I always dreamt of being an interpreter, wearing an elegant suit (yes, seriously), standing before a foreign delegation and delivering an important message. Luckily, my dream came true. Currently, I am a court interpreter in Dallas. I enjoy acting as a bridge between different courtroom participants and I learn a lot of new stuff every single day.
If you are looking to become a certified court interpreter in my home state, follow the steps below to land your dream job!
Step 1: Court Interpreter: Complete an Exam Orientation Course
The starting point in the journey to becoming a court interpreter in Texas is to complete the six-hour Commission Approved Orientation course. This course will not teach you how to become a court interpreter in Texas. It’s just an introduction to court interpreting and interpreting in general.
Step 2: Submit the Application for Licensure and Exam Registration Form
Have you successfully completed the exam orientation course? Perfect! Now, you need to fill out the application. It only has two pages and you need to provide some basic information. Plus, you need to attach a certificate indicating you took the exam orientation course. So, don’t think you can skip the course!
You’ll also need to add in information on whether:
- you had a professional license, certification, or registration of any kind which was denied, suspended, or revoked in Texas or any other jurisdiction;
- your authority to be a court interpreter has ever been terminated, vacated, or sanctioned in Texas or any other jurisdiction;
- you have been convicted of a criminal offense other than a minor traffic offense.
Step 3: Pass a Criminal History Background Check by the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI
Your next step is to submit your fingerprints to the state of Texas. Staff will email the required form needed to schedule their fingerprinting appointment to you.
Step 4: Pass all Parts of a Commission-Approved Examination
Ta-da! Finally, you can take the court interpreters exam, a written one and an oral one.
The written test is a computer-based multiple-choice test in English and it’ll test your knowledge of general English proficiency, basic courtroom procedure, and interpreter ethics.
The oral court exam has three parts:
- Sight Interpretation
- Consecutive Interpretation
- Simultaneous Interpretation
Now you might find yourself thinking “I really can’t do this”. My best advice? Get rid of all negative thoughts, get enough sleep, learn everything you need and relax! You are going to do fine!
Work as a Court Interpreter in Dallas and Get Experience with AppearMe!
So, you are officially a certified court interpreter in Dallas and now you’re struggling to find a job! You know that finding a job can take a while, but this is not the case with AppearMe.
With this awesome mobile(App Store and Google Play) and web application hundreds of court interpreters gain their first work experience and practice what they’ve already studied.
All you need is sign up to the application, get verified and start receiving court interpreter requests in Dallas. You might be pleasantly surprised (just as I was) how fast you can find jobs!
For more details, please check out our Help page. You can also call us at (888) 900-3080 or send an email to [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you!
Good Luck!
