Starting as a medical interpreter Thread poster: Georgios Vamvakidis
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Hello everyone,
I´m starting as a medical interpreter. My working languages are Greek and German. I found out that these languages are in low demand. Do you know which languages have a high demand in the USA? I thought of learning a new language in order to get work.
Answers are well appreciated. Do you know a fast language learning course?
| | | | Barbara Carrara 
Italy
Local time: 07:24
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
Georgios Vamvakidis wrote:
I´m starting as a medical interpreter. My working languages are Greek and German. I found out that these languages are in low demand. Do you know which languages have a high demand in the USA? I thought of learning a new language in order to get work.
(...) Do you know a fast language learning course?
Hi, Georgios.
Rather than answers, which I am afraid I don't have, I've got a few questions for you.
In your profile, you state that you are already working as an interpreter in Germany.
So, why are you asking about the interpreting market in the US?
Also, why medicine? The information you've provided in your profile and CV is scant, and does not provide any specs about it, apart from the 'Medicine: cardiology' item listed among your specialisation fields.
Can you help us understand the reasons behind your choice?
Re. learning a new language. I don't know how fast a learner you are, but how much time do you think it'll take you to learn a new language well enough to be fluent in it as an interpreter, and in medicine?
I think I do have an answer to that: quite a long time.
And I don't think cutting corners with 'fast language-learning courses' would be an option. Or a solution.
Please elaborate your post, so that we, and especially the interpreters among us, can offer you some advice.
Thank you.
| | | | Mr. Satan (X)
English to Indonesian
Q: Do you know which languages have a high demand in the USA?
A: EN-ES. But you'll face a lot of competition in this language pair, so make sure you have something that particularly stands you out from the rest.
ProTip: To find out which language pair is the most sought after in a country, you can search for translation/interpreting jobs on LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, etc. in that location and take note of which pair that comes up the most often.
... See more Q: Do you know which languages have a high demand in the USA?
A: EN-ES. But you'll face a lot of competition in this language pair, so make sure you have something that particularly stands you out from the rest.
ProTip: To find out which language pair is the most sought after in a country, you can search for translation/interpreting jobs on LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, etc. in that location and take note of which pair that comes up the most often.
Q: I thought of learning a new language in order to get work.
A: You probably can get away with just a B1/B2 level proficiency to work as an interpreter. Can you reach that level in a month? I don't think so. Not because I'm doubting your learning capability. That's because typically, people would need about six months to go that far. And that's on the faster scale of things.
In the meantime, why not capitalize on your EN-DE pair? It looks to be fairly profitable.
Q: Do you know a fast language learning course?
A: Yes, and they are all garbage, if not downright scams. Any good language teacher will tell you that language learning is a marathon, not a sprint.
[Edited at 2022-03-18 12:32 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 06:24
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Barbara Carrara wrote:
Hi, Georgios.
Rather than answers, which I am afraid I don't have, I've got a few questions for you.
In your profile, you state that you are already working as an interpreter in Germany.
So, why are you asking about the interpreting market in the US?
Also, why medicine? The information you've provided in your profile and CV is scant, and does not provide any specs about it, apart from the 'Medicine: cardiology' item listed among your specialisation fields.
Can you help us understand the reasons behind your choice?
Re. learning a new language. I don't know how fast a learner you are, but how much time do you think it'll take you to learn a new language well enough to be fluent in it as an interpreter, and in medicine?
I think I do have an answer to that: quite a long time.
And I don't think cutting corners with 'fast language-learning courses' would be an option. Or a solution.
Please elaborate your post, so that we, and especially the interpreters among us, can offer you some advice.
Thank you.
I gave up on asking this sort of question. This week I asked a similar question very politely, and my post was deleted.
Never again... I think I will direct my participation here to more technical fora, or... who knows... cancelling my subscription. It's disappointing when you try to understand people in order to help them in getting a good answer and see your posts zapped.
To the OP: I wouldn't rely too much on online courses, and in particular the "faster" ones, for being able to translate in the medical field.
Please follow the good advice of Novian and Barbara.
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Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 01:24
German to English
| Not easy to ger a visa | Mar 18, 2022 |
The United States, like other nations, requires a visa that gives explicit permission to work, unless by chance you are eligible for American citizenship. In most cases you would need sponsorship by a company interested in hiring you. Since ENES interpreters are a readily available commodity, you wouldn't even have a ghost of a chance at finding a sponsor.
| | | | Barbara Carrara
Italy
Local time: 07:24
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
expressisverbis wrote:
I gave up on asking this sort of question. This week I asked a similar question very politely, and my post was deleted.
Never again... I think I will direct my participation here to more technical fora, or... who knows... cancelling my subscription. It's disappointing when you try to understand people in order to help them in getting a good answer and see your posts zapped.
If even you - one of the most kind, considerate and caring people on these pages - have had your posts deleted, then I really don't know what to think.
Have the mods been instructed to get rid of any comments even mildly or indirectly criticizing the site?
Are we witnessing the rise of a ProZtocracy?
Being a tad more straightforward than you, I am used to seeing my comments - including those that were not 'personal' - squashed by eager-to-please mods, and I am kind of expecting this one to be the next. I did contact the mods, asking them to reinstate those posts, but my requests got point-blank ignored. Welcome to the ProZ.com downward spiral.
I know for a fact that a few colleagues have already decided to discontinue their memberships. Mine is expiring next May. Who knows, I may also decide not to renew and wave my 'pro'-badge and all the perks that come with it (!?) bye-bye. We'll see.
| | | | Barbara Carrara
Italy
Local time: 07:24
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
| Now you see me, now you don't | Mar 19, 2022 |
Wonder where Georgios has disappeared to.
| | | | | Normal reasons | Mar 19, 2022 |
Hello everyone,
I´m trying to elaborate my concern. After applying to many companies for translation jobs, I got cancellations. Some of the companies did not answer at all. That´s why I thought to try the medical interpreting direction.
That was all.
Thank you
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Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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| Like medical transport | Mar 19, 2022 |
That got outsourced to Uber/Lyft drivers (but still charges insurance like medical transport!), medical interpreting in the US is most often a medicare scam.
There are numerous companies capitalizing hugely on billing insurance triple digits and paying interpreters somewhere in the vicinity of minimum wage.
Corona and the rise of remote-everything appears to have made it worse.
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