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The Interpreting Marketplace

Keywords

Interpreter hourly rate, interpreter salary data, interpreter daily rate, conference interpreter, legal interpreter, court interpreter, medical interpreter, community interpreter, telephone interpreter, compensation data, interpreting market study, interpreting industry data, interpreting sectors, North American interpreting, United States interpreters, Canada interpreters, Mexico interpreters


Abstract
How much do interpreters earn? What is the average hourly rate? How common is it to charge for travel time?  These and other questions are answered in this detailed, comprehensive review of the North American market for interpreting services across all major industry sectors.

Physical Details
Authors: Nataly Kelly, Robert G. Stewart, and Vijayalaxmi Hegde
Date: 21 June 2010
Pages: 88
ISBN: 978-1-933555-82-9

Table of Contents  

Topic

Why We Wrote This Report

How This Report Is Organized

Past Research on the Interpreting Market

Interpreting Viewed within the Global Language Services Market

Data

How We Collected and Analyzed the Data for This Report

Terminology Used to Identify Stakeholders in This Report

A Note about the Data Presented in This Report

Major Findings from Our Survey of Interpreters

The Languages and Demographics of Interpreters in North America

An Overview of Interpreter Education and Training

How North American Interpreters Are Compensated

Views from Interpreters on Other Issues

Major Findings from Our Survey of Suppliers

Supplier Pricing, Compensation, and Employment Issues

Supplier Views on Education and Training

Supplier Views on Other Issues

Major Findings from Our Survey of Buyers

Vox Populi

Interpreters Just Want a Little Respect for Their Profession

The Ongoing Struggle for Increased Professionalization

Despite Challenges, Interpreters Praise Their Profession

Implications

Acknowledgments

Figures

Figure 1: Percentages of Interpreters for Signed and Spoken Languages

Figure 2: Female Interpreters Outnumber Males by More than Three to One

Figure 3: Length of Interpreting Experience of Interpreters in North America

Figure 4: Country Distribution of Interpreter Survey Respondents

Figure 5: Locations of Interpreter Respondents Based in the United States

Figure 6: Locations of Interpreter Respondents Based in Canada

Figure 7: Locations of Interpreter Respondents Based in Mexico

Figure 8: The Majority of Interpreters in North America Live in Urban Settings

Figure 9: North American Interpreters Work Here, There, and Everywhere

Figure 10: Interpreters Report Having Worked in a Vast Array of Settings

Figure 11: Most Interpreters Work in Health Care and Legal Settings

Figure 12: Simultaneous Interpreting is the Most Commonly Employed Mode

Figure 13: Frequency of Interpretation Delivery Method

Figure 14: Most Interpreters Also Work as Translators

Figure 15: Most Interpreters Received Education within North America

Figure 16: College Education is Commonplace for North American Interpreters

Figure 17: Many Interpreters Receive Training at Professional Conferences

Figure 18: Diverse Interpreter Certification Programs Exist in North America

Figure 19: Very Few Interpreters Are Certified in Remote Interpreting

Figure 20: More than One in Ten Interpreters Are Certified by Vendors

Figure 21: North American Interpreters Work in Diverse Employment Situations

Figure 22: Interpreter Preferences Regarding Freelance and Full-Time Work

Figure 23: Number of Hours Worked Weekly by Interpreters in North America

Figure 24: How North American Interpreters Are Compensated for Their Work

Figure 25: Sources of Income for Interpreters in North America

Figure 26: Annual Income Ranges for North American Interpreters

Figure 27: Interpreter Compensation Varies from One State to Another

Figure 28: Interpreters in Urban Areas Report Highest Earnings

Figure 29: Interpreters Educated Outside of North America Earn Less

Figure 30: Female Interpreters Earn Less than Male Counterparts

Figure 31: Average Daily U.S. Conference Interpreter Rates (in US$)

Figure 32: Average Conference Interpreter Rates for Canada and Mexico (in US$)

Figure 33: Factors that Negatively Affect Interpreter Income Potential

Figure 34: Interpreter Views on the Impact of Technology

Figure 35: Frequency of Electronic Resource Use by Interpreters

Figure 36: Interpreter Views on the Impact of Technology

Figure 37: Locations of U.S. Interpreting Agency Respondents

Figure 38: Locations of Canadian Interpreting Agency Respondents

Figure 39: Locations of Mexican Interpreting Agency Respondents

Figure 40: Geographic Scope of Supplier Service Provision

Figure 41: Supplier Provision of Interpreting Services by Language Type

Figure 42: Supplier Years of Interpreting Experience

Figure 43: Most Common Industry Sectors Reported by Suppliers

Figure 44: Language Services Offered by Interpreting Suppliers

Figure 45: Employment Relationships between Suppliers and Interpreters

Figure 46: Supplier Pricing Methodologies for Interpreting Services

Figure 47: Additional Items for Which Interpreting Companies Charge Customers

Figure 48: Formal Training Suppliers Require of Interpreters

Figure 49: Interpreting Supplier Ethics and Standards Requirements

Figure 50: Supplier Testing and Training Requirements of Interpreters

Figure 51: Supplier Provision of Linguistic Resources to Interpreters

Figure 52: Supplier Provision of Collaboration Possibilities to Interpreters

Figure 53: Supplier Views of the Role of Technology

Figure 54: Locations of Purchasing Organization Survey Respondents

Figure 55: Types of Languages for Which Buyers Need Interpreters

Figure 56: Purchasing Organization Primary Uses for Interpreting Services

Figure 57: Services Used by Purchasing Organizations

Figure 58: Industry Sectors of Purchasing Organizations

Figure 59: What Buy-Side Organizations Spend on Interpreting Services

Tables  

Table 1: Top Language Combinations Reported by Interpreters in North America

Table 2: Age Ranges of Interpreters in North America

Table 3: Average Time Interpreters Spend Working in Different Settings

Table 4: The 40 Most Popular North American Interpreting Associations

Table 5: Three-Year Comparison of Annual Interpreter Earnings (in US$)

Table 6: Interpreter Earnings by Area of Residence (in US$)

Table 7: Interpreter Earnings by Hours Worked per Week (in US$)

Table 8: Interpreter Earnings by Education Level (in US$)

Table 9: Interpreter Earnings by Education Source (in US$)

Table 10: Interpreter Earnings by Gender (in US$)

Table 11: Interpreter Earnings by Years of Experience (in US$)

Table 12: Interpreter Earnings by Language Type (in US$)

Table 13: Interpreter Earnings by Industry Sector (in US$)

Table 14: Interpreter Earnings by Remote Certification Status (in US$)

Table 15: Interpreter Earnings by Vendor Certification Status (in US$)

Table 16: Interpreter Earnings by Daily Rate Charged (in US$)

Table 17: Conference Interpreter Daily Rates by State or Province (in US$)

Table 18: Ranges of Interpreter Hourly Rates Charged (in US$)

Table 19: Average Percentage of Supplier Interpreting Revenue by Sector

Table 20: Minimum and Maximum Hourly Interpreting Rates

Table 21: Most Common Interpreter Language Combinations Requested by Buyers

Table 22: Buyer Views on Future Need for Interpreting Services

Table 23: How Buyers Pay for Interpreting Services

Table 24: Buyer Views on Formal Interpreter Training Requirements

Table 25: Buyer Views on Impact of Technology on Interpreting

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