So, you go on to take a certification exam that you diligently prepared for. As a result of your hard work, you pass the exam and you become a certified interpreter! But if you think that a piece of paper and a new credential to add to your résumé are the only things you gain from becoming certified, you are mistaken.
Among other things, newly certified interpreters can look forward to more career opportunities, increased confidence, and job security.
Don’t just take our word for it. Read what our instructors have to say about what they experienced after becoming certified:
“State court certification had tremendous impact on my work. Within about a year since my name appeared on PA court interpreter roster, the number of calls from the courts and agencies tripled. I was able to negotiate a much better rate and my professional confidence had a boost. I no longer needed anyone’s reference, to confirm my level of professional skill – I had an objective parameter showing it to anyone who was looking for language services.”
– Natalia Petrova, Certified Russian Court Interpreter & CMI™
“Certification has definitely helped me gain more confidence in my skills and motivated me to further craft my skills through practice and continuing education.”
– Dong Ibister, Mandarin CHI™
“Interpreting was not planned as a career but rather as a way to keep the mind active and make use of the languages that had served me so well in the international business world. Once it became mandatory for courtroom interpreting it was a natural progression to obtain certification in the languages offered. With Portuguese, there was virtually no one certified for a number years, so exclusivity was most beneficial (and profitable). This provided many opportunities and contacts throughout the legal services field upon which the subsequent certification in Spanish, a much more competitive field, would also benefit. My recommendation? Don’t settle for only one language certification; two or more is always best. However, should you decide on just one, make sure that there’s a market for it and find the niche it fits best into.”
–Richard Lankenau, Certified Portuguese & Spanish Court Interpreter
“Passing the exam validated my skills and brought many direct clients. In retrospect, I think passing the exam also motivated me to study and train harder.”
–Irina Jesionowski, Certified Russian Court Interpreter
“Being certified not only has given me additional self-confidence in my abilities as an interpreter, it also opened additional paths to educational resources I can utilize throughout my career.”
–George Narvaez, Spanish CHI™
“When you seriously work toward the goal of certification, you learn how much you don’t know. This realization is humbling and, at the same time, positive. Certification validates how much we know at a given moment in time, but the journey has made us aware that we should constantly strive to improve our skills and increase our knowledge base. Certification is the road to professionalism. Others are relying upon us to be the best we can be.”
– Marvyn Tipps, Certified Spanish Court Interpreter, CHI™ & CMI™
