First, understand that if you’re feeling the effects of inflation, so are your clients and companies that you’re working with. You should try looking at your rates compared with other translators and interpreters and know where you stand.  Everyone’s situation is different, however everyone is in the same inflation. This means the best way to cope with the uncertain times is to make sure that you stay in a good position without losing any of the business that you currently have. You should always be sure to do your best to honor your rates with your current clients. Even to lower your rate to attract more business may be also a good idea!

Next, the world has gone through a lot of changes over the years and we all have had to learn and adapt in order to stay afloat. Before the pandemic, the majority of work was done in-person, but now, there are more and more remote interpretation opportunities. Be sure to also widen your reach to other parts of the country. If you are working from home, that means you can work anywhere. Someone in a completely different area from you may be looking for someone with your experience. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.

If you’re going to be working more from home, it may be time to reassess your internet, phone plan, and current equipment. Investing in better internet, phone service, and equipment will make you a more attractive interpreter or translator because you will not have as many technical difficulties as others may have. For that matter, be sure to educate yourself on how to connect to the various video conferencing services. For example, try setting up Zoom, Google Meets, or Webex on your own and test having a call with yourself to make sure you know how to quickly connect and also that your audio equipment is good. Connection means work and livelihood in today’s work place!

Finally, we do hope the world will be back to normal where we can also provide both remote and in-person interpretation without worrying about the inflation nor the pandemic. After all, a balance of in-person and remote work would be the ideal model for clients, interpreters and language service providers!

JAWS stands for Job Access with Speech, a software that uses speech synthesis technology to help the visually impaired enjoy numerous computer applications, programs, and even surf the web. The first version was released in 1989 by the American computer programmer Ted Hunter, who lost his sight in a car accident. That basic version has been updated immensely since then and now has windows support and even its own version of iTunes.

It’s nice to see technologies such as JAWS growing and getting more complex. Computers are one of our best sources of communication and should be available and easy to use for all.

Monterey Language Services watches the development of technology closely since it is such an important part of our work. In a way, the above-mentioned software localizes the computer programs for the blind. In this same spirit, Monterey Language Services offers software translation and localization services. We are currently working on a project to localize software into 14 different languages. In addition, we offer video-conferencing services for communication between two remote parties.

Last week, Monterey Language Services helped a client to interact with a court in the Midwest via video conferencing. In order to have a video conference with the court, we need to meet all their requirements.

Our professional video conferencing services include high-quality industry-standard equipment, conference rooms, privacy and security, fiber optic internet connection, IP-to-IP, and technical support.

Video conferencing programs such as Skype are everywhere, yet they don’t comply with the industry standards required by the court.

Check out our webpage: http://www.montereylanguages.com/video-conferencing-services.html