Getting a spanish interpreter job.

i wanna say cybercom

pacific interpreters

Judith, have you tried the interpreting program at RCC?

jery in Riverside, California said: Judith, have you tried the interpreting program at RCC?

No Jery, but from all the comments I've been reading... I must say, I am very much interested in finding out more about what RCC has to offer. What is your view?

Host said: How did you get your start doing spanish interpreter work, and what career moves did you make to get to your current position?

Do you need a particular educational background?

I am interested in doing some spanish medical interpretation. I am bilingual.bicultural and have experience interpreting in other fields. How can I find jobs for this?

It is not enough to be bilingual or bicultural to be an interpreter. You need to study interpreting techniques and the appropiate vocabulary. You basically have to be trained..going to school ( Interpreting school).
There is this wide known assumption that you only need to be bilingual to become an interpreter. This concept has been very detrimental to the profession in many aspects.
You need to be certified to work in the medical field ..if you work without a certification you lower the standards of the profession. thanks.

Anais you're so right about what you said. Being bilingual is definitely NOT enough to become an interpreter. I've been bilingual since I could talk (Spanish/English)and that still didn't prepare me to become a professional interpreter. I'm undertaking the task of preparing myself in order to be ready for the court interpreter certification exam. How I would love to have a school/university available that specialized in interpreter training, but unfortunately, here in Pittsburgh, that does not exist yet. In the meantime, it's buying resources from ACEBO, searching for additional glossaries online, practicing with translation of documents, purchasing bilingual legal dictionaries and reading up on the state law codes. As well as watching lots of Law & Order, which to me, has the best courtroom scenes out of all the Law & Order shows. This career takes a lot of dedication and hard work. You have to know as much about the law as attorneys and judges do, except you have to know it in 2 languages!

Anyway, I'm glad I've decided to continue in my studies and no matter how intimidating it may be at times, I'm going to see it through and get certified. My goal is to also get certified as a Federal court interpreter. As I understand it, if you're certified as a Federal court interpreter, than you don't need to get certified as a medical interpreter or at least that was what I had read somewhere.

I'm just grateful that I found this forum where I can continue to get help with any questions I may have.

why don't you take the classes online that a school here in California offers?

I didn't realize they offered online classes for interpreter training. Every time I tried looking for online schools for interpreting I came up with nothing! I was so frustrated! Would this be SOCAL?

Lilian.

www.interpreting.com

suerte

Anais, this is great! Gracias por todo!

RCC IN MY OPINION HAS A GREAT INTERPRETING PROGRAM. I WOULD SUGGEST THAT PEOPLE TAKE ONE CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS CLASS AT THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SCHOOL INTERPRETING. RCC HAS LESS EXPENSIVE UNITS AND YOU ACTUALLY PRACTICE WITH A GROUP SIMULATING INTERPRETATIONS. THE CLASS IS GIVEN ONLY AT THE MORENO VALLEY CAMPUS.

The Moreno Valley Campus is just a hop and a skip away from where I am located. Not a far drive to enhance ones skills in the interpreting industry :) I'm just not too sure if I am ready to enroll or even pick up a few courses at the Southern CA School of Interpretation just yet...okay, okay, what is it they call it, I know there is a name for it, oh yeah... COLD FEET - LOL

That's cool Judith, you're better off starting close to home.

Yes, it is about a 40+ minute drive to the Moreno Valley Campus, somewhat close to home, but well worth the drive, as you suggested :))
Take care Jery. Was very nice chatting with you. Hope to hear from you again and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!

www.aaainterpreter.com This is a new website I signed up with and I have gotten plenty of reference material. Information on dates for the Spanish Interpreters Federal exam, Spanish Interpreters state exam, self study interpreting study material, and spanish interpreting group study locations (some free and some at a minimal cost). All this takes place within the riverside, san bernardino and orange county areas.
This site came up with a self-study program which is called "interpret that", it is great for seasoned intepreters and the novice. Changing the subject, UC riverside is getting ready for their 2008-09 professional interpretation program!
It is an excellent certification program and very difficult (believe me)I just finished it!. Also, RCC Moreno Valley Campus interpreting students just had their finals, so if you are planning to register, now is the time to get all pertinent info. Well, that is it for now, You can get more info at the website mentioned above.

It's REALLY pathetic to see you people so worried about the Federal exam when the plain truth is THERE IS NO WORK for federally certified interpreters. It's the most USELESS certification to have, even if it makes you feel good to have it on your resume.

OTOH, UC Riverside's (and other college) interpreters programs are also a WASTE OF TIME. In order to become an interpreter you have to have been exposed to both languages (or more) SINCE CHILDHOOD and you need to Speak//read/write both FLUENTLY. NO STUPID COLLEGE COURSE WILL GIVE YOU THOSE SKILLS IN A FEW SHORT MONTHS.

Take the test, pass it and be an interpreter (for what it's worth) or go work for Pollo Loco ..which is were most of you belong anyway.

Somehow, My reply to You'Blow was deleted.

JOE BLOW

For who is so quick to insult others why would you hide behind a FAKE name???? COWARD!!!! Not only are you an ignorant fool...but you are WRONG!!! In a 2 minute search I found 437 job listings for federal positions...STRIKE ONE!!

My friend, who didn't know any spanish before going on a 2 year mission to Ecuador, returned and passed both the written and the oral exams and is now a well respected interpreter. I GUESS THAT IS STRIKE TWO!!!!

I guess STRIKE THREE would be your crappy attitude BLOWJOB...I mean JOE BLOW!!!

I am a Spanish teacher and I'm about to DOMINATE the field of interpreting. I wasn't born in Mexico, I haven't spoken Spanish since birth and yet I've taught at the university level in Mexico and been a guest speaker at many functions in Mexico, and I learned Spanish in a classroom so you shouldn't make assumptions as to what people are capable of because it makes you look like an idiot!!!!

MY NAME IS DAVID ORTIZ FROM FRESNO, CALIFORNIA AND I DON'T HAVE TO HIDE BEHIND A FAKE NAME!!!

This site is very helpful! I am a Spanish major and aspiring Naturopathic Physician after graduating in another year. I was "layed off" (long story) but am seeking employment here in Cleveland Ohio where I can use my bilingual skills. The problem is that although I speak spanish very well (my pronunciation is like that of a native) my comprehension still needs work. I am fluent enough to hold a conversation and can read and write in Spanish. I consider myself to be at the high intermediate Spanish level even though I am taking advanced level classes now and have studied in Mexico for 4 and 1/2 months. I am told by native speakers that I'm fluent. BUT I AM NOT 100% FLUENT YET, and that is what employers are looking for...100% fluency. I cannot ask people to speak slower or to explain what a word means, which is what I end up doing when I don't understand. MY QUESTION IS: DOES ANYONE KNOW OF ANY FREE BILINGUAL JOB TRAINING IN CLEVELAND OHIO IN THE CUSTOMER SERVICE AREA? I have experience in cashiering, demonstrating product, teller experience..basically I like working with the public. OR MAYBE YOU CAN REFER ME TO SOME STUDY WEBSITES SPECIFICALLY FOR HELP WITH TERMINOLOGY IN THESE FIELDS. I study Spanish all the time, but never know what I'm lacking until in a conversation.

SORRY SUCH A LONG DESCRIPTION, BUT THANKS IN ADVANCE. -Kendra

U a teacher? what your attitude?... m.. pobres estudiantes... relax, take a deep breath...don't be so angry.. all my love to you..do some yoga...or a walk in the park is also helpful...the last resort would be to see a psychiatrist...

I hate to call you out on this, but although I agree with you in almost everything relating to the rude way this other person made comments.I must say to you this, YOU CANNOT LEARN A LANGUAGE IN COUPLE OF MONTHS, PERIOD. NEITHER can you become a TRUE bilingual in that period AND EVEN LESS promising will be your career as an interpreter just because you pass the tests on a training that short. True interpreting relies on true bilingualism. True bilingualism takes many years of complex neural language development. The extreme complexity of language is as mysterious as surrealism. A true interpreter is not someone who has learned the rules of grammar, and one good at reading comprehension, nor one that knows many words. A true interpreter has become TWO. Through being bilingual he has become bicultural. Don't get me wrong, bicultural is not culturally sensitive but rather being of two cultures. Being Two and knowing how and when to switch is astonishingly complex
Interpreting is not a technical career, you cannot learn it as if learning a tangible surgical procedure. It would be like saying that one can learn to become Picasso if one pays attention. Either you got it or you don't. Sure you may pass the tests, but will your perceptions be culturally elegant and intuitively precise. It is absurd to assume that interpreting can be learned when psychologically it deals with intuition and perception. This my friend takes a lifetime and I can prove to you and to anyone that this is true. Don't misunderstand my intent, it is neither animalistc nor destructive.

from:
A conference interpreter

Too much effort spent on Joe "nugatory Blow..,Perhaps we should be thankful to him and make sure we never become a Joe, for doing so, we would become very TOXIC creatures, neophytes about a subject pretending to be the opposite.
I imagine Mr. Blow, as being one of the two chickens in that tv add, trying to pass for the real thing. YOU SILLY GOOSE!
Ernie Ferrer.

ernie.. u r right.. i agree

ernie ferrer in Moreno Valley, California said: Too much effort spent on Joe "nugatory Blow..,Perhaps we should be thankful to him and make sure we never become a Joe, for doing so, we would become very TOXIC creatures, neophytes about a subject pretending to be the opposite.
I imagine Mr. Blow, as being one of the two chickens in that tv add, trying to pass for the real thing. YOU SILLY GOOSE!
Ernie Ferrer.

Make up your mind, which is it? ..chicken or goose?.

jery in Riverside, California said: teleinterpreting.com, languageline

LanguageLine = $8-$13 per hour.
Pollo Loco = $8-$13 per hour PLUS benefits.

Be smart. Keep your day job.

chris in Antioch, California said: I hate to call you out on this, but although I agree with you in almost everything relating to the rude way this other person made comments.I must say to you this, YOU CANNOT LEARN A LANGUAGE IN COUPLE OF MONTHS, PERIOD. NEITHER can you become a TRUE bilingual in that period AND EVEN LESS promising will be your career as an interpreter just because you pass the tests on a training that short. True interpreting relies on true bilingualism. True bilingualism takes many years of complex neural language development. The extreme complexity of language is as mysterious as surrealism. A true interpreter is not someone who has learned the rules of grammar, and one good at reading comprehension, nor one that knows many words. A true interpreter has become TWO. Through being bilingual he has become bicultural. Don't get me wrong, bicultural is not culturally sensitive but rather being of two cultures. Being Two and knowing how and when to switch is astonishingly complex
Interpreting is not a technical career, you cannot learn it as if learning a tangible surgical procedure. It would be like saying that one can learn to become Picasso if one pays attention. Either you got it or you don't. Sure you may pass the tests, but will your perceptions be culturally elegant and intuitively precise. It is absurd to assume that interpreting can be learned when psychologically it deals with intuition and perception. This my friend takes a lifetime and I can prove to you and to anyone that this is true. Don't misunderstand my intent, it is neither animalistc nor destructive.

from:
A conference interpreter

Basically you're saying that the contents of my posting were CORRECT but that I just simply didn'y say it nicely. Boo-hoo.

YOU try living surrounded by morons like David Ortiz from Fresno CA and let's see how long YOU keep your Ms. Manners with you.

ANAIS SILVANA in California said: ernie.. u r right.. i agree

You two have so much in common I suggest you guys take it to the next level; maybe a romantic dinner at IHOP where you can interpret the menu to each other.

Don't thank me for hooking you guys up, this is what I do!

thank you so much Joe Blow for thinking about our love lives but... with the name of Joe Blow.. aren't you sure YOU don't need a partner yourself... u know what I mean...
it can get lonely when you ostracized yourself.. thank you, thank you and Ernie...give me a call, we'll have a drink and toast to Joe Blow!!!!!!!

Mira mamabicho (Yo'blo); Porque no vas a ver si ya pario la marrana.
To you, it does not matter if it is Pollo Loco, Chicken Sh!t or Silly Goose..,Why do you even ask?. Please do not respond and if you do, you will only prove to me that your brain is not in sync with your typing.., sufres de un caso severo de diarrea mental.
Ernie "Tu Papi" Ferrer

ernie ferrer interpreting services in Moreno Valley, California said: Mira mamabicho (Yo'blo); Porque no vas a ver si ya pario la marrana.
To you, it does not matter if it is Pollo Loco, Chicken Sh!t or Silly Goose..,Why do you even ask?. Please do not respond and if you do, you will only prove to me that your brain is not in sync with your typing.., sufres de un caso severo de diarrea mental.
Ernie "Tu Papi" Ferrer

ernicito; quien mierda te dio vela en este entierro?. no te me distraigas que los coches se te van a apilar en la ventanilla del drive-thru y se te van a confundir los pedidos. dame una combo #3 y una sprite diet.
and make it snappy pancho!

Yo'Blow!, When you say or try to type my name remember to look up into the heavens and ask for permission. GRANTED!.
Y disculpa que no utilize los acentos con "Vos", no creo lo notes,ademas, me divierte tu forma de expresarte. Un consejo?, cuando pases por el "mostrador de auto-servicio", evita las bebidas "dieteticas", ya que estas contienen "ASPARTAME" un ingrediente que a los sere humanos causa graves problemas tanto fisicos como mentales, y para el "cerebro" de "criaturita uni-celular" como VOS, es arriesgar demasiado lo poco de materia gris que posee.
CIAO ;O)

JB's comments do not merit a response, I suggest we ignore his comments and focus back on our interests.

Patricia, that's the best post I've read in 2 days! We are professionals and should act that way no matter what is said, let's not lower ourselves to other's ignorance.

i agree with Lilian and Patricia..

...meanwhile back at the ranch; The results for the written state exam will be released by June 20th., Waiting 'till then & having less than 21days to get ready for the oral exam will be a real challenge. Heads up!, Registration for the federal exam is now open. The written exam will take place September 14th., let's not forget this exam is only given every two years. $140 is the the fee and it is an excellent opportunity to learn, be challenged, have fun and find out how much progress a person has achieved within the interpreting arena.
Keep up the good work and continue being the source of information, support and positive forum for everyone who happens to log on.
Kudos to all!.

Ja, mantennos lleva dos enes porque es el verbo mantener y luevo nos, significando nosotros. Afartunadamente algunos de nosotros sí sabemos escribir el idioma, y a propósito, no es ronoso, es roñoso....

Y para su información yo no soy mexicana, soy colombiana.... y ciudadana estaduounidense.

tania in oc said: Does anybody knows anything about the program offered at calstate Fullerton ?

I just graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a major in Spanish. I asked one of the best Spanish professors the school has about the program and she told me it was not good. I plan to study with Nestor Wagner as I have heard great comments.

elisa:
yes Nestor Wagner's is the best school to pass the state exam. they have classes online too. suerte.

anais, did you study at Nestor' school? Did you do the Court Interpreting and the Medical? I have a friend who studied there and took the Court exam 5 times before he passed it. He recommends me to start with the Medical courses so I get better prepared for the Court courses. What do you think?

yo creo que joe blow, nunca gano el examen del estado por eso esta ardido con la vida. Sigue adelante y no mires atras amigo.

ANAIS SILVANA in California said: elisa:
yes Nestor Wagner's is the best school to pass the state exam. they have classes online too. suerte.

SCSI ...the McDonald's of interpreters schooling. Over one billion served ...three passed the exam.

ernie ferrer in Moreno Valley, California said: ...meanwhile back at the ranch; The results for the written state exam will be released by June 20th., Waiting 'till then & having less than 21days to get ready for the oral exam will be a real challenge. Heads up!, Registration for the federal exam is now open. The written exam will take place September 14th., let's not forget this exam is only given every two years. $140 is the the fee and it is an excellent opportunity to learn, be challenged, have fun and find out how much progress a person has achieved within the interpreting arena.
Keep up the good work and continue being the source of information, support and positive forum for everyone who happens to log on.
Kudos to all!.

Oh goody!. While you bite your little nails in trembling expectation consider this; the Judicial Council of CA has just circulated a memo to every interpreter coordinator statewide advising them to NO LONGER HIRE INDEPENDANT CONTRACTORS because they're in cheap-b*stard-savings-mode.

Likewise the Federal court system which currently only has about three positions open nationwide. To illustrate my point: the Federal Public Defender's Office in CA has opened just ONE position and they expect the new hire to cover THREE counties ..LA, SB and Riverside.

You see, when the money runs low this is a country that would much rather spend what little is left on bombing & torturing innocent people overseas than for providing Constitutionally -mandated language services for its own inhabitants.

Willy Wagner's Chocolate Factory in Los Angeles, California said: SCSI ...the McDonald's of interpreters schooling. Over one billion served ...three passed the exam.

Anais, did you study first the Medical Interpretation and then went on to the Court Interpretation?
Thanks, elisa

Definitivamente se dañó este sitio; ya no es para intérpretes en busca de ayuda, ahora tenemos que usar coraza y escudo para poder dar una simple opinión y no ser criticados... Que os vaya bien a todos y ADIEU.

elisa in Orange, California said: Anais, did you study first the Medical Interpretation and then went on to the Court Interpretation?
Thanks, elisa

in my opinion you don't need to take the medical classes, it is a waste of money... just the classes designed to pass the state exam. suerte.

Hi Yolanda!
We can just concentrate on what we like to do and talk about. If anyone wants to be doing "other than" it is his/her choice.
En este foro no creo que el dicho de "Una manzana podrida echa a perder las demas" aplique. De mi parte mis respetos a tu persona, que yo de ti he recibido respeto y buena vibra.
Saludos,
E.F.

Joe Blow in Los Angeles, California said: LanguageLine = $8-$13 per hour.
Pollo Loco = $8-$13 per hour PLUS benefits.

Be smart. Keep your day job.

Excellent tip!!!
If I may ask, how do you know about LanguageLines wages?

Dear Yolanda,

I hope you won't let someone who can't even keep the same name criticize your writing, spelling, or anything else. There are still people who come to this forum for information and they need you. I need help, but I'm a medical interpreter and I don't live in California, but I can tell that you and the others know what you're talking about when it comes to legal interpreting. Don't let one crazy person bring you down!

8 - 13 language an hour hahah that is crazy!
That is not interpreting!