Miguel García: Interpreter in DC

Miguel García is MIIS
2014 Graduate of Conference Interpretation with a combination of English,
French and Spanish. He grew up in New York and is a freelance conference
interpreter in D.C. area. His clients include IMF, World Bank,
Organization of American States and the State Department. 








I first saw Miguel
from the TED talk given by Professor Laura Burian and Professor Barry Olsen
at Monterey. He demonstrated consecutive interpretation from Spanish to
English. Later I got the chance to hear him sharing his experience on how
meditation helped him on the first class of Mindfulness for Interpreters taught
by Professor Julie Johnson. 








Here in D.C., I feel
privileged to have the opportunity to know him in person and listen to his
stories, thanks to the referral of Ms. Amandine Martin, an alumna, and Mr. Jeff
Wood, our career adviser, who referred me to Amandine. Here is my interview
with Miguel on working as a freelance interpreter in D.C.: 








Time: 11:40, Saturday,
May 16

Place: Pret a Manger
near Farragut North Station at Washington D.C.








Flora: What’s your general
impression of D.C.? 

Miguel: I may not be
the best person to talk about it, as I haven't spent much time in the area.
It's been less than a year since I moved here, and I had been away on
assignments from the State Department for three weeks at a time. 

It is a very transient
and young city with high turnover. People come here for job opportunities with
international organizations and government agencies. They may leave after a few
years. Many of those who stay choose to live in Maryland and Virginia for
larger space. 

The city offers a lot
of free stuff such as world-renowned museums and concerts, which creates a
welcoming atmosphere for people living in the outskirts. 








Flora: Do you find
that based in D.C. area helps with your career? 

Miguel: Absolutely.
The government may be willing to reaching out more but many organizations only
take locals, so being here locally is a huge help. The other reason is
that the interpreting world here in D.C. is really small. Everyone talks to
everyone. I heard people saying to me, "oh, I've heard about you." It
happened when I was here for a month and a half. If you are here, people will
know and remember you, and will give you some work.  








Flora: How do you see
the interpretation market? Do you feel that interpreters with lower standards
but who charge less are taking away the jobs?  

Miguel: We see two
kinds of market. One market has truly talented interpreters and clients looking
for these interpreters are willing to pay. The other have interpreters with
lower standards. You always want to be in the market with higher standards and
quality work. I think that market is much smaller and the work does get around
a lot.  

I'm still quite new
here in D.C., but I've refused work that requires lowering my standards. It's
very hard to do so in the beginning, but the more I get to work, and the more I
get to see the different levels of qualities that exist, the more I want to
make sure I'm not perceived as either on the line that I can go either side or
on the bad side. I want to be always on the right side.  

I have a much strong
stance now, but that came from a lot of conversations with people who are nice
enough to talk to me. I've struggled with it, but it's better to struggle
through it to get your footing but eventually put yourself where you want to
be, because it's really difficult to dig yourself out of it. 








Flora: Do you find
your current job allow you to pursue your ideal lifestyle?

Miguel: 150%. It is
exactly what I planned and envisioned for my life. I need to be constantly
stimulated. I need to learn something new all the time, otherwise I'm bored
with the monotony. 

Now I own my life in
general instead of being owned by my work. If I have errands to run or if I
want to have a day off, I can do it, because three working days can cover my
financial needs for the week. 

Some people feel
stressed about the instability or the unknown that you have to live with in the
freelance market. As of two days ago, I had nothing for next week. I was just
like, "Hopefully something will come along". Yesterday I got an offer
for two days next week. Maybe on Monday I will get something for the end of the
week, maybe not, but it's fine. Because up till this point, I've already
covered my financial needs for this month. Everything else goes to your
reserve. 

You also have to take
care of what your job usually dose, like taxes, insurance and retirement. But
whatever, it is part of your life. You eventually get used to the routine. You
put aside what you need to do, but I own that. 

For me, the stability
that comes with a full-time job isn't worth giving up the flexibility that I
have now. I make my own schedules, and I love it, especially the kinds of
things that I interpret for. The last assignment was about international crime
and terrorism. Before I was doing environment. Between the two I was working on
the rights of the elderly in Latin America. I did the prep meeting held here
for the big Environmental Summit in Paris at the end of the year. All of those
are exciting. 

I'm still at the stage
where some work comes to me, some I need to seek out. It's difficult to put
yourself out there and sell yourself. It is stressful, but it pays off. I
honestly don't think I could have done it not being here in D.C.  








Flora: Anything else
that you feel important? 

Miguel: Go to the
place that you would hate going to in 15 or 20 years, because you can do it
now. I can imagine that at some point of my life it will be complex with family
and children, and it's harder to be this flexible. Take advantage of the
flexibility and the energy you have now, and go for the place that will be
harder to envision in the future. Choose the optimal destination for your
language combination and do it now, because you never know what will happen in
the future. 







Miguel also has great advice for 1st year CI and TI students. For more please click here.