Conference interpreting MA
| Highest | $4,500 / mo · Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Experience | 0–1 yrs |
| Degree | Required |
| First paycheck | 3 semesters of MA + UN competitive examination |
Pay in the destination countries
Monthly, in US dollars. Each country is an Imora admission package — open one for that route's fees, language requirement and deadline.
What does the day look like?
You sit in a booth as 1 of 2 interpreters, swapping the microphone every 20 to 30 minutes while your partner listens, notes terms and feeds you vocabulary. The live performance is about 1/3 of the day; about 2/3 is silent preparation: reading meeting papers, building glossaries, researching technical terms, briefing on delegations and country positions. The tools are the booth console and relay systems, headset and microphone discipline, terminology work from meeting papers, and mute-mic practice inside real meeting rooms during training. For consecutive work you take notes with pad and pen, then deliver passages of 5 to 10 minutes from memory plus notes.
Freelance days add quoting day rates, invoicing, travel and assembling teams under AIIC working conditions. Work follows the conference calendar, with early sessions, late votes and missions away from the duty station, plus night sittings when bodies run long. There is no hospital-style night roster, but freelance income is seasonal and assignment-based, so unpaid gaps are part of the working year.
Where does this lead?
Next step up
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