December 8, 2023 • 19 mins
Ever wondered about the difference between being a qualified interpreter and a certified interpreter? Perhaps you're an interpreter looking to further your career or maybe you're an individual or business in need of interpreter services? Either way, we promise you'll gain clarity in our latest episode of the Brand the Interpreter Podcast.
As we navigate further into the labyrinth of interpretation qualifications, we reach out to two seasoned professionals in the field - a language access consultant in healthcare and a federally certified court interpreter. They each bring a unique perspective, highlighting the nuances of certification in the medical and legal field, and how they differentiate from being a qualified interpreter. Through their eyes, we see the true value of striving for certification. Not only does it build credibility, but also instills confidence in the interpretation profession. So, lend us your ears for this enlightening episode and don't forget, your insights and experiences are always welcome here!
Only on the podcast that shares your stories about our profession! Brand the Interpreter!
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Thanks for tuning in, till next time! 👋
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www.brandtheinterpreter.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Are you hungry for more knowledge and eager to
perfect your interpretationcraft?
The Academy of Interpretationoffers a wide range of courses,
workshops and language testingto elevate your interpreting
skills.
I know firsthand howchallenging our job can be, but
that's why Brand the Interpreterexists.
And now the Academy ofInterpretation is here to
(00:24):
support your journey evenfurther.
Trust me, their resources are agame changer.
I've had the pleasure ofcollaborating with their team on
multiple occasions, so why wait?
Visit their website today,academyofinterpretationcom,
where excellence ininterpretation begins.
(00:50):
Hello and welcome to anotherepisode of the Brand the
Interpreter podcast.
This is Mireya, your host, ifyou're new here and if you're a
returning listener.
Thank you, as always, for yourcontinued support.
It is mind-boggling to me thatwe are in the last month of the
year, but then again, now that Ithink about it, I feel like I
(01:10):
say that maybe every year, soespecially in the last few years
, now that I'm getting older.
For some reason, the time justis flying by.
So many things to do, so littletime.
But nevertheless, here we areDecember of 2023, and we are
coming to the close of Season 6of Brand the Interpreter.
As I shared with you in the lastepisode, there have been many
(01:31):
changes both in my personal andprofessional life.
You know that I did move,currently from California all
the way over to Virginia, and inmy professional setting there
has also been a lot of new andexciting changes that I'm super
happy about and embracing thechanges completely.
(01:52):
But, of course, with morethings on your plate, it becomes
increasingly difficult to beable to get to everything,
particularly things that aredone in your spare time, such as
, of course, this podcast.
And although in these lastcouple of months, because of
everything that's been shifting,I haven't been able to push out
as much content, whether it bethe podcast or on social media,
(02:17):
I know that I'm constantlythinking of new ways and new
things to be able to bring toyou so that we are both
entertained and are learning atthe same time, and speaking of
different things to be able tobring to the table as we come to
the close of this calendar year, Unexpectedly, I started
receiving recorded questions,and I say unexpectedly because,
(02:40):
while that has always been anoption on my website to be able
to go and send me a recordedmessage, it hasn't been utilized
.
As much as I would love for you,the listeners, to be able to
record your questions for thepodcast and then suddenly, maybe
I manifested it because Istarted getting questions that
(03:02):
were recorded, or writtenquestions that were then
converted into a recording bythe listener.
So that's exciting to me,because what that does is allows
me the opportunity to close theseason for Brandy interpreter
with questions directly from you, the audience, which I totally
love.
So today we'll be hearing thequestion from Victoria,
(03:25):
submitted all the way from SanDiego, california hey, san Diego
and we are going to also listento the responses submitted by
other professionals in the field.
So, Victoria, I want to thankyou personally very much for
opening up this discussion andthis conversation.
That I know for a fact.
(03:46):
You are not the only one outthere wondering about this very
specific question, which I'llintroduce in just a bit, and
know that I appreciate yourpatience in getting this
response prepared to air on theshow today.
So, without further ado, let'sget into today's special episode
on Q&A, with Brandy interpreterresponding to Victoria's
(04:10):
question from San Diego onqualified versus certified.
Take a listen.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Hi, my name is Victoria and I'm from San Diego,
and my question for Brandyinterpreter is what is the
difference, in general and interms of requirements, between
qualified and certifiedinterpreting?
In other words, it's qualifiedinterpreting a legitimate way to
explore the field.
Thank you, and I hope to hearfrom you soon.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
What a great question , Victoria.
What I ended up doing wasinviting a couple of guests to
respond to this very greatquestion.
Our first response comes fromanother than Cindy wrote from
NCIHC.
Let's take a listen.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Hi, my name is Cindy Rode.
I'm a national consultant onlanguage access and health care
and also interim vice presidentof the National Council on
Interpreting in Health Care, andthis is a response to a query
sent in by Victoria in San Diego.
Hi, victoria.
Victoria asks what is thedifference between a certified
interpreter and a qualifiedinterpreter, and let me see if I
(05:13):
can shed some light on that.
One of these terms isrelatively easier to define than
others.
Certification means a certifiedinterpreter is one who holds a
credential from a validcertifying body.
So for healthcare interpreters,that would mean the CCHI, the
Certification Commission forHealthcare Interpreters, or the
(05:35):
NBCMI National Board for theCertification of Medical
Interpreters.
Both of these organizationshave tests in a variety of
language pairs.
They both require that thecandidate be over 18, have at
least 40 hours of basic trainingand be able to prove that they
are fluent in English and in alanguage other than English, and
(05:57):
to pass both a written and anoral test.
For other domains, there arealso certification processes for
social service interpreters.
The Washington State Departmentof Social and Health Services
has a certification process forsocial service interpreters.
There are also certificationprocesses through the ATA for
translators, through state courtsystems for state courts and
(06:20):
through the federal court systemfor federal court.
So that's pretty clear andstraightforward.
The term qualified is a littlebit squishier technically, under
the upcoming, soon to bereleased, regulations related to
Section 1557 of the AffordableCare Act, a qualified
(06:40):
interpreter is one who is ableto interpret effectively,
accurately and impartially, bothreceptively and expressively,
using any necessary specializedvocabulary.
So while the regs do not specifyamount of training or anything
like that, or a particularcredential, it's hard to imagine
(07:02):
that anybody could fulfillthose requirements without
having had some basic trainingat least.
However, a lot of places aroundthe United States, this term
qualified is used a lot moreinformally, often to refer to an
interpreter who perhaps haspassed some sort of screening
test, which is not necessarily avalid and reliable
(07:22):
certification process perhaps aninterpreter who has an
excellent background or a greatdeal of experience.
These are more difficult toprove, and so this term
qualified is a lot moresubjective.
However, I'd also like to saythat things are always changing
around the country, and ifanyone knows of qualification
(07:44):
processes in which this is usedin a different way, please let
me know.
I'd be interested in findingout as well.
So, victoria, I hope thatanswers your question a little
bit.
Please feel free to contact meand write back to Brandy
interpreter if you have any morequestions.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Very well, that was a response from the healthcare
side of the profession.
But what about the legal sideof the profession?
Is there such a thing ascertified versus qualified?
And for that response I invitedAthena Matilski, a federally
certified court interpreter.
Let's hear what she has to say.
Speaker 4 (08:21):
Hello everybody.
My name is Athena Matilski,federally certified court
interpreter and owner of AthenaSky Interpreting.
I'm also cross-trained as amedical interpreter and a
conference interpreter.
I have a degree from YorkUniversity.
This audio is in response tobrand the interpreter, listener
Victoria, who asked a reallyinteresting question about what
(08:43):
a qualified interpreter isversus what a certified
interpreter is, and she wantedto know if being a qualified
interpreter is a legitimate wayto explore the field.
So it seems like astraightforward question, but as
I start answering it, I realizehow complicated it is.
Basically, there are differentaccreditation processes or
(09:04):
certification processesthroughout the country, based on
what state you're, in whatlanguage you speak and what type
of interpreting you're tryingto do.
So let's take courtinterpreting.
If you're a Spanish interpreter, in most states in the United
States there is now acertification process for you.
So you would go through thatcertification process.
You would take a written exam.
Sometimes you would take anoral proficiency exam to look at
(09:28):
your language skills in Spanish, and then you would take an
oral interpreting exam whichtests your interpreting skills
and also takes a look at yourlanguage skills Once you get to
the end of that, if you pass it,with a particular percentage,
which can vary by state, thenyou become a certified
interpreter and that showsanybody who is working with you
that you have that minimum levelof expertise.
(09:50):
Now you can work throughout thecountry as a medical and a
court interpreter withoutcertification, and there are
certain venues where maybe thatwould be more appropriate, where
it's simpler and where it'sokay that the person who is
Interpreting might not have asmuch expertise.
But it really is a Good idea togo through the certification
(10:12):
process Because you'll learn asyou go and you will get that
minimum level of understandingand what we do is really
important.
It's really important for us tobe accurate and many of us
don't realize how inaccurate weare until we've gone through the
process of listening to ourrecordings and working on our
skills and getting better.
So that's all about beingcertified.
But Victoria's question wasabout what it is to be a
(10:34):
qualified interpreter and thehonest answer to that is I can't
really Tell you because itdepends on whose definition of
qualified you are looking at.
So what I can say is that inmany states, if you don't have a
language that is tested, thenyou are given the opportunity to
go through the certificationprocess and you wouldn't
(10:55):
necessarily become a certifiedinterpreter because, let's say,
they don't have the Interpretingexam in Swahili, which happens
to be your language.
Well then, you can't be acertified Swahili interpreter,
but in certain states you mightbe a registered Interpreter or
you might be a qualifiedinterpreter, and what that would
say is that you have gonethrough some of the testing
process, you've taken thewritten exam, you have been
(11:17):
through an orientation and Maybethey've had you take an exam in
your other language, maybe youtook a Swahili exam just to see
your skills in Swahili, but thatyour interpreting skills have
not been verified because thattest does not exist.
So in some states you will thenbe called what is a qualified
interpreter and if that's thecase, it's not your fault that
you aren't able to go throughthat testing process.
(11:39):
It's still your responsibilityto make sure that you have that
minimum level of interpretingability.
It's still your responsibilityto make sure you're accurate and
impartial and everything else.
But you might have to use theterm qualified, but it really
depends on the state.
I actually am not sure whichstates Use that term.
I think it's actually possiblethat New Jersey uses the term
(12:01):
qualified interpreter in somecapacity, but you really have to
look at who is using that term,because what happens a lot of
time is people go around saying,oh yeah, I'm a certified
interpreter and really know theyjust went through a class and
they got a certificate.
That's not the same as being acertified interpreter, right?
So you have to look at who isusing this terminology, and the
(12:23):
important thing at the end ofthe day isn't what we're calling
the interpreter, it's whattheir standard of interpreting
actually is.
It's what their, theirinterpreting expertise is.
For medical interpreting, thereis a qualified version,
particularly for one of theexams, because there's more than
one medical interpretingCertification exam.
(12:44):
But according to the NationalCenter on interpreting in health
care, that's the NC IHC, theydo have the qualified credential
as a possibility.
So you basically you can startexploring your career as an
interpreter right away.
You can accept assignments thatyou know are within your skill
(13:05):
level, and it's really important, as quickly as possible and as
methodically as possible, to getthe skills that you need and to
get the certification to backit, so that you have more
confidence and your clients canhave more confidence as well.
So I hope that that answeredyour question.
Again, my name is AthenaMatilski.
You can find me atAthenaSkyInterpretingcom, and
(13:27):
you can always email me atinquiries at
AthenaSkyInterpretingcom.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Well, there you have it, Veronica a response from
both the health care and thelegal setting.
Now here's my two cents onqualified versus certified.
When you embark on the journeyof becoming a professional
interpreter or Utilizing yourlanguages in a professional
setting, you can absolutelybegin by exploring the field as
(13:56):
a qualified interpreter.
Chances are you may come acrossother competitors or other
individuals that are alsocompeting for the same job, and
that's when I think you'll trulybegin to see the difference
between your qualification andyour certification.
This doesn't always necessarilyapply.
(14:18):
There are times where hiringmanagers barely know the
difference between aninterpreter and a translator and
therefore may not necessarilyknow the difference between a
qualified and a certifiedinterpreter.
It very much depends on theentity that you are applying to
and, of course, on how much theyknow about the industry.
(14:40):
A certification, let's say, asa translator through the
American Translators Association, may mean nothing to someone
that is simply looking forsomeone to do a quick and cheap
job.
So while I see nothing wrongwith exploring the field and it
being a legitimate way to do it,as a qualified interpreter, if
(15:01):
you're already doing the workmeaning in order to become
qualified, you are alreadytaking courses and formalizing
your training, then at somepoint I would highly encourage
you to consider thecertification, if it exists, in
the specialty area that you'relooking to provide services.
I would also say that for thoseindividuals that have gone
(15:23):
through or going through theprocess of becoming certified
and have not yet passed thatthreshold and are currently
sitting in the qualifiedinterpreter threshold again, I
think the same thing definitelyapplies.
You want to make sure that youkeep pushing forward so that, if
anything else, just like Athenajust mentioned, you are growing
(15:44):
as a professional.
So there is certain experiencesthat come in addition to the
feeling of completion, ofaccomplishment, when you arrive
to that destination that youplanned on arriving from the
beginning.
So if you had certification inmind, you want to get past that
(16:06):
threshold, wherever it is you'recurrently at, to be able to
accomplish that, and of course,that only comes by pushing
ourselves to get to that point.
So you thought it was going tobe an easy answer and you might
have been left with morequestions and answers, but
hopefully you were guided moretowards a very specific solution
(16:29):
for the very question that youposed and for anyone else that
also was interested inunderstanding the difference.
Hopefully you're a lot closerto deciding whether you're going
to go one way or another.
Of course, everything that isshared here is not shared in
absolute.
Every situation is completelydifferent, and all we're wanting
(16:51):
to do, or I'm wanting to dohere, is to share as much
resources and information sothat you're able to make an
educated decision.
Best of luck to you, victoria,in all of your endeavors, and
thank you once again for havingsubmitted your question to
Brandy Interpreter.
I'd like to take the opportunityto thank the guests that gave
(17:11):
of their time to be able tosubmit the responses.
Thank you so very much for yourwillingness to be a part of the
process.
It really does take a village,and I am very grateful to you
All.
Right, folks, as we wrap uptoday's episode, I want to
encourage you to do the same.
Please submit your questionsvia the recording app that is
(17:35):
available on my website,wwwbrandyinterpretercom.
Head on over to the Contact Mesection and when you scroll down
below my image, you will see alittle recording orange
recording app.
You're able to submit yourrecordings through there and
they come directly to me.
(17:57):
I do my very best to eitherinvite the people that can give
you the answers, or we do aspecial episode in which we talk
further about your particularquestion.
In the meantime, if you haven'talready, I would very much
appreciate that you continuesharing the episodes,
particularly those episodes thatreally resonate with you and
(18:18):
that you think will resonatewith somebody else another
colleague potentially.
Feel free to please share,share, share these episodes
because, of course, it can onlygrow if individuals, more
individuals, know about theBrandy Interpreter podcast.
That's all I have for you today.
I hope that you enjoyed today'sepisode and I hope that you
(18:41):
connect with me on social media.
Find me on LinkedIn orInstagram or simply send me a
message via the website.
Thank you so much for joiningme today.
Have an amazing weekend and Iwill see you here next week.
Take care Until next time.
Are you hungry for more knowledge and eager to
perfect your interpretationcraft?
The Academy of Interpretationoffers a wide range of courses,
workshops and language testingto elevate your interpreting
skills.
I know firsthand howchallenging our job can be, but
that's why Brand the Interpreterexists.
And now the Academy ofInterpretation is here to
(00:24):
support your journey evenfurther.
Trust me, their resources are agame changer.
I've had the pleasure ofcollaborating with their team on
multiple occasions, so why wait?
Visit their website today,academyofinterpretationcom,
where excellence ininterpretation begins.
(00:50):
Hello and welcome to anotherepisode of the Brand the
Interpreter podcast.
This is Mireya, your host, ifyou're new here and if you're a
returning listener.
Thank you, as always, for yourcontinued support.
It is mind-boggling to me thatwe are in the last month of the
year, but then again, now that Ithink about it, I feel like I
(01:10):
say that maybe every year, soespecially in the last few years
, now that I'm getting older.
For some reason, the time justis flying by.
So many things to do, so littletime.
But nevertheless, here we areDecember of 2023, and we are
coming to the close of Season 6of Brand the Interpreter.
As I shared with you in the lastepisode, there have been many
(01:31):
changes both in my personal andprofessional life.
You know that I did move,currently from California all
the way over to Virginia, and inmy professional setting there
has also been a lot of new andexciting changes that I'm super
happy about and embracing thechanges completely.
(01:52):
But, of course, with morethings on your plate, it becomes
increasingly difficult to beable to get to everything,
particularly things that aredone in your spare time, such as
, of course, this podcast.
And although in these lastcouple of months, because of
everything that's been shifting,I haven't been able to push out
as much content, whether it bethe podcast or on social media,
(02:17):
I know that I'm constantlythinking of new ways and new
things to be able to bring toyou so that we are both
entertained and are learning atthe same time, and speaking of
different things to be able tobring to the table as we come to
the close of this calendar year, Unexpectedly, I started
receiving recorded questions,and I say unexpectedly because,
(02:40):
while that has always been anoption on my website to be able
to go and send me a recordedmessage, it hasn't been utilized
.
As much as I would love for you,the listeners, to be able to
record your questions for thepodcast and then suddenly, maybe
I manifested it because Istarted getting questions that
(03:02):
were recorded, or writtenquestions that were then
converted into a recording bythe listener.
So that's exciting to me,because what that does is allows
me the opportunity to close theseason for Brandy interpreter
with questions directly from you, the audience, which I totally
love.
So today we'll be hearing thequestion from Victoria,
(03:25):
submitted all the way from SanDiego, california hey, san Diego
and we are going to also listento the responses submitted by
other professionals in the field.
So, Victoria, I want to thankyou personally very much for
opening up this discussion andthis conversation.
That I know for a fact.
(03:46):
You are not the only one outthere wondering about this very
specific question, which I'llintroduce in just a bit, and
know that I appreciate yourpatience in getting this
response prepared to air on theshow today.
So, without further ado, let'sget into today's special episode
on Q&A, with Brandy interpreterresponding to Victoria's
(04:10):
question from San Diego onqualified versus certified.
Take a listen.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Hi, my name is Victoria and I'm from San Diego,
and my question for Brandyinterpreter is what is the
difference, in general and interms of requirements, between
qualified and certifiedinterpreting?
In other words, it's qualifiedinterpreting a legitimate way to
explore the field.
Thank you, and I hope to hearfrom you soon.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
What a great question , Victoria.
What I ended up doing wasinviting a couple of guests to
respond to this very greatquestion.
Our first response comes fromanother than Cindy wrote from
NCIHC.
Let's take a listen.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Hi, my name is Cindy Rode.
I'm a national consultant onlanguage access and health care
and also interim vice presidentof the National Council on
Interpreting in Health Care, andthis is a response to a query
sent in by Victoria in San Diego.
Hi, victoria.
Victoria asks what is thedifference between a certified
interpreter and a qualifiedinterpreter, and let me see if I
(05:13):
can shed some light on that.
One of these terms isrelatively easier to define than
others.
Certification means a certifiedinterpreter is one who holds a
credential from a validcertifying body.
So for healthcare interpreters,that would mean the CCHI, the
Certification Commission forHealthcare Interpreters, or the
(05:35):
NBCMI National Board for theCertification of Medical
Interpreters.
Both of these organizationshave tests in a variety of
language pairs.
They both require that thecandidate be over 18, have at
least 40 hours of basic trainingand be able to prove that they
are fluent in English and in alanguage other than English, and
(05:57):
to pass both a written and anoral test.
For other domains, there arealso certification processes for
social service interpreters.
The Washington State Departmentof Social and Health Services
has a certification process forsocial service interpreters.
There are also certificationprocesses through the ATA for
translators, through state courtsystems for state courts and
(06:20):
through the federal court systemfor federal court.
So that's pretty clear andstraightforward.
The term qualified is a littlebit squishier technically, under
the upcoming, soon to bereleased, regulations related to
Section 1557 of the AffordableCare Act, a qualified
(06:40):
interpreter is one who is ableto interpret effectively,
accurately and impartially, bothreceptively and expressively,
using any necessary specializedvocabulary.
So while the regs do not specifyamount of training or anything
like that, or a particularcredential, it's hard to imagine
(07:02):
that anybody could fulfillthose requirements without
having had some basic trainingat least.
However, a lot of places aroundthe United States, this term
qualified is used a lot moreinformally, often to refer to an
interpreter who perhaps haspassed some sort of screening
test, which is not necessarily avalid and reliable
(07:22):
certification process perhaps aninterpreter who has an
excellent background or a greatdeal of experience.
These are more difficult toprove, and so this term
qualified is a lot moresubjective.
However, I'd also like to saythat things are always changing
around the country, and ifanyone knows of qualification
(07:44):
processes in which this is usedin a different way, please let
me know.
I'd be interested in findingout as well.
So, victoria, I hope thatanswers your question a little
bit.
Please feel free to contact meand write back to Brandy
interpreter if you have any morequestions.
Speaker 1 (08:00):
Very well, that was a response from the healthcare
side of the profession.
But what about the legal sideof the profession?
Is there such a thing ascertified versus qualified?
And for that response I invitedAthena Matilski, a federally
certified court interpreter.
Let's hear what she has to say.
Speaker 4 (08:21):
Hello everybody.
My name is Athena Matilski,federally certified court
interpreter and owner of AthenaSky Interpreting.
I'm also cross-trained as amedical interpreter and a
conference interpreter.
I have a degree from YorkUniversity.
This audio is in response tobrand the interpreter, listener
Victoria, who asked a reallyinteresting question about what
(08:43):
a qualified interpreter isversus what a certified
interpreter is, and she wantedto know if being a qualified
interpreter is a legitimate wayto explore the field.
So it seems like astraightforward question, but as
I start answering it, I realizehow complicated it is.
Basically, there are differentaccreditation processes or
(09:04):
certification processesthroughout the country, based on
what state you're, in whatlanguage you speak and what type
of interpreting you're tryingto do.
So let's take courtinterpreting.
If you're a Spanish interpreter, in most states in the United
States there is now acertification process for you.
So you would go through thatcertification process.
You would take a written exam.
Sometimes you would take anoral proficiency exam to look at
(09:28):
your language skills in Spanish, and then you would take an
oral interpreting exam whichtests your interpreting skills
and also takes a look at yourlanguage skills Once you get to
the end of that, if you pass it,with a particular percentage,
which can vary by state, thenyou become a certified
interpreter and that showsanybody who is working with you
that you have that minimum levelof expertise.
(09:50):
Now you can work throughout thecountry as a medical and a
court interpreter withoutcertification, and there are
certain venues where maybe thatwould be more appropriate, where
it's simpler and where it'sokay that the person who is
Interpreting might not have asmuch expertise.
But it really is a Good idea togo through the certification
(10:12):
process Because you'll learn asyou go and you will get that
minimum level of understandingand what we do is really
important.
It's really important for us tobe accurate and many of us
don't realize how inaccurate weare until we've gone through the
process of listening to ourrecordings and working on our
skills and getting better.
So that's all about beingcertified.
But Victoria's question wasabout what it is to be a
(10:34):
qualified interpreter and thehonest answer to that is I can't
really Tell you because itdepends on whose definition of
qualified you are looking at.
So what I can say is that inmany states, if you don't have a
language that is tested, thenyou are given the opportunity to
go through the certificationprocess and you wouldn't
(10:55):
necessarily become a certifiedinterpreter because, let's say,
they don't have the Interpretingexam in Swahili, which happens
to be your language.
Well then, you can't be acertified Swahili interpreter,
but in certain states you mightbe a registered Interpreter or
you might be a qualifiedinterpreter, and what that would
say is that you have gonethrough some of the testing
process, you've taken thewritten exam, you have been
(11:17):
through an orientation and Maybethey've had you take an exam in
your other language, maybe youtook a Swahili exam just to see
your skills in Swahili, but thatyour interpreting skills have
not been verified because thattest does not exist.
So in some states you will thenbe called what is a qualified
interpreter and if that's thecase, it's not your fault that
you aren't able to go throughthat testing process.
(11:39):
It's still your responsibilityto make sure that you have that
minimum level of interpretingability.
It's still your responsibilityto make sure you're accurate and
impartial and everything else.
But you might have to use theterm qualified, but it really
depends on the state.
I actually am not sure whichstates Use that term.
I think it's actually possiblethat New Jersey uses the term
(12:01):
qualified interpreter in somecapacity, but you really have to
look at who is using that term,because what happens a lot of
time is people go around saying,oh yeah, I'm a certified
interpreter and really know theyjust went through a class and
they got a certificate.
That's not the same as being acertified interpreter, right?
So you have to look at who isusing this terminology, and the
(12:23):
important thing at the end ofthe day isn't what we're calling
the interpreter, it's whattheir standard of interpreting
actually is.
It's what their, theirinterpreting expertise is.
For medical interpreting, thereis a qualified version,
particularly for one of theexams, because there's more than
one medical interpretingCertification exam.
(12:44):
But according to the NationalCenter on interpreting in health
care, that's the NC IHC, theydo have the qualified credential
as a possibility.
So you basically you can startexploring your career as an
interpreter right away.
You can accept assignments thatyou know are within your skill
(13:05):
level, and it's really important, as quickly as possible and as
methodically as possible, to getthe skills that you need and to
get the certification to backit, so that you have more
confidence and your clients canhave more confidence as well.
So I hope that that answeredyour question.
Again, my name is AthenaMatilski.
You can find me atAthenaSkyInterpretingcom, and
(13:27):
you can always email me atinquiries at
AthenaSkyInterpretingcom.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Well, there you have it, Veronica a response from
both the health care and thelegal setting.
Now here's my two cents onqualified versus certified.
When you embark on the journeyof becoming a professional
interpreter or Utilizing yourlanguages in a professional
setting, you can absolutelybegin by exploring the field as
(13:56):
a qualified interpreter.
Chances are you may come acrossother competitors or other
individuals that are alsocompeting for the same job, and
that's when I think you'll trulybegin to see the difference
between your qualification andyour certification.
This doesn't always necessarilyapply.
(14:18):
There are times where hiringmanagers barely know the
difference between aninterpreter and a translator and
therefore may not necessarilyknow the difference between a
qualified and a certifiedinterpreter.
It very much depends on theentity that you are applying to
and, of course, on how much theyknow about the industry.
(14:40):
A certification, let's say, asa translator through the
American Translators Association, may mean nothing to someone
that is simply looking forsomeone to do a quick and cheap
job.
So while I see nothing wrongwith exploring the field and it
being a legitimate way to do it,as a qualified interpreter, if
(15:01):
you're already doing the workmeaning in order to become
qualified, you are alreadytaking courses and formalizing
your training, then at somepoint I would highly encourage
you to consider thecertification, if it exists, in
the specialty area that you'relooking to provide services.
I would also say that for thoseindividuals that have gone
(15:23):
through or going through theprocess of becoming certified
and have not yet passed thatthreshold and are currently
sitting in the qualifiedinterpreter threshold again, I
think the same thing definitelyapplies.
You want to make sure that youkeep pushing forward so that, if
anything else, just like Athenajust mentioned, you are growing
(15:44):
as a professional.
So there is certain experiencesthat come in addition to the
feeling of completion, ofaccomplishment, when you arrive
to that destination that youplanned on arriving from the
beginning.
So if you had certification inmind, you want to get past that
(16:06):
threshold, wherever it is you'recurrently at, to be able to
accomplish that, and of course,that only comes by pushing
ourselves to get to that point.
So you thought it was going tobe an easy answer and you might
have been left with morequestions and answers, but
hopefully you were guided moretowards a very specific solution
(16:29):
for the very question that youposed and for anyone else that
also was interested inunderstanding the difference.
Hopefully you're a lot closerto deciding whether you're going
to go one way or another.
Of course, everything that isshared here is not shared in
absolute.
Every situation is completelydifferent, and all we're wanting
(16:51):
to do, or I'm wanting to dohere, is to share as much
resources and information sothat you're able to make an
educated decision.
Best of luck to you, victoria,in all of your endeavors, and
thank you once again for havingsubmitted your question to
Brandy Interpreter.
I'd like to take the opportunityto thank the guests that gave
(17:11):
of their time to be able tosubmit the responses.
Thank you so very much for yourwillingness to be a part of the
process.
It really does take a village,and I am very grateful to you
All.
Right, folks, as we wrap uptoday's episode, I want to
encourage you to do the same.
Please submit your questionsvia the recording app that is
(17:35):
available on my website,wwwbrandyinterpretercom.
Head on over to the Contact Mesection and when you scroll down
below my image, you will see alittle recording orange
recording app.
You're able to submit yourrecordings through there and
they come directly to me.
(17:57):
I do my very best to eitherinvite the people that can give
you the answers, or we do aspecial episode in which we talk
further about your particularquestion.
In the meantime, if you haven'talready, I would very much
appreciate that you continuesharing the episodes,
particularly those episodes thatreally resonate with you and
(18:18):
that you think will resonatewith somebody else another
colleague potentially.
Feel free to please share,share, share these episodes
because, of course, it can onlygrow if individuals, more
individuals, know about theBrandy Interpreter podcast.
That's all I have for you today.
I hope that you enjoyed today'sepisode and I hope that you
(18:41):
connect with me on social media.
Find me on LinkedIn orInstagram or simply send me a
message via the website.
Thank you so much for joiningme today.
Have an amazing weekend and Iwill see you here next week.
Take care Until next time.
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