Where are the interpreters? Thread poster: jyuan_us
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jyuan_us 
United States
Local time: 03:46
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
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I guess most forum participants focus on translating other than interpreting in their business. Often times an interpreting job post would receive replies from only a few respondents.
If a job post receives only, say, 3 respondents, do you think the translation company will find a qualified one from among them? If not, what will the translation company do?
[Edited at 2016-11-06 07:16 GMT]
| | | | | where are the interpreters? | Nov 6, 2016 |
Fully agreed. But I guess many people answering jobs for interpreters are not actually Professional interpreters. I can see that time over and over again and the rate offered does not correspond to reality or to the market at all. One american company offers $200 for 8 hours simultaneous interpreting,in one of the common languages. The market rate is €900! How can they get professionals? The same goes for a Moroccan company that is looking for experts anddoes not pay... Agencies need to be edu... See more Fully agreed. But I guess many people answering jobs for interpreters are not actually Professional interpreters. I can see that time over and over again and the rate offered does not correspond to reality or to the market at all. One american company offers $200 for 8 hours simultaneous interpreting,in one of the common languages. The market rate is €900! How can they get professionals? The same goes for a Moroccan company that is looking for experts anddoes not pay... Agencies need to be educated, but then they probably do not even understand what the job entails. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Olga Koepping
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:46
German to English
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| I've often wondered the same | Nov 6, 2016 |
... but never actually figured it out. So my 2c aren't really much use here! Most of my interpreting jobs have come from my own contacts, although I did get one from a reputable agency with appropriate fee.
Always a little bit depressing seeing those adverts, but I try to tell myself that markets regulate themselves.
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.... because there are more translators then interpreters, which is reflected in the number of answers on Proz.
PS) I am a translator.
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Diana Coada (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:46
Portuguese to English
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| Built for translators | Nov 7, 2016 |
ProZ was made with translators in mind and interpreters do not get much use out of this website, unfortunately. However, any agency knows that qualified interpreters are listed on the AIIC directory. Then, there are country-specific registers such as the NRPSI.
The issue here I guess is that qualifications come at a price which agencies are not prepared to pay.
| | | | | Globalization | Nov 7, 2016 |
Proz has leveraged globalization for translators. Now a client in Germany may contract a translation agency in France, which will hire me to translate in Brazil, and have my output proofread by a colleague in the USA, before it goes back to the agency in France, and is delivered to the end-client in Germany.
Interpreting by telephone/Skype is not so popular. So it's a matter of location. It's unlikely that a client will hire an interpreter from out-of-town if one is available locall... See more Proz has leveraged globalization for translators. Now a client in Germany may contract a translation agency in France, which will hire me to translate in Brazil, and have my output proofread by a colleague in the USA, before it goes back to the agency in France, and is delivered to the end-client in Germany.
Interpreting by telephone/Skype is not so popular. So it's a matter of location. It's unlikely that a client will hire an interpreter from out-of-town if one is available locally, since it involves unnecessary additional time and costs. Hence the good ol'way prevails; hiring interpreters is done by phone, without having to dial an area code. ▲ Collapse
| | | | AmandaCB
Switzerland
Local time: 09:46
English to German
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| they are here | Nov 7, 2016 |
Hi,
I think the most translators are also interpreters but they work more as translators as this depends on the area where they live.
I work as interpreter.
[Bearbeitet am 2016-11-07 20:00 GMT]
| | | | DarwinE
United States
Local time: 02:46
Spanish to English
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| Now it makes sense! | Nov 25, 2016 |
This post makes me understand why nobody has replied to my other thread in Money Matters asking for advice about appropriate rates to offer as a freelance interpreter. (If anyone in this thread can offer guidance that would be awesome.)
I'm currently a full-time medical interpreter and am slowly trying to get the ball rolling into freelance translation.
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Lidia Morejudo
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:46
English to Spanish
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The community is quite secretive about rates. When I started out as a translator, I found it really hard to find out how much to charge. And often when somebody dared to offer some money advice, there were also plenty of trolling agents ready to slag them off for charging too much or too little. So, my guess is that you haven´t received any reply, because translators and interpreters do not like talking about rates in public.
My guess is that the rates will vary from country to co... See more The community is quite secretive about rates. When I started out as a translator, I found it really hard to find out how much to charge. And often when somebody dared to offer some money advice, there were also plenty of trolling agents ready to slag them off for charging too much or too little. So, my guess is that you haven´t received any reply, because translators and interpreters do not like talking about rates in public.
My guess is that the rates will vary from country to country. For public service interpreting in the UK, my experience is that agencies and local authorities alike (local authorities would be the government run body that looks after an area, for instance in Bristol the local council is the "government" and you can book interpreters through them) pay between 19-25 GBP per hour, more tending to the 19 GPB side. The interpreter is a freelancer, and from that you have then to pay about 20% income tax and about 10% National Insurance contributions, depending on your tax band.
In relation to the question about how many qualified interpreters there are out there, well, from my personal experience, at least in the UK, both agencies and local authorities take on qualified as well as unqualified interpreters. ▲ Collapse
| | | | PicLaith
Canada
Local time: 00:46
Arabic to English
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DarwinEscobar wrote:
This post makes me understand why nobody has replied to my other thread in Money Matters asking for advice about appropriate rates to offer as a freelance interpreter. (If anyone in this thread can offer guidance that would be awesome.)
I'm currently a full-time medical interpreter and am slowly trying to get the ball rolling into freelance translation.
As an interpreter here in Canada, BC.
I make $CAD 30-35 /hr plus petrol and parking ticket if any, it also depends if booked in advance or weekend rates.
I sometimes go to hospitals or meet with family doctors, it could be a conference call, meeting at the bank, etc
In addition, Business managers and CEOs may need help communicating with foreign companies, an Interpreter in general will have a better knowledge in assisting clients and knowing the general feel of the meeting.
Conveying concepts correctly in the target language and knowing the culture, are essential and cant be replaced by software. It can make deals worth 1000s of dollars for 1 hr fee.
[Edited at 2016-12-27 09:17 GMT]
| | | | xxxhollycric (X)
United States
Local time: 03:46
German to English
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| For what it's worth | Jan 4, 2017 |
I was hired by the court system in the US to interpret at a trial. I did some research (on Proz!) and offered them a rate of $40/hour with a 2-hour minimum which they accepted. Later I found out that another interpreter had been paid $50/hour for the same job, but she had a law degree. I hope that's helpful.
| | | | Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 03:46
Romanian to English
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hollycrichton wrote:
I was hired by the court system in the US to interpret at a trial. I did some research (on Proz!) and offered them a rate of $40/hour with a 2-hour minimum which they accepted. Later I found out that another interpreter had been paid $50/hour for the same job, but she had a law degree. I hope that's helpful.
$ 40 -50/hr for court interpreting is low, except for Spanish. I traveled to Maryland to interpret in court, being hired by an agency, and got paid 50/hr. If an interpreter is on the roster of court interpreters the court can hire him/her directly and pay him/her between 60-80/hr.
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Maria Talamas
United States
Local time: 03:46
Member (2015)
Spanish to English
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| Two - hour minimum rate | Oct 4, 2017 |
Hello, I am an interpreter in the DC area and have been booked for several different appointments at a single health clinic on the same day- almost back to back. I typically jump from one assignment to the other at different locations but never had 5 different appointments at the same location, on the same day, so Im wondering how the two-hour minimum fee would apply, if at all, for the different assignments. Thanks!
| | | | Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 03:46
Romanian to English
+ ...
| If you ”jump” from assignment to assignment at the same location | Oct 5, 2017 |
Maria Talamas wrote:
Hello, I am an interpreter in the DC area and have been booked for several different appointments at a single health clinic on the same day- almost back to back. I typically jump from one assignment to the other at different locations but never had 5 different appointments at the same location, on the same day, so Im wondering how the two-hour minimum fee would apply, if at all, for the different assignments. Thanks!
It is obvious that the minimum 2 hr. rule does not apply. We are talking about assignments that last less than 2 hrs.
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