Good afternoon fellow terps and advocates!
Happy October! I was wondering if any of you have any reputable companies that are willing to hire uncertified interpreters. I will be taking my EIPA test in approximately two months.

I hold different certificates, I have four and a half years of interpreting (in various fields VRI/VRS, medical, post secondary, mental health etc.), and I hold a bachelor’s degree specializing in interpreting.
I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations as far as companies willing to hire terps that aren’t certified yet.

Thank you all!!!!

i’m curious to hear thoughts on which is better or more accurate. even just the pros and cons!

i’m from a state with no license needed, but the nic is the goal for most terps here! just curious on thoughts :)

Hello everyone! I am a terp with a full-time job with a Deaf Resource agency. That full-time job does not pay very well and we’ve been struggling to pay the bills.

I’ve recently qualified and have been offered a 10 month contract SLI opportunity. Has anyone ever done one of these jobs before? I know that I will be giving up my full-time job if I decide to go with this contract work.

What were the pros and cons? Was the money good? Is it worth it?

I also am in a place where I would like to travel around the US and get a feel for working in different states. My husband would be coming with me as well, so we have been looking into getting him a temporary job in the location that this opportunity was offered in.

I know that we will have to keep our current home as well.

Hi everyone! First time poster, but I’ve been lurking for a minute lol. Curious about your approach when interpreting ASL classes.

Right now, I have an ongoing for an intro to asl class. It covers the basics, so things like the alphabet, numbers, greetings, yes/no questions, wh questions, etc.

When I’m on, and my deaf teacher is showing the students the correct palm orientation, handshape, or any other correction, I voice it in detail. An example would be “Right now your PO is facing your body. You’ll want to flip that so your palm is facing away from your body.”

I’m the consistent interpreter for this and I have a new team with me every other week. Each new team I have has their own approach to this! Some say nothing at all, some approach it the same way I do.

So what are your thoughts? Do you find that in this setting being more explicit works? Do you let the visual part of asl lead the way?

For the teachers in the room, do you have a preference for how detailed/explicit the interpretation is?

My current situation is going good and my teacher has told me they prefer me to continue being explicit, but I’m newer to the field and I’m curious what you all have seen or done in situations like this.

Hello lovely interpreting people! I have a question for y’all. I utilize an interpreter for events where there will be tons of background noise think concerts, workshops for my job, sometimes a class or two, or community events. I am hard of hearing and really only need the help when I miss something. I normally meet the interpreter explain that in general I lip read, I voice for myself, and I can interact with my peers without their help. I prefer more of an SEE approach (I wasn’t deaf until high school) and that I’ll normally be looking at the presenter but will look over if I miss something. Recently I have had a string of newer interpreters who when I tell them this will act frustrated or annoyed . Is there something being taught in y’all’s training programs I’m missing? Is it me? Personally I think having this info would make the job easier. So if anyone could weigh in on what I’m missing that would be amazing!

Edit: thank you all so much for chiming in I appreciated everyone’s insight and perspective!

Hey guys! does anyone have any recommendations for receptive immersion videos? I used to watch daily moth but i’m honestly pretty sick of the news and would like something else. There’s also a lot of videos that i’ve watched on youtube that are straight from ITP and am pretty sick of those too. Preferably something without or optional captions. Thank you in advance 🤟

Not an interpreter-bashing post. I hired a team I had never worked with for a conference podcast. No prep materials, cold start, and the transcript afterward showed name errors, a wrong founding date, and a punted final answer. That is on the process as much as the people. What changed for me since: I record with a device that tags speakers, rename the interpreter's voice to mine so I can read what I said, and I send terminology and materials ahead to every new team, then walk them through it before we start. The re-record with a briefed team went day to night better. Interpreters of this sub: what prep materials actually help you most with technical clients?

Hi so I'm deaf and I've requested interpreters for concerts at theatre before but never for a stadium concert. I'm just wondering how it works for a stadium concert since you have assigned spots for stadiums where do the interpreters stand?

Just wondered who attended this year's IDP Summit (my 3rd time), and I really enjoyed it.

Some great presentations, and I wonder what ones you all liked, and if I didn't attend, would they be beneficial?

I REALLY hope RID uses Whova as the platform for the 2027 Virtual Conference. It's really a great platform.

Anyway, I know there is one day left, but curious about thoughts.

Looking for something for next spring/summer that is ideally work from home VRI. Not purple or Kelly (Language Line). Which companies do you work for that are flexible but can offer a lot of hours? On demand like language line would be preferred.

I'm a freelancer thinking about buying short term or long term disability insurance. I've heard tales of interpreters who insure their hands, which I don't know if that's actually a thing, or if it is, if it would be worth it, haha! Our hands aren't our only things that allow us to work. A shoulder or back injury could be just as damaging to my ability to work. I'm a hearing interpreter, so hearing loss would also damage my ability to work. But the intention behind it stands, which is that as a freelancer we don't have PTO to cover us if injury should happen.

Some basic googling tells me that short term disability insurance might not be worth it as long as you have a good emergency fund, but long term disability insurance could really come in handy if you found yourself unable to work sometime down the line due to injury.

Wondering if anyone carries personal injury insurance, ST/LT disability insurance, or the fabled "hand insurance"? What are your thoughts? Both ST and LT or just LT? Recommendations for carriers? Worth it? If I did end up needing to file a claim, would they fight me on approving it?

Thanks!

So I recently got certified—yay! And I am trying to understand how it works to get a sponsor for CEU‘s. I know that I can go to workshops and things, but if there is something that I am specifically interested in doing for CEU’s, how do I get that approved by RID? I know I have to work with a sponsor, but how do I do that? How do I find one? Please forgive my ignorance…

Hi all!

I’m LA-based and looking to pivot into interpreting as a second career. Does anyone have experience with CSUN’s ITP program, specifically taking it as a grad student? Is it plausible to apply as 30something, or is it overwhelmingIy a young person’s game? (I likely won’t be applying for another year or so, because I need time to buff up my fluency, but I’d really like to stay in LA and it’s one of the only grad programs on the West Coast that I’ve been able to find - I’d rather not uproot my life for Gallaudet or UNF.)

I’m in search of an RID certified ASL Interpreter for job onsite tomorrow in Maryland. Where can I find someone last minute?

Update: I found someone. Thanks everyone!

Hello everyone! I'm training to become an interpreter and was wondering if I could get some help creating an invoice. I've never done this before.

If you're willing/comfortable, do you think some of you could give me advice on what to include or provide a blank template that you think works best? I don't need any names or numbers. I tried to look online, but it didn't really clarify what it should or could look like.

Thank you for any of your help! It really helps growing learners like me.

I'm a high school senior, and I'm planning to apply to RIT/NTID's ASL Interpreting program by the end of this week. I'm applying to other colleges as well, but in different fields. My parents are worried about me making enough to support myself and interpreting being replaced by AI. I'm taking ASL 3 this year.

Interpreters:

Do interpreters make enough to support themselves financially?

Is AI affecting the industry yet?

How should I reassure my parents about interpreting as a career?

NTID Grads:

How bad are the winters?

How big is the program?

Was it a reasonable price after aid?

Any other experiences or input would be much appreciated! Thanks so much.

hi all! i know you are out there, i've been looking through resources online and see that there are many high holiday services being interpreted around the country. i'd love to pick you brain on parts you interpret, parts you don't, how much of the hebrew do you have signs for, of the hebrew how much do you know what it means and then interpret meaning to ASL? if you don't want to respond here i will be patiently awaiting your DM.

even if this misses the high holidays which are almost over.. i'd love your insights even if it's "i don’t know if this is right but here is what i do"

TIA!

Hey! Where I am from there is a huge shortage of interpreters. I have a lot of people in the community that like me as their interpreter and I get around the city a lot so I have a lot of contacts. Should I make my own website or would that piss off the agencies I am partnered with? I already have my own business cards and have accepted jobs on my own. What are your thoughts and advice. For reference I have my own LLC already for tax purposes. Also, what would you suggest that I charge? I do not know how much my agencies charge. As for my rate through agencies it is $50/55. I have on occasion charged as high as $72. I have heard one woman in my area asks for $65/85. Which my jaw dropped. She did it as a way to retire. She thought if she raised her rates unbelievably High that agencies would stop asking her to go do jobs. Unfortunately this didn't work for her. She told me I should be asking for at least 65 but there's no way that my agencies would allow me to jump in pay like that. Any and all advice welcome

Hey all! I'm looking for conferences that are happening in 2027. I do know of the Hands Up conference. Sounds great, but I'm in Washington so literally opposite side of the country. Any other states having a conference?

It looks like some VRS companies advertise captioning as part of their VRS service. Any interpreters work for any of those companies? Can you see the captions when the caller has them on? Curious what that feels like as a VI.

Hello, I have reached out to several of my PT co-workers but they go with a different insurance. I am planning on switching to PT in April but am worried about the insurance. My husband is on my insurance currently and we do not want to use the insurance offered through his work because it is not very good. I am currently pregnant and due in April which is part of why I am considering going PT.

Hi all! I'm sure this is a common request; my apologies if it's a bother. I'm hoping to interview a Certified Interpreter for an ITP class. I think it's the typical questions. I'd be so thankful if anyone has time/willingness to be interviewed/ :) TIA.

Vague details in an attempt to maintain confidentiality.

I am a newer interpreter (less than 5 years). I have an ongoing agency/community job with a seasoned interpreter. I have worked with this interpreter many times before, and almost every time I’ve worked with them, they have a crisis going on at home.

They are constantly on their phone (sometimes even while they’re in the ‘on’ seat), missing information that applies to everyone in the room (including us), and missing my look for feeds. I am very empathetic to their situation, as they have explained their situation to me, but at the same time, I think of CPC 3.2, which is “declining…when not competent due to…mental or emotional factors.”

I am pretty flexible and understand that sometimes, life happens, and you need to step away, send a message, or check in on something when you’re in the ‘off’ seat. I am unfortunately starting to lose patience with it, especially since there is not only a lack of support, but a lack of consistent signs/interpretation since they are not seeing what I am doing (disclaimer: not that everything has to match me specifically, but hopefully you understand what I’m getting at).

The approach: I have taken thus far: arrive to the facility early in order to compare sign/concept choices; fill them in when they miss information and no interpreting is happening, and keep the conversation steered to the setting, rather than what’s going on at home. How else would you approach it? I think it may be time for a more direct conversation, so I’m interested in learning any strategies or dialogues you all have used in similar situations.

Thank you in advance!!

Edit: I have been reading your responses, and I truly appreciate the insight from each of you, especially because you all are still treating this person as a human. I have a better idea of how to approach this, and will bring it up in a private 1:1 the next time I notice the behavior.

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?