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This is an ideal career for an intuitive thinker. The aim of interpreting is to enable spoken communication, in contrast to translation which is concerned with written communication. Most interpreters work for themselves and are given assignments by agencies. Some work for employers such as the United Nations. As a Community Interpreter you work in hospitals, employment offices, immigration, police stations, prisons and for legal aid agencies. This includes court interpreting, as well as telephone interpreting and sign language.  Community interpreting requires people skills, as you tend to meet people at very difficult moments in their lives.

Conference interpreting, also called simultaneous interpreting, involves sitting with headphones on in a booth at international conferences. You have to think on your feet and must be able to improvise. You need to familiarise yourself with new concepts and batches of vocabulary for every conference.  It is a high pressure environment and quite well paid.

Community Interpreters are given assignments by agencies. Every day is different, although after a while you get to know what to expect. The work is entirely practical and reactive. You are a facilitator, not an initiator. You have to travel to different locations every day.  Court Interpreters have an especially important role. Juries and judges base their decisions partly on the quality of your interpretation. You travel to the various courts - family court, district court, supreme court etc. You must be suitably dressed and observe court etiquette. Telephone interpreting means that you are available wherever you are. You nominate the hours that you will be available.

Conference Interpreters travel for the duration of the conference to where the conference is held, where they are lodged in a hotel. Conferences tend to be held in glamorous locations.

As a Community Interpreter you must like being with people in trouble: rental disputes, divorce, crime, drug offences, sick people, dementia sufferers, the list goes on. You must also be willing to be an observer, not a player. You reflect, you do not decide.

You must like being on public display to work as a Court Interpreter. You sit next to the accused, the judge and jurors watch your every move. What you say is recorded. As a freelance operator you must like an unstructured environment. Nobody tells you what to do, and you must motivate yourself.

As a Conference Interpreter you must be willing to work in a team, to work long hours and to work under pressure. Self control, interpersonal skills and presentation are important to all interpreters.