Last Updated: February 2025

If you have ever traveled to a foreign country or met someone from a different cultural background, you may have experienced the struggles of dealing with a language barrier. Within informal encounters, linguistic and cultural barriers can normally be brushed off as minor inconveniences. But what happens when you are faced with these barriers during an urgent situation? This is where freelance interpreting can be helpful.

Accessing medical services is a prime example of a situation in which the inability for two parties to communicate could potentially lead to serious consequences. Especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are hearing more and more about the negative effects of communication barriers within healthcare.

Since technology has not advanced yet to the point where people of all nations can accurately speak and understand each other’s native tongues, the next best solution is getting more professionally trained interpreters to help facilitate important conversations between parties that cannot understand each other.

Who Can Become a Freelance Interpreter?

If you speak two or more languages fluently and have a desire to help others in your community, you are already on the right track for a career in freelance interpreting. To be an interpreter in the US, you must speak both English and your target language(s) with very high or native fluency. This is to help ensure that your vocabulary, comprehension, and speech flow are at the right level for professional interpreting.

However, mastery over languages is not the only thing required to become a professional interpreter. Developing foundational interpreting skills (listening, note-taking, etc.) and obtaining the proper training/certification for your particular field (medical, legal, business, etc.) are equally important in preparing oneself to effectively facilitate communication between non-English speakers and their service providers.

Related: Is Being Bilingual Enough? How to Become an Interpreter

Some common trainings/certifications for other interpreting fields include:

• Public Schools/Education Interpreter – 24 Hour Education Interpreter Training (like Interpreting in Educational Settings)

• Legal Interpreter – 24 Hour Legal Interpreter Training (like Language of Justice)

• State Court Interpreter – State Court Interpreter Certification Exam (administered by each state individually)

• Federal Court Interpreter – Federal Court Interpreter Certificate Exam

• American Sign Language Interpreter – RID Certification

Anyone who wants to become a freelance interpreter should do their research carefully to make sure they can obtain the proper credentials to interpret in their field of choice. Like finishing a college degree or certificate to seek higher-level jobs, bilinguals should finish their formal interpreter training BEFORE officially working as an interpreter in the field.

Staff Interpreters vs Freelance Interpreters

An important thing to realize before pursuing a career as a freelance interpreter is how it differs from being a staff interpreter. The chart below gives a good overview of the main differences between the two.

• Freelance interpreters are self-employed (they are not W2 employees)

• Staff interpreters can get benefits (401k, health insurance) from their employer, while freelance interpreters usually are not eligible for benefits

• Freelance interpreters are allowed to pick and choose their assignments so it is more flexible than traditional jobs

• Workload will depend on the number of assignments you can book as a freelance interpreter, whether through your agency or with your own business

Since some languages are more prevalent in the U.S. than others, you will find that most staff interpreter positions are only available for languages such as Spanish or Chinese Mandarin. However, this should not deter other bilinguals from aspiring to become an interpreter if they speak a less common language. Freelance interpreters are needed for ALL LANGUAGES to help ensure that every LEP person in the United States can have access to a professional interpreter when they need one.

Finding Work through Interpreter Agencies

Once you have proved yourself proficient in your target languages and obtained the proper training for your interpreting field, the next step is finding freelance interpreter work. While trained interpreters have the option to start their own interpreting business, it is usually more common to find work as a freelance interpreter through language service providers (LSPs).

Language service providers (or agencies) recruit for interpreters and translators to work for them as independent contractors. Essentially, the agency is the “middleman” that coordinates between the clients (who request the interpreter) and the freelance interpreters (who cover the interpreting assignment). Freelance interpreters typically work with one or more language service providers to increase their chances of getting more assignments.

The typical scheduling process for selecting interpreters for assignments is outlined below. Most agencies operate on a first-come, first-served basis so freelance interpreters need to make sure they regularly check when new assignments become available. Having a flexible work/personal schedule also increases a freelance interpreter’s chances of getting assignments.

Here are some other things to keep in mind when working with LSPs:

• During the application process, make sure you fully understand and can comply with the agency’s interpreter credentialing process (e.g. you might undergo background checks and drug tests, or if doing on-site medical interpretation, you will need to submit your immunization records)

• Always check with your agency about pay outside of your hourly rate (e.g. travel/mileage pay)

• Read the interpreter handbook and contract information very carefully as every LSP will have varying requirements, protocols, and policies (e.g. how to keep track of your hours)

Conclusion

Being a freelance interpreter gives you an opportunity to do meaningful work while also gaining another source of income. To become one, you must begin by mastering your spoken languages and completing the training/certification you need to interpret professionally in your chosen field. Once you are trained and qualified, you are free to start your own interpreting business or contract with various language service providers to get work from their clients. As a freelance interpreter, you are the voice for someone in their time of need. So, if you speak English and another language fluently, consider using your talents as a professional freelance interpreter and start making a difference in your community today!

We’re Hiring! Looking to start your freelance interpreter career? Apply to be a contractor at Liberty Language Services! To see our available positions, check out our Careers Page.

It can be nerve-racking when a business takes the first steps into discovering a new culture with their company. Translation services are the bridge between English, Spanish, Chinese, and any other written language. But how do you verify translation accuracy?

Since a translation service is crucial to your business growth, we want to help by providing the tools you’ll need to verify your translation accuracy. Finding the correct type of translator is essential to start, but you have many tools at your disposal to guarantee that your business is producing a quality product.

If you are interested in healthcare, government, education, or legal translations, Liberty Language Services specializes in translation in these industries. We have a proven process that works every time in these highly professional settings.

Lay Out your Goals with the Translator

As with almost any service, if the project’s goals aren’t laid out, the result can be disappointing. The first tip that we have is to lay out your translation service plans clearly with your translator.

This will help verify accuracy and accomplish your goals more quickly with less editing and adjustments after.

The things you’ll want to include are:

1. How quickly you’d like the first draft back
2. The process you’d like followed throughout (Editing, who to send it to, etc.)
3. What format you’d like the materials returned in
4. If you’d like them to stay strictly with the text or have more freedom with the text
5. The style of the material you’d like to maintain (Business, casual, technical, medical, etc.)

Once the goals are clearly outlined with the translation service, it will make the entire process much more smooth.

Finding A Translator

There are a few criteria you can look into when finding a translator. Sometimes looking online is the best choice, but other times you’ll want to look for a local translator for the people in your area.

You want a local translator at times because your area may have slang or jargon that online translators aren’t aware of. An example would be how people speak in Texas versus New York.

People in New York will be more interested in information given to them in their colloquial language, versus standard English. The same situation happens in foreign languages, so finding a local and asking is often the best choice!

Verify Auto-Translation Wasn’t Used

All translators claim that their translation will be the best translation that you can find. Unfortunately, some translators will use translation software like Google Translate to get a job done quickly.

When it comes to translation, quality is much more important than speed. If you have a project returned to you too quickly, you may want to be skeptical.

The best way to verify this is to run the translator’s foreign text through your auto-translation software. This way, you can see if there are common phrases that were misinterpreted or simple words were changed with ones that don’t quite have the same meaning.

For example, if the sentence you wrote was, “This unique situation is common in technology,” but the translation you get back in Google says, “This uncommon thing happens in technology,” you’ll know that it was a sloppy translation of what you wanted to say.

This is a check that you can do quickly throughout the document to see if anything stands out immediately.

Related – How Works In The Healthcare Setting

Have a Post-Translation Review Done

Hiring a second company to do a post-translation review is typically cheaper and faster than the initial translation since they don’t have to translate the text completely. This will provide you with feedback from a second native speaker on how accurate the text seems.

This is extremely common in translation services, so most companies will be more than happy to check over things to ensure that you get the results you want from your translation services.

You can always submit a translation to another service and request that a post-translation review is done. Liberty Language Services is happy to help with this and provide accurate, actionable feedback for your business.

Ensure The Translation Service Uses An Editor

We recommend asking a translator if they have a secondary editor to review the project after the initial translator goes through it. This shows that the company you are paying, values quality and accuracy in their translation services.

Every translator needs an editor to be fully polished at the end of a project, even in someone’s native language. If you wrote a book or a blog, you’d want someone to look over it after to find mistakes.

The same goes for translation services. If a translation service wants to provide a top-quality product, they will have an editor look over it afterward.

Related – Machine Translation: Why You Should Not Depend On It

What You Want When Looking For A Translator

There are some common themes when searching for a translator. There are specialty translators, local translators, and specific guidelines you may want to follow.

All of this will help make the result of a translation better for your business. The most important results of translation that we’ve found over the years, are after the project is finished.

Verifying translation services has never been easier. Other businesses are willing to help, and there are auto-translators to help check any apparent mistakes.

If you are looking for a consultation or any help related to translation services, Liberty Language services thoroughly enjoys providing the best translation in the world. Any business can benefit from translation and interpretation, and we are here to help you expand!