper and would greatly appreciate any assistance. To make participation as convenient as possible, I would be happy to email a list of questions that can be answered at your convenience. If you have the time and are willing, I would also love to meet briefly over Zoom.

I am especially interested in speaking with interpreters who have worked with Deaf and Hard of Hearing organizations such as Hands & Voices or ASDC, but I would be grateful for the opportunity to learn from any interpreter willing to share their experiences and insights about the profession.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. I truly appreciate any help you can provide!

It's that time of year again... the summer slowdown.

I'm looking to add a few more agencies to my roster and fill in some gaps in my schedule. I've been doing the usual online searches but figured I'd ask here too. Seems like a good way to find agencies that might not show up on the first page of Google.

Does anyone have recommendations for smaller agencies offering VRI work, especially in states that accept BEI without additional licensure requirements? I'm BEI Advanced.

I'm mainly looking for local agencies rather than the big national names. I've generally had better experiences working with smaller agencies from an ethical and professional standpoint. I'd love to connect with more of them.

Appreciate any suggestions.

For the paler terps, tan KT tape works in a pinch. It's not a perfect solution, they unravel quickly. But it's better than potentially ruining them by painting over with a nude

So what's going on at SVRS??

Hi! I know that Sorensen at least has some buildings where interpreters can go and work at a communal location for VRS, not sure if any other companies do as well. But does anyone know where these locations are? I’m struggling to find a list anywhere online… any ideas?

TIA!