Question: I am bilingual in Spanish and often accompany older family members who are not fluent in English to doctor appointments in order to interpret for them. Recently, a doctor mentioned to me that the courts hire interpreters and that people even get paid to accompany litigants to doctor's offices. Can you tell me what qualifications I would need to become a professional interpreter? I am also interested in knowing more about translating.
— Maria

Response: As you're aware, translating and interpreting involve paraphrasing the words and expressions of one language into another. Translators deal with written texts; interpreters work with live speech in a variety of circumstances.

Both translators and interpreters must, of course, have a high degree of fluency in the languages with which they're dealing. However, they should also possess a thorough knowledge of the cultures and ways of life integral to those languages and an understanding of the subject matter being treated.

Interpreters usually work either as guides and escorts or as medical, conference or court/legal interpreters. They may interpret either consecutively (waiting for the speaker to pause to translate what has been said) or simultaneously (translating continuously while the speaker is talking). The latter is the more difficult type of interpreting. It requires an intuitive knowledge of the speaker's language in order to anticipate what's said next, along with the ability to talk and listen at the same time.

Court interpreters have the dual task of interpreting consecutively what is spoken in English by officials and attorneys, as well as the words of the foreign-speaking defendant, plaintiff or witness.

Freelance translating and interpreting requires initiative, self-discipline and the ability to manage one's time. Many translators/interpreters use their skills as a source of additional income, rather than as a primary means of earning their living.

Employment Outlook
Above average growth is projected for translators and interpreters through 2008. Part-time employment as a translator or interpreter is often available in business, civil service and in the courts.

To qualify for full-time employment, previous experience on a freelance of part-time basis is often required.

Salary
Wages for translators and interpreters vary widely. Background, experience, skill, number of languages used and the employer affect pay. Most translators and interpreters work part-time or on a freelance basis hourly or per project basis.

TRANSLATOR
projected 2002 annual salaries in the Los Angeles area:
YEARS EXPERIENCE 10th PERCENTILE TIME SERIES MEDIAN 90th PERCENTILE
5 $ 38,881 $ 44,518 $ 55,338
1 $ 31,848 $ 36,421 $ 45,327

INTERPRETER
projected 2002 annual salaries in the Los Angeles area:
YEARS EXPERIENCE 10th PERCENTILE TIME SERIES MEDIAN 90th PERCENTILE
5 $ 32,311 $ 37,389 $ 47,136
1 $ 27,194 $ 31,430 $ 39,672

The majority of work for interpreters in the Los Angeles area is with the court system. Applicants must be state certified and pass an additional oral and written exam given by the courts. Of the 550 interpreters who work in the courts, approximately 350 are Spanish/English interpreters. Beginning Spanish/English interpreters can expect to work two or three half days per week, advancing to almost daily half-day assignments in four to five months and to the possibility of daily, full-day assignments after a year of experience.

Court Interpreter
Los Angeles Superior Courts - Interpreter Services
(213) 974-6708
Contact: Pat Martin
• The Los Angeles Superior Court pays certified or registered interpreters $147 per half-day and $265 per full-day. Non-registered or non-certified interpreters $92 per half-day and $175 for full day.
• Deposition interpreters hired through agencies earn from approximately $125 to $300 per half-day and from $200 to $400 per full day.
• Highly skilled conference interpreters earn $500 per day or higher or approximately $9,533 per month.
• Escort interpreters earn from $50 to $75 per half-day and $75 to $210 per full-day or $1,083 to $1,620 per month
• Interpreters working for the federal government start at $17,220 or $21,000 per year. The few translators with State jobs work either full or part-time.
• Translators working for the State of California earn from approximately $1,900 to $2,280 per month.
The qualifications needed to become a court interpreter are: absolute bilingual ability; clear pronunciation of both English and language of interpretation; a clear understanding of legal terminology and legal procedures of both the U.S. and the country of origin; ability to translate to and from English and the language of translation; ability to interpret consecutively (translating verbatim what has been said by the attorney either in consultation or in court) and simultaneously (at the same time as the other speaker is speaking).

Licensing
State Certification for Court Interpreter, Administrative Hearing Interpreter, and Medical Interpreter are issued upon satisfactory completion of examinations and payment of fees to Cooperative Personal Services in Sacramento (916) 263-3600. The Court Interpreter examination is given once a month in Los Angeles and consists of three sections: consecutive translation, sight translation, and simultaneous translation. Examination costs range from $250 to $300.

Successful candidates who pass both the written and oral portions of the interpreter certification examination will be mailed an official letter from the testing agency, CPS Human Resource Services. The candidate's name will be forwarded to the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). The AOC will then mail an application and information about how to maintain the certification status. An $85 annual fee, 30 hours of continuing education and 40 law-related interpreter assignments are required every two years.

Training Options and Costs
UCLA Extension
10995 Le Conte Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90024-2883
(310) 825-9082/ (310) 825-1898
www.ucla.edu
Offers a Certificate Program in Interpretation and Translation, Spanish/English, English/Spanish. Chinese/English, English/Chinese and Korean/English and English/Korean have recently (2001) been added to the program. The program prepares students for the examinations mandated by the courts and administrative agencies at the County, State and Federal levels.

There are seven required courses, offered in Tuesday/Thursday or Saturday sessions. The one-year program costs approximately $2,700 and begins in September with an application deadline of July 31. Students are required to be bilingual and a B.A. degree is preferred, although not mandatory. At the end of the program, an internship is offered.

California State University, Los Angeles
Division of Extended Education
Library South 804
Los Angeles, CA
(323) 343-4900
Fax (323) 343-4954
www.calstatela.edu
Contact: Iris Fiorito, Program Coordinator
The college offers a certificate program in legal translation and interpretation. The program provides training for county, state, and federal examinations required for employment as certified interpreters and translators.

Admission requirements into the program include completion of a minimum of 54 quarter/36 semester units of post-secondary education, and successful completion of a bilingual placement test (reading and listening comprehension, writing, diction, speaking fluency, dictation) at a cost of $20. The results of the test determine whether they may enter the program directly or whether they must first take one or more of the preparatory courses.

The certificate program consists of 7 courses in legal translation and interpretation and 3 optional preparatory courses for students whose bilingual skills need improvement. The courses vary from $375 to $500, not including materials and textbooks.

Professional Associations
California Court Interpreters Association
345 So. Highway 101, Suite F2
Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 635-0273
Fax (760) 635-0276
www.ccia.org
Contact: Richard Weatherby, Los Angeles County Chapter Chairperson
The group offers day-long workshops for people interested in interpreting and also sells a Basic Study Guide for $85.00 which includes three tapes and printed materials for home preparation for the state certification exam.

American Translators Association (ATA)
1800 Diagonal Rd, Suite 220
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 683-6100
Fax (703) 683-6122
www.atanet.org
Southern California Chapter
Southern California Area Translators and Interpreters Association (SCATIA)
P.O. Box 34310
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(818) 725-3899
Fax (818) 340-9177
www.scatia.org
Contact: Liliana B. Alfonso, President
This is a nonprofit organization and chapter to ATA, which provides translation, interpretation and other language-related services. SCATIA meetings and events are open to anyone interested in attending. The types of events include educational sessions on continuing education for certification credits, job fairs, and networking-oriented professional conferences. SCATIA also sponsors the ATA accreditation exam held in July for the Southern California area. Individual membership fees cost $40 per year.

Resource
Translators & Interpreters Telephone Guide TM
English Classified Index
www.telephoneguide.com/LA166000-translators-interpreters.htm
Servicing the Los Angeles County area
Local Agencies That Hire Interpreters And Translators
Omni Interpreting and Translating Network
Los Angeles, CA
(800) 543-4244
This agency employs translators and interpreters on a contract basis. Pay for field interpreters is approximately $145 per half-day and $210 per full day. Telephone interpreters earn from $.60 to $.75 per minute. Pay for translation work varies according to the complexity and time demands of the project.

Applicants are requested to submit an application and, once hired as an independent contractor, are given training by the company.

Interpreters/translators can establish their hours of availability to the company for telephone, field, and translation work. State certification is preferred for court work, but not required for all assignments.

International Conferencing System/Lingualink, Incorporated
Los Angeles, CA
(800) 546-4638
www.lingualink.co.uk
This agency places experienced interpreters and translators. Pay ranges from $550 to $1000 or more per full day, depending on the language and the need, for high level conference interpreting. The rate is based on a daily rate of 6-hour day. The highest paid interpreters are usually for Asian languages and earn $900 to $1000 per day. Spanish and German interpreters usually earn $550 to $650 per day.
International Translation Bureau
125 West 4th Street, Suite #101
Los Angeles, Ca. 90013
(213) 629-1990
Fax (213) 488-5103
www.intltranslations.com
This agency requests a resume of prospective interpreters and translators. Their applicants work as independent contractors on a freelance basis and the majority have passed the state examination. Jobs for interpreters are commonly in legal, insurance, corporate and medical settings. Entry pay is approximately $165/day for someone who speaks Spanish. Asian languages are higher and are negotiated with the owner of this firm. The owner also stated that there are 84 languages they have interpreters for and the pay could range from $165 to $900 per day.
Berlitz GlobalNET Interpretation Services
Recruiting Department
(800) 423-6756/ (888) 241-9149
Fax (202) 496-0868
www.berlitzglobalnet.com
Berlitz gives a short oral exam to those wanting to be registered as interpreters and a written exam to translators. Interpreters are divided into three types: Consecutive, Technical Consecutive, and Conference/Simultaneous. Berlitz has recently launched scheduled and unscheduled (on-demand) telephonic services for which they are currently recruiting Berlitz interpreters work and are paid as independent contractors.

Pay for court related work is $20 per hour, with hearings typically lasting one to two hours.

— • —  
Susan W. Miller, M.A., is a National Certified Career Counselor, a Certified Vocational Evaluation Specialist and holds diplomate status on the American Board of Vocational Experts. She heads California Career Services, a private practice career counseling firm in Los Angeles.

You may e-mail questions to swmcareer@aol.com.