Introduction
Imagine being a California college student who earns money by speaking a foreign language. Sounds like a dream! But it is possible because I have been doing this for the last 2 years.
I work as a language interpreter. I provide my language interpretation service through audio or video phone calls. Right now, I earn between US$6000 and $6500 a month as a college student from California. (After text $4700 to $5000) My earnings depend on how many hours I put into my work.
Who Are My Clients
Around 80% of my clients are healthcare professionals like doctors, nurses, and ambulance drivers. My other clients are lawyers, bankers, police, and the FBI.
What Languages Do I Translate
In my job, I translate Spanish, Turkish, Hindi, and Urdu into English for my clients. Then translated English back to that language.
I can speak four languages because I like those languages and I always want to learn them, and especially in my family, I have some close relatives who live in those countries, and I have some cousins, brothers, and sisters. I always converse with them on the phone; that’s how I learned those languages.
You Don’t Need to Know Many Languages
If you want to be a language interpreter, you do not have to learn all those languages; you can start with one.
If you know English, besides you know Hindi, Urdu, Bangla, Turkish, Spanish, Mexican, Hebrew, Arabic, Vietnamese, Mandarin, and Korean, any one of those or more languages, than you can start as a language interpreter from today.
Why I Love My Job as an Interpreter
I like my job as a language interpreter because I am always involved with others. I always dealt with people’s pain, emotions, and stories in this job. I can feel it.
In my job, I learn many new things from people about their culture, customs, etc. I have been doing this for 2 years now. My job never bored me once.
How Payment Works
As an interpreter, I get paid every second I am on a call. If I do not receive a call, I do not get paid. But most of the time, when I log in to the interpreter portal, I receive calls.
Most of the time, I get calls from US and UK clients. Because I am a freelance interpreter, sometimes I log in to the portal during the daytime; that means I will get calls from America. Sometimes I log in at night; that means I will get calls from the UK.
In my job, I don’t need to translate everything. For example, my banker clients sometimes take time to note it down; at that moment, I just keep silent and wait for them, so I am not interpreting at that moment, but still, I am getting paid. I will get paid for the entire phone call by the second.
Best Companies for Language Interpreters
There are so many companies that provide over-the-phone translation services. I will mention some of them I have experience working with, and I know they’re good. The important thing is that they do not require a language interpreter certificate. So, as a college student in California, you can apply to these companies as a language interpreter.
1. LanguageLine
They pay $15-24/hr as a beginner in that job. When you get some experience and become a senior specialised interpreter, you will be paid around $31.59.
2. Empire Interpreting Service (US)
Provides face-to-face interpretation. Also, provide their service over the phone. The company covers travel allowances if you do the face-to-face interpretation service that requires travel to the client’s location. They pay $24 – $42 per hour.
3. Trans-perfect
This company provides service over the phone. You do not need to go physically to any location; you can provide your service from your home. They also pay $18-32 per hour. You will earn more when you gain experience and become a senior specialised interpreter. But this company’s requirements are kind of strict. You need to be some kind of expert in interpretation. In other words, you must have experience, and then you will get a chance to get a job there.
4. CyraCom
CyraCom provides service over the phone. Their main clients are healthcare, government authorities, and various sectors. It pays around US$19 to $30 per hour—no language interpreter certificate required.
5. Boostlingo
Boostlingo provides its service through a digital platform via video calls. It pays around $24 to $44 per hour. It depends on your experience—no certification is required. You need to register with their platform, and they will assess your language skills.
6. GLOBO
GLOBO provides the service over the phone via video calls. They pay around $29 per hour—no certificate required. The language skills will be assessed, and an interview may also be required.
My Preference
Between these companies, I prefer LanguageLine because I like to provide my service from home and earn money.
Application Process Step-by-Step
Now let’s talk about the application process. There are three stages in the application process that you need to pass to get a job offer.
1. CV
When preparing your CV, check out the company’s website and try to understand their requirements. Then, try to include those requirements in your CV and relate them to your experience.
It doesn’t need to be your job experience. It may be your experience regarding the interpretation service you provide to the local shop owners or your university professor, etc.
2. Interview
In this stage, you need to show your communication skills and mastery of the English language. Also, you need to show them you will not breach any confidential information that will take place between your clients.
Because most of the time you will interpret doctor and patient conversations and banker and client conversations, you need to maintain confidentiality. Otherwise, the company will get in trouble for breaching the confidential information.
3. Translation Test
In this final stage, they will test your language skills. They will test you with 300 words, specifically, with finance and medical terms.
So I suggest that before you sit for this test, familiarize yourself with the finance and medical terms of your target language.
Also, try to gain a certificate in your target language. This will help you get selected as a language interpreter.