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Earning big figures, travelling a lot, meeting important people, and more are just some misconceptions about professional interpreters. Behind the glory, there are challenges and sacrifices that interpreters have to face almost every day.

Simply put, interpreters convert information from one language into another language. They work in settings such as schools, hospitals, courtrooms, detention facilities, meeting rooms, and conference centers. Some work for translation and interpretation companies, organizations, or private clients, and some work as self-employed interpreters and translators. 

Although interpreters and translators typically need at least a bachelor’s degree, the most important requirement is that they be fluent in at least two languages. The median annual wage for U.S interpreters and translators was $51,830 in May 2019. (According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

It is common to hear opinions from outsiders, such as “it is a stable job”, “people can travel around a lot doing this job”, “salary for the job is considerably high”. They cannot be blamed since most of what interpreters do is “behind the scenes”.

Therefore, much about this occupation remains unknown for outsiders and can only be told by interpreters themselves. 

To unveil the secret life of interpreters, we interviewed Mr. Nguyễn Ninh Bắc – an interpreter, lecturer, and Director of Center for Quality Assurance at ULIS and Mr. Đỗ Minh Hoàng – an interpreter, lecturer, and Director of the Cooperation & Development Office at ULIS. Subsequently, we discovered that people often misunderstood the nature of this job.

Challenges and Trade-offs

First of all, to “appear” calm and professional, an interpreter has to work hard and prepare carefully before getting in the cabin, because interpreting happens very shortly after the speaker, or even alongside the speech. Interpreters cannot just show up and do their work perfectly without sweating while preparing materials, background knowledge, and more.

Moreover, the preparation does not begin days or weeks prior to the job, but long before that, when interpreters were still students. Knowledge can be acquired in a day of reading, but skills and attitude have to be trained for years just to be hired by companies and organizations.

Through Mr. Bắc’s words, interpreting is not a simple job. Interpreters have to receive, process, and produce information almost at the same time, sometimes in front of many people. To appear to carry the job lightly, interpreters have to put many efforts into preparing knowledge and perfecting skills, and the time is what needs to be sacrificed in order to do the job well.

Mr. Hoàng takes the competitiveness of the market into account. To get in the market, it takes interpreters some time, depending on each person, and it is definitely not easy. While the preparation including training at school helps students have confidence and the skills needed, the entry of the interpreting market often takes hard work and one to two years; only by that can interpreters get the first solo job done. A shorter time is possible if they have a mentor who is willing to help them.

Therefore, interpreters do not have a light workload at all.

Independence and Loneliness

Most of the time, interpreters work independently, from the preparation process to the “in-cabin” day.  

While interpreting, a good interpreter is considered an invisible man, according to Mr. Bắc. He explains “invisible interpreters” means that the audience and the speakers can communicate so easily that they hardly realize the presence of interpreters. That may make an interpreter feel lonely if he does not have support from groups, associations or colleagues.

In the world, there are organizations or associations for translators or interpreters such as the International Federation of Translators, Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators, American Translators Association, etc. However, not all countries have their own organizations for interpreters. In Vietnam, such kinds of associations do not exist while other fields, such as journalism, law, music, have such communities to connect people and develop professional competence. 

Online forums are available for interpreters such as a Facebook group of  English Translation and Interpreting, but they cannot support in a way that an official community can do. 

In the talkshow Interpreters’ Sharing, Mrs. Nguyen Dieu Linh, an interpreter with years of experience, shares that the translation field is also a miniature society. In that society, that interpreters are somehow marginalized or boycotted did happen. At that time, feelings of loneliness are exaggerated to the uttermost level. There are no colleagues to share. There is hardly anyone standing out and protecting you. All of the things you need are to manage by yourself. 

Additionally, in big holidays such as Tet holiday, interpreters cannot receive as much encouragement, team spirit or feeling sharing as in other official associations such as schools or work offices. There are times interpreters wish to have this kind of connection; however, it does not happen.

In fact, interpreters only have small groups sharing the same interests. It is a way to build up solidarity and support from others; on off-duty days, they can hang out together. 

Basically, interpreters need to “sing solo”. 

Freedom and Responsibilities

Unlike other jobs, interpreters do not need to work from 9 to 5 or an entire month. 

Interpreters may do nothing but worry about their next months for one or two weeks. However, sometimes, there are too many projects for them to do. That constitutes the characteristics of the interpreting job.

To ensure interpreters’ earnings as well as make most of their time, many interpreters tend to choose another full-time job at any agencies, organizations or companies. Interpreters adjust their time flexibly so that they can both get projects and work at the agency or organization they are committed to.

In addition to being a freelance interpreter, Mr. Hoàng is also a lecturer at ULIS. He shares that the remaining time from his teaching will be adjusted and arranged to work on interpreting projects. Whatever jobs they are doing, interpreters must decide which one is more important, prioritize, and spend more time on it.

For Mr. Bắc, a ULIS lecturer and a freelance interpreter, he gives priority to his work at the university. Doing another job apart from interpreting also helps interpreters in other aspects such as improving their knowledge and skills. The two jobs are considered mutually beneficial and supportive.

According to Mr. Bắc, the interpreting work brings him many benefits, not only for himself but also for work at university. For being an interpreting lecturer, it is clear that interpreting brings him hands-on experience and knowledge of interpreting. He can pass it on to students so that his students can work better after graduation.

In short, being an interpreter can bring freedom along with challenges, but some choose to be tied with responsibilities to maximize their opportunities and benefits.

Hidden beauty

Interpreters will keep doing their hard work covertly to fulfil their missions of bridging the communication gap, cultural differences between people. What hides underneath does not devalue the occupation but makes people appreciate it even more.