MS in Translation & Interpreting Speaker Series with ALC Bridge

Throughout the Spring 2022 Semester, the MS in Translation & Interpreting (MSTI) partnered with the Association of Language Companies (ALC) Bridge to feature six industry speakers. These online events consisted of language professionals sharing their wide variety of career paths and expert advice. Below are just the highlights of this speaker series.

“The goal of ALC Bridge is to form a bridge where the employers would talk to the educators about how to prepare the students for the jobs we have, all to the benefit of the students—you! To do it the most effectively, we want to bring people to you who have incredible stories finding their way in the language services industry. Most of us kind of stumbled in because we didn’t know it existed, and we want to help you not stumble. We want to help you be purposeful and thoughtful in your choice of looking for a job.”

“You have to focus on social media and building your network. Nimdzi, which is an organization that does research for the language industry, has a list of movers and shakers and leaders in the industry to follow. Follow all of them; get to know them. Interpreters are friendly folks. They love working with students, bringing new students into the fold. Network, network, and build your relationships.”

“Your personality, your character, your integrity—those are the things that will get you hired, not necessarily your skill set. There will be some of that coming in, with the skills, but by and large they're gonna hire you as the person you are. So focus on those in your interview processes.”

“My friend was a Government contractor, and what he really wanted us to do was to recreate Afghanistan as authentically as possible in the United States for the military to train prior to their deployment. [...] We got consistent feedback that our training helped the military to not offend people that they were meeting in villages when they got to Afghanistan. We help them to avoid danger. We helped them to avoid casualties, and, as you know, our troops left Afghanistan last fall. And thus ended another chapter in my language career. Now I'm helping resettle those Afghan interpreters and their families have managed to make it over here.

But this is all part of what we can do as language services companies. So I hope I've sparked your imagination so you can all envision how your language skills can be used in any of thousands of different kinds of work. This is why we've built the ALC Bridge—to help students of language transition to careers in language. You all have the skills the world needs.”

“There are different skill sets. So, for instance, interpreters are considered extroverts, whereas translators are considered introverts. It's not necessarily the case, but as an interpreter, you have to be on whenever you're working. You don't have the luxury of stepping back from researching, consulting with colleagues, then getting back to your content. You have to be able to figure it out immediately, especially as a conference interpreter. But even if you're working in healthcare or court settings as a consecutive interpreter you still have to have that instant recall. So that's one challenge and one differentiation.”

“The SBA [Small Business Association] has a great program. Have you heard of SCORE? It's nationwide, and it's a group of retired business people who donate their time to the SBA. So you meet with people who started fortune 500 companies you meet with accountants you meet with all levels of people who can help you and give you the basic structure that you need to do. They'll explain to you which licenses you need in the city where you live, because it varies so make sure you understand the needs for where you live, specifically. Don't be afraid to get a business license—they're not expensive and they help a lot when it comes to taxes. It will help you get organized.”

 “One thing that you just cannot deny is the impact of technology and the changing technology, and so I cannot stress enough to all of the students: you must be masters of the technology. You have to have the linguistic aspect, obviously. You must dominate and understand the language itself, and the transfer between one language to the other. But it is just as important to understand and be able to manipulate and handle and respond to requests with the technology of the day.”

A translation and interpreting degree can help you to take charge of your career, whether you are new to the field or already working in the language professions. Apply for CALA’s MS in Translation & Interpreting, a fully online, 36-credit graduate program.