My San Antonio - "Jobs: Skilled interpreters, translators in high demand"

by Adolfo Pesquera - San Antonio Express-News - August 24, 2008

"To drive home the growing need for interpreters and translators in the United States, Louis Provenzano, president and chief operating officer of Language Line Services, offered these statistics:

“Every 19 seconds, another immigrant comes into the USA that does not speak English,” he said. “Close to 35 percent of the U.S. population speaks a language other than English at home.”

"This represents a potential pool of 104 million people needing language assistance. It translates into jobs offered by major corporations across the United States."

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"Good cognitive skills are a must (to be an interpreter).

“You have to go back from one language to the other in seconds if you’re on a 911 call,” Provenzano said. “You don’t have time to think. You just must interpret.”

"The company employs 3,000 interpreters, the bulk of whom are translating for Spanish speakers. The second-largest language group in the United States is Mandarin Chinese, Provenzano said."

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"Susan Avila of Language Line Services works from her home office in Forth Worth.

"She works 40 hours a week and has been with Language Line since the mid-1990s when she lived in Mexico City."

Learn how you can become a Language Line Services telephone interpreter

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"The field (of interpreting) appeals to freelancers.

"The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 22 percent of interpreters and translators are self-employed. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics also notes that work can be sporadic and interpreters in some fields work only part time.

"Interpreters can find themselves in a very wide range of situations, including in business conferences and as escorts, court interpreters and literary translators for publishing houses. For many of these specialties, a bachelor’s degree is expected.

"The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates interpreters can expect much faster than average employment growth, with demand increasing 24 percent from 2006 to 2016. There were an estimated 41,000 interpreters in the United States in 2006; projected employment in 2016 is 51,000."

Read the entire San Antonio Express-News article here

Learn how you can become a Language Line Services telephone interpreter