How COVID-19 is Affecting the Interpreting Profession

If you haven’t seen it yet, Tony Rosado’s latest post on the influence of the pandemic on our profession is just out on his blog.

And even though I cannot fully subscribe to what he says about agencies – there are different agencies, after all, just as there are different clients, and I am lucky to know at least a few good ones, that were a pleasure to work with before Covid-19 struck, and have made sure to do right by their interpreters even after it wreaked havoc on the market – I have no trouble agreeing with his other conclusions.

Direct clients are important, as is knowing your reasons for doing whatever it is you have decided to do, professionally speaking, as opposed to falling into the trap of simply doing something just because it feels like everyone else around you is. That would be a dangerous and disappointing mistake to make.

I am grateful to be a part of a professional association that has been incredibly dedicated to helping its members and candidates through these troubling times, and I have certainly invested my fair share of time, money, and research into getting the mics and the headsets I wanted, as well as all the cables that go with. I am also grateful to the colleagues who helped me out whenever I had potentially annoying tech questions. 

You know who you are, you amazingly patient people.

However, mics and cables, no matter how great, professional, and adapted to your needs, are just the tip of the iceberg.

In order to be able to do this – and do it in the right and responsible fashion – it also helps to understand the physics behind it all, how it works, and how to protect ourselves, especially our hearing.

I agree that RSI will get better every day and it will remain the choice for some clients, and that there is much to be done by us – for us.

And since Jabra seems to be on the right track to becoming the new B&Os, here’s a photo of the two, to symbolize the transition from the olden times – to new ones.