Pros
Working from home for some people is a huge pro, especially during a pandemic. No need to spend time or money commuting or buying takeout There is a pay raise system. You start off at $17/h, then you get a $1 raise after 450 hours of interpretation, then another $1 raise after 1000 hours, and then a $1 raise every 200 hours. IT IS ON YOU, you have to contact them to remind them you're owed that raise, but it's good to know there's no negotiating and you won't be stuck on the same measly salary forever The work forum is good and a helpful place to talk to coworkers and exchange tips and information. We're not censored in our thoughts about the company and can freely discuss among each other Requesting time off for anything is easy and painless. It SHOULD be, as our time off (even sick) isn't paid, but it's nice to know I can just email management "I can't make it on friday, please change my schedule when able to" and it'll be done within the hour It's rewarding to help people from my community and my culture, and to give them the opportunity of having a voice in sensitive matters that deeply affect their lives
Cons
Our interpreter certification and training is ONLY valid for this company NO benefits. No paid time off, no paid sick days, no health insurance, NOTHING. Even our vacation is paid "throughout the year" so we have to manually check our paystubs to find out how much we were paid in vacation for that week and then we either use the money or transfer it to a vacation savings account Practically NONE of the equipment is covered. We have to use our personal phones, we have to use a headset-- if we don't have one with the specifics require, we have to BUY a new headset with our own money While I understand that auditing us is necessary due to the nature of our work, auditing happens after work hours and I was told the time I spent being audited WAS NOT PAID The company does NOT listen to our grievances. Rather than discuss with interpreters, who do this job EVERY DAY and know much better what would make our jobs easier and our service better, we are simply given updates to our statements, disclaimers, etc, leaving no room for discussion. We've even been asked to leave our phones on the app during our UNPAID LUNCH HOURS because the app logs off if we leave it, even though the phones are OUR property and not provided by the company Pay is low, WAY too low for the skilled work it demands. Even if there is a systematic raise we still start off at just $17/h and it takes over a year for our work in this company to be justifiable by the pay. We are skilled interpreters trained to deal with medical, emergency, and even certain legal scenarios, we are the REASON certain people are able to reach life-saving services and we are paid so absurdly little that it's embarrassing
