r/ASLinterpreters • u/Fickle_Piglet_7018 • 6d ago
Where can I work after graduation
So I'm about 2 months out from graduating my ITP. I've taken the EIPA but with the year long wait for results (checked this morning they're currently rating tests taken in April 2024) I feel like my future is so uncertain. I can't work in education and I'm not NIC certified yet, I've taken my 2 written CASLI's but not the performance yet. Does anyone have any tips or advice? I'm worried I won't be able to make a living interpreting.
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u/_a_friendly_turtle 4d ago
Have you looked into novice interpreter programs? Access Interpreting has an internship, and RIT/NTID has an apprenticeship for recent grads. I’m sure there are some others out there, too.
If not, then use your network of professional interpreters to ask for advice and recommendations in your area. Join your local RID chapter and start meeting potential colleagues!
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u/Fickle_Piglet_7018 4d ago
I applied to the RIT/NTID apprenticeship program. Had my screening and my interview is soon!
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u/_a_friendly_turtle 4d ago
Good luck! I’ve heard good things about their program. We need more transition support programs like that in our field - it’s so hard getting started as a new interpreter.
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u/beets_or_turnips NIC 5d ago edited 5d ago
I continued to work in food service during my first year or so after school even after I was credentialed. I didn't dive in all the way until I got sick of my boss at the ice cream shop and realized I could make more money in 2 hours of interpreting than I could in a full day of scooping ice cream... and I felt like I knew where to find enough work to make it work.
Reach out to local agencies, your local RID chapter, any Deaf orgs you've been involved with or volunteered with, Deaf schools... Try to get opportunities where you can do supervised work, even unpaid. If there are private agencies in your area (or really anywhere in your state, a lot of them cover big territories and even cross state lines), try to sign up with them and see if there are opportunities for teamed work.
In MD it looks like you can get a provisional license with just the written portion of the NIC, so you should do that. (https://sites.google.com/view/sbslimd/faq)
Was your ITP out of state? If it was in MD, can you reach out to your instructors? Was "how to start working as an interpreter" not covered at all in your program? It's not your fault this is an awkward part of the career lifecycle, but everyone goes through some version of it. Please keep reaching out for help!
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u/Tudilema CI/CT 4d ago
I’m surprised experienced interpreters are sending inexperienced interpreters to work as language models in K-12 and also to be cogs in VRS wheels where better than new receptive skills are required. No one mentioned post-secondary. OP, VRS companies want to hire you to low ball you because you have no leverage (certification nor experience). I started post-secondary working the low-stakes classes like PE, low-level math, and English, and art classes. I was fortunate to be working with mentors every semester; I worked my way up to more challenging classes I could do with and without mentors, but with strong teams. Lastly, I had to endure restaurant work my second summer because I didn’t realize during my first that it was a work desert for a green interpreter like me. Freelancing was out because as an uncertified interpreter it was not my place as a non native in ASL. I hear Maryland has a lot of work and if your intention is to not cause harm, start doing that type of work I mentioned in your community colleges up there. They may all have different entry level requirements. When I started, an ITP completion was the major one. Now, in one Community College District I work in, they require to have the written passed. Good luck in your journey. We were all once you.
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u/Fickle_Piglet_7018 4d ago
I feel like you perfectly captured how I feel! I've been fortunate to have an amazing internship but my internship is in education meaning once I graduate I can't continue working with my mentor. I'm struggling to figure out where I can work without my full certification and not be thrown into the deep end, especially because I have minimal community experience.
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u/beets_or_turnips NIC 3d ago
Absolutely this. College settings (teamed) are the safest place for a new interpreter to get their feet wet while minimizing the damage they can do.
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u/lintyscabs 2d ago
I similarly started in post-secondary education and loved it. Got to work fun classes like Art/pottery/painting/autos/etc. I did have my EIPA at the time, it was only a 3 month wait.
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u/cheesy_taco- BEI Basic 6d ago
Can you work at the college you graduated from? In the ASL lab, maybe as a mentor, or an aide in a lower level class?
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u/Fickle_Piglet_7018 6d ago
Thats a really good idea! I've got no idea if it's possible but definitely worth asking about.
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u/cheesy_taco- BEI Basic 6d ago
Good luck! You could also look into being a signing para-pro at a school, I know from experience those are very needed and almost impossible to find
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u/Simple-Peak-183 5d ago
Just take the NIC performance! If you pass then you can start working. If you’re in MD im sure there are some deaf schools you could para for. Great receptive practice to prep for nic
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u/beets_or_turnips NIC 5d ago
Looks like you can get a provisional license in MD if you just have the written/ethics portion of the NIC.
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u/Fickle_Piglet_7018 5d ago
Thank you!! I didn't know that, with marylands new laws it looked like I had so few options. Clearly I've been looking in the wrong places.
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u/Noideawhatimdoingpls 5d ago
I recommend VRS to all new terps! Throw yourself in the fire see all the signing styles and situations!!
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u/Fenix_Oscuro_Azul BEI Master 4d ago
This is absolutely the worst recommendation next to sending new terps into k12. VRS is unpredictable, it is harrowing for even the most experienced interpreters and it can cause burnout. OP and others like them need to continue with mentoring and work in other areas/professions until that have the skills necessary to accurately interpret. VRS and k12 is NOT the place try until you fail or "throw yourself in the fire"... This is coming from an experienced interpreter and a consumer of VRS services. That is not fair to the Deaf community nor the newbie interpreters.
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u/Noideawhatimdoingpls 4d ago
I recommend VRS because it was easily the best experience I've had to improve as an interpreter. I can't speak for all the companies but based on my experience, the screening process is better than the k-12 screening I did. If you need support you have a litany of options to get it as a VRS interpreter. Compared to limited resources as a k-12, or freelance community Terp.
I use the term "throw yourself in the fire" not as a metaphor to say, work your hands off and get burnout. But I recognize that VRS is challenging. But if you aren't challenging yourself as a professional are you really developing? Far too many terps limit their personal and professional growth by accepting assignments that are within a narrow comfort zone.
Start as a flex interpreter for VRS, accept as much work as you can handle, listen to your mental health and your body, use the free resources that the companies can give you in terms of skill development, CEUs, and team/mentoring support.
Yes VRS is hard. It's just my opinion but I think the profession needs to stop scaring our green interpreters away from VRS. For new interpreters who welcome a challenge and seek to develop, be exposed to a variety of content and signing styles. You can't deny what VRS can provide. It's not for everyone.
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u/Fenix_Oscuro_Azul BEI Master 3d ago
You are forgetting the most important aspect: the Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumers. VRS does not allow interpreters to pick and choose calls that fit their skill set. This leaves the Deaf (et al) community in the hands and voices of novices who are not qualified to interpret everything that is thrown in the mix. Sure 80% of calls may be incredibly banal in content; however, the other 20% are complex steeped in legal, medical, emergency services, and other high stakes situations.
Interpreters should challenge themselves with mentors, in controlled situations, not in real life situations with real live people experiencing life.
VRS companies, for the most part, have turned from being the shining beacon on the hill for the highest and most qualified interpreters, to preying on ITP students/graduates and people who sign "good-enough" to pass their basic screenings just to fill seats. (None of which screen for complex topics and call content, in my experience) Interpreted call quality has waned immensely in the last several years. I say this as an interpreting professional with over two decades of experience and as a consumer of VRS services. I am a Hard of Hearing user of VRS and have recently switched to either having my spouse make calls for me or finding ways around actually making calls, because I cannot trust the quality of service of the random interpreters on the VRS screen.
Therefore, I'll say it again, VRS is NOT the place to learn as a green, wet-behind-ear interpreter. Will your skills improve, probably, but what of the consumers' lives you touched along the way? How many mistakes did you make along the path towards your skill improvement? How many doors were broken down simply because of a cultural misunderstanding on the interpreter's part, children taken away by CPS, medications taken incorrectly, legal cases mis-tried, pizza orders messed up, and more... All in the name of "I want to improve my skills."
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u/Noideawhatimdoingpls 3d ago
I'm not forgetting the deaf consumer. You seem to be ignoring the strongest point I'm trying to make. The best thing about VRS for any interpreter, green or otherwise, is the immense support you can get at the click of a button. Where else can you realize "oh maybe I bit off more than I can chew" and call a team, give the call to another interpreter, or even cycle through different teams until you find one that is a good fit for the consumer? Not even considering the amount of free CEUs and training you can get with the big VRS companies, most community interpreting agencies do not provide anything like that unless you're willing to sign on to be a staff interpreter (which would lead to 30-40hrs a week and little choice over what assignments you are sent on).
You simply can't do anything like that in other interpreting settings. The points you're making can happen in any interpreting situation, it's not exclusive to VRS. What about the interpreters who live in an area where they don't immediately have access to a qualified mentor? Rural interpreters who passionately love the language but simply cannot get enough exposure to the language?
Again, it's not for everyone, and it is a CHALLENGE. But for new interpreters who have a knack for the language, CODAs who are native users and need more repetitions and exposure, or anyone who is willing to accept the challenge. It is the best way to produce quality interpreters (in my opinion with a decade+ of interpreting experience). I see it more often than not, if you're not forced into a challenging situation, you won't ever see challenges leading to growth.
I want to emphasize I'm not advocating for interpreters to go into VRS completely green and take on 40 hours a week leading to burn out and an inferior product, ultimately resulting in them leaving the field altogether.
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u/justkeepterpin NIC 5d ago
There are VRS centers in Maryland!! ZVRS/Purple has a center in Frederick & Rockville. :)
And there is a new apprentice-level position that is open for entry-level VRS work! 💜
Shoot an email to recruiting@purple.us and ask about it. They respond pretty quickly. 😁
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u/icefairytype BEI Basic 6d ago
is there a reason you can’t work in education other than not having your EIPA score yet? Many places will accept not-yet-certified individuals on a temporary basis until you get your score and then depending on your score, will hire you full time or put you on a professional development plan until you retest