It's a sweatshop. Poor management who disrespects an interpreters and pays a bare minimum.
Pros
Work from home. No commute to work.
Cons
Although there's no pay for a vacation or a sick days, you still can be denied it. Misleading work description: however you're hired as a medical interpreter, sometimes you don't receive clinical calls for a days. You have to answer all kind of calls: banks, mobile and cable operators, health and auto insurance, IT companies, hotels, courts and other legal and federal institutions, 311, 911, etc. You, basically, work in a high volume call center, which provides an interpretation for any type of business. You have to be a " Jack of all trades" and be familiar with terms and specifics in many areas ( which is practically impossible). You'll get paid bare minimum and your physiological and emotional needs will be disregarded. Meaning, because most of the time, calls are coming non-stop, you wan't be able to go to a bathroom or take a short break, to calm down after an emotionally hard call. Even after working for a company for more than 8-10 years, interpreters don't get a raise. On the contrary, at any time your pay can be reduced and if you disagree, you'll have to quit. Or again, at any time, they can force on you a video interpreting, where you'll have to do more work, pay out of your pocket for a high speed internet, without a pay raise. You have to wait for a help or an answers from a management for a days. Sometimes you have to call a Help Desk or send a Support Request several times before your issue will be resolved. Bottom line, think carefully, before you'll decide to apply for work here. It'll cost you a great stress for a very little pay.
