| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] | How to get that job? Thread poster: Paul Dixon
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Adieu 
Ukrainian to English
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FCICE? 4-6% pass rate for this crap?
"Administrative Office of the United States Courts states that certified and professionally qualified interpreters working in federal courts on a contractual basis earn $418 daily, $226 for a half-day and their overtime rate is $59 per hour."
As in best case $418/day with commute, parking fees, needing to eat out for lunch, and by the sounds of it a strict dress code? And most probably either $226 or nothing on most days?
... See more FCICE? 4-6% pass rate for this crap?
"Administrative Office of the United States Courts states that certified and professionally qualified interpreters working in federal courts on a contractual basis earn $418 daily, $226 for a half-day and their overtime rate is $59 per hour."
As in best case $418/day with commute, parking fees, needing to eat out for lunch, and by the sounds of it a strict dress code? And most probably either $226 or nothing on most days?
That does not seem too stunningly impressive...
Robert Forstag wrote:
The Federal Oral exam in the US has something like a 4-6% pass rate. It is a very large feather in the cap of interpreters who pass it (and thus attain federal certification). Unfortunately, the extremely low pass rate means that quite a few very good interpreters do not have it. Some of these persons have taken the test multiple times and devoted years of their lives to trying to pass the test - without success (while in many cases spending thousands of dollars on prep courses, exam fees, airline flights, and lodging).
[Edited at 2022-01-18 13:13 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-01-18 17:35 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-01-18 17:37 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Paul Dixon
Brazil
Local time: 00:25
Portuguese to English
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TOPIC STARTER
The system for sworn translation in Brazil is similar to the Spanish model. There is a tough exam which you need to take, and organised by state. If you pass the sworn translation exam in the state of Rio de Janeiro, you can only exercise the profession within that state (including the countryside). If you then have to move to another state, you have to become an official sworn translator there. Not sure if you can be registered in more than one state.
Two big disadvantages are 1) foreigne... See more The system for sworn translation in Brazil is similar to the Spanish model. There is a tough exam which you need to take, and organised by state. If you pass the sworn translation exam in the state of Rio de Janeiro, you can only exercise the profession within that state (including the countryside). If you then have to move to another state, you have to become an official sworn translator there. Not sure if you can be registered in more than one state.
Two big disadvantages are 1) foreigners are not allowed and 2) the exam (concurso) is only held every 20 years or so. On the positive side, sworn translators (juramentado) have immense prestige and always have work, as anyone travelling abroad needs translation of ID, school documents, transcripts, marriage certificates etc. And the prices are 'tabelados' (uniformly established for everyone) which means that no-one can artificially bring rates down. Sworn translation also brings a lot of bureaucracy. It has to be done on a special type of paper, with stamps, signatures etc.
Only TPICs (officially appointed sworn translators) are entitled to carry out this kind of work. Some types of documents may or may not need sworn status depending on the intended use of the document. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 23:25
Spanish to English
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| The official rates are certainly not impressive, but… | Jan 22, 2022 |
Adieu wrote: FCICE? 4-6% pass rate for this crap? "Administrative Office of the United States Courts states that certified and professionally qualified interpreters working in federal courts on a contractual basis earn $418 daily, $226 for a half-day and their overtime rate is $59 per hour." As in best case $418/day with commute, parking fees, needing to eat out for lunch, and by the sounds of it a strict dress code? And most probably either $226 or nothing on most days? That does not seem too stunningly impressive... Robert Forstag wrote:
The Federal Oral exam in the US has something like a 4-6% pass rate. It is a very large feather in the cap of interpreters who pass it (and thus attain federal certification). Unfortunately, the extremely low pass rate means that quite a few very good interpreters do not have it. Some of these persons have taken the test multiple times and devoted years of their lives to trying to pass the test - without success (while in many cases spending thousands of dollars on prep courses, exam fees, airline flights, and lodging).
[Edited at 2022-01-18 13:13 GMT] [Edited at 2022-01-18 17:35 GMT] [Edited at 2022-01-18 17:37 GMT]
…there is a certain prestige attached to federally certified Spanish-English interpreters (fed certification is now offered only in this language combo) that also translates into tangible benefits (e.g., ability to demand higher rates for assignments in state courts and/or as conference interpreters; access to training opportunities; higher status within NAJIT and ATA, etc.).
I note that my comments here are limited to the US.
Part of the reason fed certification is so meaningful for many SPA-ENG interpreters is that a significant minority of state-certified interpreters are not particularly good. Federal certification has thus come to serve as a proxy that presumably guarantees the high skill and performance level of those boasting the credential.
All this for a test that lasts less than an hour; is offered only once every two years; and that (for the overwhelming majority of examinees) involves a significant financial and time commitment leading up to the Great Event - which ultimately ends in failure.
Nothing wrong with a highly demanding qualifying exam. But when said exam seems to exclude so many who are qualified - well, then it is fair to raise questions about the exam itself.
My own view is that inordinate importance should not be attached to performance on any single exam. I would further argue that the only reason exams have taken on such disproportionate importance in the field of interpretation is the lack of the kind of rigorous professional training programs (i.e., rigorous in both entrance and graduation requirements) that would truly prepare future professionals to meet the varied challenges of work in any of the nation’s court systems.
Such training would be provided over the course of 2-3 years, would not be tied to performance on a single test, and would involve more than shelling out cash for a few webinars - or for weekend or week-long “intensives.”
The emergence of the kind of program I have in mind lies in the future.
The whilst, what we have are tests….
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