So, I dug around and some states are much harder than others to find info. This is what I came up with, please let me know if you see any errors or if I missed something.

I’ve been assigned as a mentor at my job for its internship program for the last 2-3 months. One of the interns is very timid and afraid of interpreting. She’s really good at ASL and I have tried to encourage her as much as possible to not self deprecate so much. She’s teamed with me on 3 separate occasions for VRI, all 3 times she froze completely and gave up within the first 10-15 minutes. She is also neurodivergent just like me. But my manager told me I made the intern cry. That the intern told me how she felt but I didn’t listen which is insane and not even in my character. I didn’t question it, if that’s the interns perspective then so be it. My current style is: I front load all the positives, I don’t give feedback on signing choice but rather the Demand Control and choice making since she already has a mentor for ASL. After every feedback, I ask if it makes sense, if she noticed those things about herself too, if she disagrees or not, and if she has any comments or questions. She always says no and thanks me. But I don’t know how to help for the next time she’s set to shadow/team with me after this situation. I know what works for me as a neurodivergent person but for those on here who are also neurodivergent, what feedback style works for you?

I am really frustrated with lack of access for DIs trying to study for the EIPA. Most of the study materials are spoken English. Why would these materials not be in ASL anyway? It seems so disrespectful. Does anyone have a good resource for accessible EIPA study material?

Hello! I’m Bryan, a working interpreter for 16 years. A few months ago I sat down to do some invoices and my ADHD fired so I started working on a tool to let me just put in assignment info and it’d spit out the invoice. Shortly after I started working, I realized I was actually building a similar tool to what agencies use when scheduling… so one hyper-fixation later and I have OneTerp.

This is a NEW scheduling/invoicing tool (so bugs are likely but will be fixed same-day they are reported, typically), I have a couple of agencies onboarding this month, but I’m looking for some interpreters to test out the part that's for us. Let me give a rundown of what sets OneTerp apart from other scheduling tools:

First the part that ties it all together, your account is YOURS. Agencies will link with your account to schedule you, but they don’t control your account. This means you can log, invoice, and track expenses for all the jobs you do, even those outside of agencies. I call that feature set “Freelance HQ” and that's really the part I could use your feedback on the most.

What you can do in the FREE Freelance HQ:

• Create your own client list with your own rates etc. 
• Schedule and track your assignments 

What premium Freelance HQ will get you: 

• Invoice your own private clients (PDF, from your own mailbox).
• Expenses and mileage with a Schedule C export.
• CEU tracking toward your RID cycle.
• Create a public portfolio page with a vanity link and PDF résumé.
• Opt-in discovery directory. Agencies find you by city, language, and specialty, and you control your visibility.

What OneTerp does for interpreters when working with an agency:

• One account across every agency, not one login per agency.
• One calendar. Every OneTerp agency you work with feeds the same schedule.
• One availability as a single source of truth. Book with one agency, every other linked agency sees you're busy. Cross-agency double-book protection no single-agency tool can do.
• Your contact info and certs travel with you, not locked to an agency.

What OneTerp does for agencies:

• Scheduling, billing, and payroll 
• Runs 1099 contractors and W-2 employees in the same platform: clock in/out, timecards, overtime, PTO, shifts, and buying blocks of a contractor's time.
• HIPAA-conscious by design: QuickBooks and Xero sync strips patient names, public profiles carry no PHI.
• Placeholder scheduling: schedule an interpreter with no account yet, and their jobs migrate to their real account when they sign up.
• Agency email sends from the agency's own mailbox (Gmail, 365, or SMTP), so deliverability rides your own domain.
• End-to-end document/written translation, billed by the word, not just live interpreting.
• Guided import wizards and a PIN-protected customer booking portal to lower the switching cost.

We also offer a free volunteer interpreter version of OneTerp (think church interpreters) with all the scheduling tools, but the billing/payroll side removed.

Everyone gets 30 days free of the premium features, but when you sign up with the code REDDIT before August 31st you’ll get $5 off per month forever.

But most importantly, PLEASE give me feedback! Most of the features in OneTerp are based on what I’ve experienced myself, so having more eyes on it will only make it better. And HOPEFULLY it’ll make your life easier too!

TLDR: I made a scheduling/invoicing tool for interpreters and agencies. I want your feedback. 30 days free. $5 off per month forever with the code REDDIT. https://oneterpsched.com

ASL Interpreter Support Group

Greetings! I am a 28 year ASL interpreter (NIC), a Level 2 therapeutic coach with Internal Family Systems (IFS) and a Nonviolent Communication trainer.

I am setting up a support group for ASL interpreters to process overwhelm, imposter syndrome, self-judgement and loneliness in our profession. The group will offer camaraderie and support through self-awareness, shared experience and stress management.

The group is not therapy, but rather a non-clinical support group for personal growth. Starting October, 2026.

For more info, check out my website: https://www.embodiedselfcoaching.com/group-offerings/aslinterpretersupportgroup

Hi folks! I'm currently in an ITP, acquired my Deaf studies A.A., and I'm now planning ahead for my Bachelors. I'm wondering how important the specific degree you acquired has felt to your career? I ask because I can transfer to a closer college with a Linguistics degree focused on ASL, or look farther afield for my B.A. In Deaf Studies without the financial help of living at home. I was leaning towards the former, but after a counselor's appointment telling me Linguistics is effectively a useless degree I feel pretty rattled.

So what say you? Have you felt it was relevant to you as an interpreter, and have you noticed any closed doors based on what degree you acquired?

I’ve been traveling recently and have had the privilege of being immersed in several groups of non-American Deaf folks, and they’ve taught me a lot of IS and their countries signs. Now my interest is piqued. I think I could be good at this. I am already a certified interpreter, 4.5 EIPA, etc so I feel like this could be a really fun new professional goal to have and I’m excited by the idea. So I ask: Are there any workshops out there that you’d recommend? Learning resources like YouTube channels or websites? I’m going to be reaching out to a few colleagues as well. If it helps, I’m based in Boston MA.

Thanks in advance!!!

I know this has been asked before but not for the last 2 years.

Hi! Basically the title. Some background- I’ve been working as an educational interpreter for the last 5 years and got a 4.1 on my EIPA. I feel comfortable in the educational world but am nervous about the NIC. What are some good studying resources? Would love something that mimics the exact format of the test the way the Boystown materials do for the EIPA.

Thanks!

You can access the full transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/11TAYUsa2tqW5WZKqlrCF6Qim13C5evpn8T676wokz_U/edit?tab=t.0

I just received this email today.

I am no longer an VRS interpreter, but I keep up with the effort they are making.

So if you work VRS, are thinking about working VRS, you may be interested in this meeting.

‐---‐--------------------

Hey all,

You may recall we circulated a Health and Safety Survey last month in coordination with the Language Line interpreters who are also unionizing. We had some expert researchers analyze the results, and they're leading a webinar about the findings next week.

The description in the invite just mentions Language Line, but all interpreters are invited!

The registration portal asks for your "Interpreter ID"—no need to fill that out.

Tuesday, July 28, 10a PT/1p ET

Register here: https://actionnetwork.org/events/health-and-safety-report-finding-release-zoom

Please join us! And feel free to spread the word.

Grace Reckers

she/her

Senior Organizer, OPEIU

[email protected]

(925) 389-8168

Hello all!
Need some help here, as the school year is about to begin, I need to be able to gain access to my students learning material as to prep vocabulary and concepts since we’re about a month and a half out. Do I ask my special needs teacher as to how to go about it or contact my admin (principal)? Since right now I’m a 1:1 and not an educational interpreter yet, I’m a little worried that they won’t allow me access until the first week of school, which means a lot more work on my plate. Any guidance here? Thanks yall!

Who remembers when Wing Butler and Brandon Arthur set the industry back 100 years with their union busting at Purple?? Anyone know what they are doing now? I’m guessing they are counting money under a bridge or dock measuring somewhere.

I've been interpreting for 20 years and I recently built Syntax, a business management platform designed specifically for independent ASL interpreters. I'm looking for a few more colleagues to test out the beta.

Since a lot of our billing is locked inside opaque agency portals, we often rely on our own customers to tell us what our work is worth. On top of that, when we do need to handle our own direct invoicing, we are left without any interpreter-specific tools to do it. And then there's tax time...

Syntax flips that script by replacing complex spreadsheets with a dedicated business tool made specifically for interpreters. It translates your unique contract terms into automatic per-job fees—handling your independent invoicing, mileage/expense tracking, and digital record-keeping. It gives you a bulletproof, private system to audit agency portals, track payments, end the quarterly and year-end tax scramble, and see rich insights into your actual business performance. Check out the Learn More page to see even more.

If you agree that agencies shouldn't be the only ones with our data, join the Syntax beta and try out a new way to get a handle on your business.

Reply below or just head to the app and click the Join the Waitlist button to join the group of our colleagues already testing it out.

Former ITP student but I haven't done it since like 2013. I need to find a full online program since I owe the one beside my house lol and I have a kid so I have to be home.

Anybody got any ideas of a program I can do fully online? I live in Orange county California so deaf community part not so difficult. I mean crap we have something going on almost every week most of the time.

Just need the school part and hopefully they are good education program. With ITP it's really about what you do versus what they teach. No I would like something that's more believes in bi-bi method because I've seen schools that are teaching under the concepts of TC and other things. Heck we got to school here that teaches SEE over ASL. The nearest ITP program I can attend is over 3 hours away either by car or by public transportation, since I owe the one beside my house.

Hi there!
I am currently in an ITP (been in for a year so far) and I start interpreting classes in the upcoming Fall semester. I’ve loved my classes and most of my professors…. But there is one professor that gives me pause. She is a professor and also one of the program managers. She has been a certified interpreter for over 20 years in the private sector and has ruffled many of the students’ feathers. To be quite frank, she is brutally blunt. She has told people to quit the program, that their signing is terrible, and I’ve even heard her tell someone, “Good luck finding a job if you piss me off!” I am currently a federal employee with a master’s degree; I say this because even though I have a career, I was hoping to expand my career options and make more connections. I fear for the day she that level of hostility turns my way and tries to block job opportunities. Does anyone have experience dealing with this type of personality in the interpreting profession?

I want to become an interpreter. What ITPs are the best? Obviously there’s Gallaudet, but I’m not a CODA, nor fluent enough to go there (although I did take ASL all 4 high school years). My state barely has any schools with ITP programs and I want to be the best equipped to take the certification exams and get the most knowledge I can on the language and Deaf culture.

Hello! I am a 17 year old going into their senior year of highschool. I need all the advice I can get on being an ASL interpreter. I recently toured University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as I have friends going into their ASL programs and figured it would be a good place to start. I quickly fell in love and wanted to know more about other colleges that have bachelor degrees with ASL interpreting. I have looked into other colleges but got quickly overwhelmed and I don’t know how to tell which I should be looking at. My grades are fairly good with a weighted GPA of 3.88 and an unweighted GPA of 3.58. So far I have taken the ASL classes my highschool have offered-1,2,and 3 honors- and am going into four honors. I am somewhat involved already in the deaf community and ASL club/honors society. I have also taken the Biliteracy test and got a 7 overall-8 in receptive and 6 on expressive- Though I am hoping to take it one or two more times my senior year to get those up. Anyway I don’t really know what else to add and any and all advice is appreciated. Thank you so much!

I have been blessed with a "raise!" I am grateful and yet at the same time horribly offended at their miserly pat on the head that barely adds to my paycheck. Less than $20 if I manage to get the full 29 hours a week when they are cutting everyone's hours.

VRS is one of the few settings that are W-2 in a predominantly 1099 field. The reimbursement for dues and licensure are a nice boon. However, I feel that they take advantage of the situation.

2% in an economy where the annual cost of living increase is 3.1% which means even with this nominal raise, I am being paid less compared to last year due to the cost of living constantly going up so that the pay doesn't go as far.

Just over 75 cents per hour when the estimated MONTHLY revenue PER EMPLOYEE is $455, 000

They have a PROFIT- profit mind you- after providing free tech to the community, all the events, all the advertising, paying *everyone,* and r&d- their PROFIT is estimated to be between 1.8- 2.4 BILLION dollars

Instead of paying employees well, they add "incentives" to encourage people to bid to work specific time frames, then cut staffing to the bone anyway so that the profit margin is as high as possible, the speed of answer is as long as it can safely be, and wonder why people are burning out, changing fields, or choosing to work in lower stress/repetitive injury/vicarious trauma settings.

I have excellent customer service, exemplary interpreting skills, am nationally certified, have nearly 20 years in the field, and have never felt more like a cog in a defective machine.

Unionization can't come fast enough, but even then, I worry that it will be another entity profiteering off the mess. We can look to the history of the Teamsters and other Unions to see how corrupt and ineffective they can become. I hope that the people in charge of the interpreter union know history and can prevent the repeat.

Does anyone know of/recommend an online program for working interpreters that provides mentorship?

I have been in the field for quite a while now and I'm ready to get certified. However, as a neurodivergent person I need an external obligation to keep me focused and on track. I have had friends/colleagues offer free mentorship, but the lack of structure on both ends leads nowhere. I don't mind paying at all, in fact I'd actually prefer that. I've seen a couple of courses online, but I'd like to see what you all recommend. Thanks!

(EOM - End Of Message) - would greatly appreciate your reply to those who have 4-5 score

I am looking into taking the BEI exam. I have received a 4.0 on the EIPA (PSE) which gives me job stability in my current role as an educational sign language interpreter. I am hoping to apply for the TEP in the next few weeks and take that first. I am in Louisiana, so I am assuming I will be traveling to TX to take these exams. I am curious if there any interpreters offering mentoring services who have passed at least the BEI Basic. I am just inquiring as to how much someone may charge for this type of specific mentoring. I received mentoring in the state of CO which helped me achieve the 4.0, and I think I will require mentoring to pass the BEI.

Thanks in advance for any leads or advice!