Which association should I join? IAPTI, ATA, etc...?
Thread poster: Mara Fernandez
Mara Fernandez
Mara Fernandez  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 03:16
English to Spanish
+ ...
Dec 30, 2016

Hello everyone!

I have 10+ years of experience interpreting (not so much in translation work but I do it also on/off) working based in the Dominican Republic although I have worked globally with entities such as the UN, European Council and ICAO among others. However I've been looking at relocating to the US and have noticed that most job offers prefer some sort of Association and I have been wondering which one would be best to join in terms of benefits/price.

I'm co
... See more
Hello everyone!

I have 10+ years of experience interpreting (not so much in translation work but I do it also on/off) working based in the Dominican Republic although I have worked globally with entities such as the UN, European Council and ICAO among others. However I've been looking at relocating to the US and have noticed that most job offers prefer some sort of Association and I have been wondering which one would be best to join in terms of benefits/price.

I'm considering IAPTI and ATA for the most part...

Any thoughts would be highly appreciated.
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Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Local time: 03:16
SITE FOUNDER
ATA is good for the US Dec 30, 2016

Mara Fernandez wrote:

Hello everyone!

I have 10+ years of experience interpreting (not so much in translation work but I do it also on/off) working based in the Dominican Republic although I have worked globally with entities such as the UN, European Council and ICAO among others. However I've been looking at relocating to the US and have noticed that most job offers prefer some sort of Association and I have been wondering which one would be best to join in terms of benefits/price.

I'm considering IAPTI and ATA for the most part...

Any thoughts would be highly appreciated.

Hi Mara. Welcome to ProZ.com.

The ATA is a good association for people living in the US. Taking the written test is not a bad idea. The annual conference is also popular. The ATA is better known among lay people in the US than any other association (which is not saying much.)

My guess is that virtually no one outside of the industry would not know what IAPTI is. As far as I know, in terms of client recognition, there would not be any benefit to joining IAPTI. (No offense to IAPTI, which may well have other benefits -- just answering the question here.)

By the way, ProZ.com is now screening interpreters into our certified PRO network (CPN). This is a different thing than joining an association, and again people outside the industry won't know it. But the CPN program is known among many translation companies throughout the world, and we have recently partnered with a company called Boostlingo (they make a platform for interpreters) to connect interpreters to jobs, including many in the US. If you are interested in being screened for that, please write to monica at proz.com.


 
Liviu-Lee Roth
Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 03:16
Romanian to English
+ ...
Hi Mara, Dec 30, 2016

It depends in what field you specialized. If you desire to work as a court interpreter, you could join NAJIT, if you want to work as a medical interpreter IMIA is the best. It is helpful to know in what state are you planning to relocate. There are local associations for interpreters, and as Henry pointed out, ATA is the best known in the US.

Good luck,
Lee


 
nordiste
nordiste  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 08:16
English to French
+ ...
Interpreter ? Dec 30, 2016

If you are a conference interpreter, you could consider AIIC , the International Association of Conference Interpreters (based in Switzerland).
If you are looking for a translators' association, your best move is to join a well known national association in your country of residence. ATA is certainly a good choice for a translator living in the US. They have plenty of local groups where you can take parts to events and meet up with pairs.


 
Mara Fernandez
Mara Fernandez  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 03:16
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Aiic and ata Dec 31, 2016

Hello guys and thank you for the ideas.

I am planning to relocate to Rochester ny and I am aware it's not the best hub for conference interpreting which is my field of expertise but that is why I want to cover all my basis I guess and maybe will end up going for those 2 as they seem to be the most recognized among potential employers in this area.


 
Henry Dotterer
Henry Dotterer
Local time: 03:16
SITE FOUNDER
Please visit Syracuse! Dec 31, 2016

Mara Fernandez wrote:

Hello guys and thank you for the ideas.

I am planning to relocate to Rochester ny and I am aware it's not the best hub for conference interpreting which is my field of expertise but that is why I want to cover all my basis...

If you get a chance please stop by ProZ.com headquarters in Syracuse after you get settled. We'll take you to lunch. (Same offer goes for any ProZ.com user who ever makes it to the area!) I have a sister-in-law who might be able to tell you something about the market in this area.

Henry


 
Liviu-Lee Roth
Liviu-Lee Roth
United States
Local time: 03:16
Romanian to English
+ ...
Syracuse? Dec 31, 2016

Henry Dotterer wrote:

If you get a chance please stop by ProZ.com headquarters in Syracuse after you get settled. We'll take you to lunch. (Same offer goes for any ProZ.com user who ever makes it to the area!) I have a sister-in-law who might be able to tell you something about the market in this area.

Henry



What a shame! I spent five days in Syracuse with a delegation of foreign officials! I was not aware that you are located here. We visited US and the the new media center, a few cable and public TV stations etc. It was fun and enjoyed the stay.

Happy New Year!


 
Catherine Howard
Catherine Howard
United States
Local time: 03:16
Portuguese to English
+ ...
controversies about IAPTI in the news lately Jan 3, 2017

Mara, IAPTI has been in the news recently over some controversies about how it's run. You may want to consider the following publications to find out what's been going on:


"Why We Are Resigning From IAPTI" – letter of resignation from six IAPTI staff members:
http://anmerkungen-des-uebersetzers.com/2016/11/01/resigning-iapti/

"IA
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Mara, IAPTI has been in the news recently over some controversies about how it's run. You may want to consider the following publications to find out what's been going on:


"Why We Are Resigning From IAPTI" – letter of resignation from six IAPTI staff members:
http://anmerkungen-des-uebersetzers.com/2016/11/01/resigning-iapti/

"IAPTI's Board Statement" – board’s reply to resignation letter:
https://www.iapti.org/news/not119-iaptis-board-statement.html

"Translation Association IAPTI in Hot Water Over Resignations" – third-party article in Slator magazine with an overview of controversy:
https://slator.com/industry-news/translator-association-iapti-in-hot-water-over-resignations/


In the interests of full disclosure, I am one of the people who signed the letter of resignation. Our reasons explained in the letter are based entirely on structural problems within IAPTI, nothing personal against its Board. I'm providing links above to both sides, as well as a neutral third party overview, so you can make up your own mind about whether to join or not.

One way or the other, keep in mind what IAPTI’s board says in its reply, that its registration with the government is still not finalized, so it does “not have signed ledgers and other formalities of governmental oversight and auditing." This means that, until it is authorized as a legal entity, it does not report to its tax authorities or have a tax number to provide on its receipts. So you may want to consult your accountant about whether you’re allowed to put down any fees paid to IAPTI (such as membership or conference fees) as business expenses in your own income tax returns. Some countries mandate that such expenses can be deducted only if receipts from another entity have a tax ID indicating it is reporting income to its own government.

Based on what we learned as part of IAPTI's staff, three of us among the signatories wrote a reflection paper about best practices in translation associations, which we hope can guide other translators in assessing and/or reforming their own associations:

"Checks and Balances in Professional Associations"
http://sciword.blogspot.com/2016/12/checks-and-balances-in-professional.html

I hope you find these materials to be helpful, Mara.
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XXXphxxx (X)
XXXphxxx (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:16
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Alternatives Jan 4, 2017

I can only endorse everything Catherine has said. IAPTI's lack of transparency on its finances are truly alarming and considering they have now held three conferences it makes it doubly so. Since they have not completed their official registration, one assumes they're not even a non-profit (?). If you really do need to join an association then you obviously want to join one that's legitimate. As for the ATA, their problems may be different but I haven't heard much to commend it either, perhaps s... See more
I can only endorse everything Catherine has said. IAPTI's lack of transparency on its finances are truly alarming and considering they have now held three conferences it makes it doubly so. Since they have not completed their official registration, one assumes they're not even a non-profit (?). If you really do need to join an association then you obviously want to join one that's legitimate. As for the ATA, their problems may be different but I haven't heard much to commend it either, perhaps someone will come along with other suggestions.


[Edited at 2017-01-05 08:47 GMT]
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Mara Fernandez
Mara Fernandez  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 03:16
English to Spanish
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Extremely interesting! Jan 5, 2017

Thank you all for such informed comments!

It's been an interesting to read regarding IAPTI's current situation and i have decided to stay away from it as I can still avoid getting involved in something potentially problematic.
I guess ATA might be it then although I feel their scope for interpreters is very limited. I have also heard nice things about AIIC, thoughts on that one?


 
Miguel Carmona
Miguel Carmona  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 00:16
English to Spanish
... Jan 5, 2017

Mara,

I am not a practising interpreter, but I know ATA keeps offering more and more activities for interpreters.

Here is a list of workshops/sessions held at the ATA 57th Conference in November 2016 in San Francisco, California.

Advanced:
  • Long Consecutive Bootcamp: An Applied Skills Workshop for Interpreters
  • Sight Translation Skills for Translators and Interpreters... See more
Mara,

I am not a practising interpreter, but I know ATA keeps offering more and more activities for interpreters.

Here is a list of workshops/sessions held at the ATA 57th Conference in November 2016 in San Francisco, California.

Advanced:
  • Long Consecutive Bootcamp: An Applied Skills Workshop for Interpreters
  • Sight Translation Skills for Translators and Interpreters
  • Improve Your Consecutive Note-taking for Dialog Interpreters
  • Rethinking your Simultaneous Interpreting Delivery
  • IFRS Masterclass for Translators and Interpreters

Standard:
  • You did what? Making Sense of Conflicting Codes of Ethics (I and II)
  • Returning to Ethics: A Meta-Ethical Analysis of Community Interpreter's Codes and Standards of Practice
  • Critiquing and Deconstructing Metaphors: A Normative Ethical Framework for Community Interpreters
  • More Tools and Toys for 'Terps
  • Kiss Paper Goodbye: Tablet Technology for Consecutive and Simultaneous Interpreting
  • Strategies for Successful Conference Intepreting
  • Remote Interpreting: Is the Sky Really Falling, or is the Sky the Limit?
  • A Crash Course in Effective Cultural Mediation

ATA also has an active Interpreters Division:
http://www.ata-divisions.org/ID/

You will find information about upcoming ATA webinars, some for interpreters, here:
https://www.atanet.org/webinars/index.php#upcoming

I wish you the best of luck!
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Preston Decker
Preston Decker  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 03:16
Chinese to English
Regional Associations Jan 6, 2017

Do check out regional translation associations as well. Not sure what the regional association is for upstate NY (perhaps Henry would know?)

I'm a member of both ATA and NETA (New England Translators Association), and although I haven't kept track of specific numbers, they both seem to have more than paid for themselves (several times over I believe) in new clients.

ATA hasn't done much for me other than the directory listing, but even that alone is enough reason for me
... See more
Do check out regional translation associations as well. Not sure what the regional association is for upstate NY (perhaps Henry would know?)

I'm a member of both ATA and NETA (New England Translators Association), and although I haven't kept track of specific numbers, they both seem to have more than paid for themselves (several times over I believe) in new clients.

ATA hasn't done much for me other than the directory listing, but even that alone is enough reason for me to maintain my membership based purely on fiscal considerations.
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Attila Piróth
Attila Piróth  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 08:16
Member
English to Hungarian
+ ...
Checks and balances Feb 22, 2017

The Checks and balances article cited in Catherine's post has been moved to http://www.fresneltranslations.com/blog/2016/12/09/checks-and-balances-in-professional-associations.html

 


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Which association should I join? IAPTI, ATA, etc...?







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