Advertising in Spain after finishing course-feedback wanted

sonjaswenson wrote:

Yes there is a lot of work in the US for Spanish/English medical and "community" interpreters. Most of it is in major cities, of course, and some states such as California, Florida, and New Jersey have very developed programs.

Most of the work in US hospital settings is through agencies, rther than hospitals themselves, though many hospitals in large cities do have their own full-time interpreting staff.

Rates vary and can be very low ($15/hour for Spanish), to $50/hour for Independant Medical Evaluations, which are ordered by lawyers for workers compensation cases and thus pay much more. Full-time hospital staff interpreters make an hourly wage on the lower end, but they also receive benefits, a guaranteed schedule, and know how much they are going to make every month.

Generally agencies in the US require you to prove 40 hours of training as a medical interpreter, though this is not through any state certification program, and they probably wouldn't mind if you gave them a copy of your UK degree. For legal interpreting in most states you have to pass a state or federal certification exam, though in small towns and rural areas this requirement is usually not as strict since there are less people around.

I don't think that your European background would be an issue, as I have met other medical interpreters from Spain.

luke_cbs wrote:

these rates are low compared to other posts i have read on Portugal ($500 per day)

is this because so many people can speak Spanish?

how does one earn more more than $15 per hour other than work more, are there better rates??

Parrot wrote:



Hi Luke,

There are any number of schools of thought on the matter, the upshot being that social services are first and foremost public services and do not come up to the requirements of, say, conference interpreting - in questions of technical outlay, anyway. (In practice, healthcare - and even police work - really should be as demanding, but the lines are fuzzy.) Conference interpreters, however, usually don't settle for public services rates and conditions. But chop up the conference interpreter's daily rate and you get an idea of some reasonable per-hour rates you can use as a professional.

As for advertising, I'm not too sure that's the tack to take. Public service interpreting in Spain has lately been outsourced to wholesale bidders, and dealing with them is another ball game altogether.

Hope it helps.

John Rawlins wrote:

Be warned that public health authorities are among the slowest payers in Spain. I cannot speak from experience about the speed with which they pay language service providers - but they are known to pay many suppliers with an unscheduled delay of two years - or more.

In Spain, this type of delay is often grudgingly tolerated by suppliers to state-owned businesses because it represents a very effective barrier to entry from foreign competitors (like you perhaps).

Parrot wrote:

Being employed means the latest you get paid is the fifth day of the month for the month before (Workers' Statute).

Since the EU crackdown on late payment, State clients have cleaned up their act. However, a word of warning: the State continues to be an exception to the law on late payment. Language service providers to the major ministries are generally paid in accordance with the old 60-90-120-day formula, and the delay seems to have something to do with volume.

It's not the competition (or lack of it) that suppliers tolerate; it's the certainty of payment, and the fact that having the State as a debtor can help obtain third-party financing (of interest to big companies). And foreign suppliers get the same crummy deal, don't worry, so all's fair (pharmaceuticals don't have to be Spanish, for instance).

I was coached by a ministry official on setting prices when working for government - anticipate the contract terms by factoring late payment into the price.

luke_cbs wrote:

what i had in mind was to advertise my services in say the Spanish hospitals and clinics for the patients benefit, so that they would have my contact details if ever they needed me.