July 10, 2012

Interpreter Hua (Barbara) Robinson's cool job

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(Courtesy of Hua (Barbara) Robinson)

What do you do? I am a Chinese freelancer interpreter and translator. I do oral interpretation in person and via video and phone in consecutive and simultaneous modes, as well as written translation and proofreading between English and Chinese. The materials involve diversified topics in the financial, marketing, general business, legal, government, social and medical fields.

How did you get started? I was a bilingual staff member of a U.S. branch of a Chinese company for a few years. I started as a volunteer interpreter to help friends and families from China when they needed to see doctors. Washington state then regulated medical interpreting, so in order to do interpreting in a hospital, you needed to get a certification by DSHS. I got certified in medical and social service interpreting 15 years ago.

What's a typical day like? Take a two-hour court interpretation job in the morning. Do translation of a 1,500-word document in the afternoon. Read on the Internet, newspapers and books in both languages.

What’s the best part of your job? You never get bored. The many topics you deal with are interesting, and I enjoy learning fast, which is required since you have to fully understand the content in order to interpret or translate.

Based in Seattle, I have done jobs in the IT and aerospace industries; legal depositions for criminal, family and civil lawsuits in court settings; and on fish and wildlife and environment issues, government affairs and business negotiations. Gaining new knowledge and getting to know a lot of people is definitely the best part of this job.

What surprises people about you work? Interpretation and translation facilitates and enhances the understanding for people from both sides of the Pacific. I feel my work helps break down the cultural barriers, promoting tolerance and broader communication. It also helps the local LEP (Limited English Proficiency) residents. People usually think we are just a language tool, but it is really far beyond that.

--NWjobs staff

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