With California's diverse array of cultures and foreign tongues, it goes without saying that jobseekers who have mastered a second language are a hot commodity. "We are always seeking people with exceptional language skills," declares Rebecca Terrel with International Translating and Interpreting in San Francisco.

"Spanish is probably the language most in demand, and because of the Asian community, Thai, Laotian and Hmong are often requested. There is also an influx of immigrants needing Arabic, Persian and Farsi translators and interpreters. "I have been here ten years, and there are often requests for languages I have never heard of."

ITI sends interpreters out on assignments ranging from depositions and workers' compensation hearings, to accompanying someone to the local Western Union - and just about anywhere there is someone who doesn't speak English.

"We also do translations of birth certificates, transcripts and letters from relatives in a foreign country. Our work takes us from one extreme to the other."

No Bluffing

Terrel explains the agency doesn't do training because prospective employees must be proficient when they report for work.

"Send us a resume and one of the translators will contact you for an interview. There is no bluffing here," she laughs. "If applicants are interested in translating, we send them an article to decipher."

If you are not confident about your linguistic skills, Terrel advises volunteering at hospitals where diverse languages are the norm. Or contact a translation and interpreting agency and go out with experienced people to see if the work could become a career.

"If they are interested in the legal aspect, go to the courthouse and sit in on various trials and watch and listen to the professional interpreters at work," she suggests. "It is fascinating."

The pay varies greatly with experience and credentials and usually ranges from $10 to $125 an hour.

Best of all, age is no barrier. "We get a lot of college students wanting to make some extra money and just as many experienced retired people who want the same, as well as a stimulating opportunity," Terrel observes. "And you can work around your own schedule.

"From a personal perspective, I think my job is out of the ordinary because I talk with the world community each day."

Many Hands Needed

Bilingual skills are not restricted to the spoken word, reports Roseanne deVlarming, owner of Sign Language Interpreting Services in Sacramento.

"We provide sign language interpreting for conferences, doctors, business meetings where there is a deaf person, plus real-time captioning," she explains. "The latter is a situation where a person has lost their hearing but doesn't know sign language. An interpreter sits next to that person with a laptop computer and transcribes the conversations like a court reporter."

American River College and other community colleges offer interpreter training. The sign language program is an additional two-year program and available at many colleges.

"You have to have a special ability to do this sort of work," she believes. "It's a visual language and conception is like learning a new framework. Sign language has different grammar and a syntax not based on words. It's always fun to educate people about the differences in the language."

"We are so wordy speaking in English," she states. "[What a speaker says in a minute], I can interpret in 30 seconds."

And yes, there are employment opportunities. deVlarming is always looking for people, but candidates have to be certified. The rigorous qualifying process is similar to medical-field licensing. The National Registry of Interpreting for the Deaf does the testing.

Combine Your Skills

Kern Corporation, a global language service company in San Francisco, encourages people with bilingual and other skills to combine the two into freelancing. For example, if you are an attorney who speaks Gaelic, consider translating legal documents. If you are an electrical engineer who speaks Farsi, translate scientific documents. In short, find your special niche.

A majority of translating companies offer foreign language help with research and consultation, videos and web pages, medical interpretations, voice-overs and video conferencing, over the phone interpretations, tourism, software and typesetting.

"We do multi-language translation in more than 50 languages, from English into another language or vice versa," notes Bernadette Yee with International Contact, Inc. in Oakland. "There are definitely job opportunities. Although we have a staff of translators, we are always looking for people with strong bilingual skills."

Kim Patton with Atlas Interpreters in San Jose looks for people with knowledge of many different languages, including Anaphoric, Arabic, Armenian, Bulgarian, Cambodian and Chinese to Dari, Danish, Czech, Dutch and Farsi.

Patton explains there are two types of interpreters - consecutive, where you listen to the person talk and then repeat the words, and simultaneous where the interpreter speaks at the same time as the speaker.

Freelancers Welcome

"There are hundreds of job opportunities and there are interpreters who can make a lot of money," she points out. "We hire only freelancers who receive two-hour minimums on each assignment. It's best to be certified, but many languages have no certification. Therefore, just good skills are required."

"We do a lot of work for the Immigration and Naturalization Service," she points out. "This involves translating documents such as marriage and death certificates that immigrants will need to establish permanent residency."

People who speak Spanish should check out the Court Certificate programs in Sacramento, Patton advises. There is tremendous demand in the legal system, especially in the San Jose area.

"Once or twice a week we get a request for a language we've never heard of, so we get out our reference book, Languages of the World, and find the answer. Next, we call around to find a person who speaks it."

For more information on sources listed in this story, contact:

• CVLatino.com - Job-search site for Latino professionals has listings in the US, Latin America, Spain and Portugal.
• EuroLondon.com - Lists multilingual job vacancies in Europe, searchable by language specialty.
• International Contact Inc - intelcontact.com; (510) 836-1180
• International Translating and Interpreting - transinterp.com; (415) 285-0579
• JobsInJapan.com - "The mother lode of Japan job info" features extensive information on finding all types of employment in Japan.
• Kern Corporation - e-kern.com; (415) 433-5376
• LatPro.com - Job search engine, resume posting, and resources for Spanish and Portuguese speakers.
• Sign Language Interpreting Services - signinterpreting.com; (916) 483-4751
• Translations4all.com - A worldwide translation and interpretation service for almost every language. Jobseekers interested in contract or temporary work can fill out a short online application and e-mail or fax a resume to (562) 928-1251. If there is a suitable job opening, a representative contacts you within 72 hours. (818) 535-5767.