Interprets oral or sign language, or translates written text from one language into another.

This career is part of the Education and Training cluster Professional Support Services pathway.

A person in this career:

• Follows ethical codes that protect the confidentiality of information.
• Translates messages simultaneously or consecutively into specified languages, orally or by using hand signs, maintaining message content, context, and style as much as possible.
• Listens to speakers' statements to determine meanings and to prepare translations, using electronic listening systems as necessary.
• Compiles terminology and information to be used in translations, including technical terms such as those for legal or medical material.
• Reads written materials, such as legal documents, scientific works, or news reports, and rewrites material into specified languages.
• Identifies and resolves conflicts related to the meanings of words, concepts, practices, or behaviors.
• Checks translations of technical terms and terminology to ensure that they are accurate and remain consistent throughout translation revisions.
• Refers to reference materials, such as dictionaries, lexicons, encyclopedias, and computerized terminology banks, as needed to ensure translation accuracy.
• Trains and supervises other translators or interpreters.
• Educates students, parents, staff, and teachers about the roles and functions of educational interpreters.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would sit most of the time. There's some walking and standing. You may have to lift and carry things like books, papers or tools weighing 10 lbs. or less.
• Exposed to disease and infections more than once a month through work such as patient care, laboratory work, and sanitation control
• Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
• Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
• Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves sitting more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Picking out a particular sound in the presence of other sounds
• Detecting sounds and hearing the differences between sounds of different pitch and loudness
• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person

Work Hours and Travel

• Irregular hours
• Overnight travel