Staff and freelance interpreters
Professional conference interpreters are either staff interpreters (employed by the EU, the UN, International Criminal Court) or freelance interpreters.
Freelance interpreters are self-employed; conference interpreters work at conferences and business meetings.
Community or public service interpreters work in garda stations, courts, probation, hospitals.
Skills and aptitudes required to be a professional interpreter
Interpreting is a very specialised skill. In order to be a successful interpreter it is not sufficient to be “good at languages”.
- Proficiency in the mother tongue
- Thorough understanding of the language and culture of both the language from which and into which you are interpreting
- Ability to analyse and process information quickly
- Great intellectual curiosity
- Complete intellectual integrity
- Ability to move into new areas of specialisation
- Self-reliance
- Self-discipline
- Perseverance
- Resourcefulness for dealing with the unexpected
Check out our members stories where ITIA members talk about their work as translators and/or interpreters.