Pros
Provides a vital service for the Deaf community
Cons
Corporate capitalism has wormed its way into the field of interpreting -putting profits over people. I have witnessed the downfall in the following ways: Cut hours of well experienced interpreters in favor of hiring students and inexperienced interpreters at the lowest pay scale. Laid off center supervisors who have put years of excellent service to the organization with little notice. Now all centers have regional supervisors who are only available for brief windows of time. Continually cutting hours of interpreters, claiming call volume is too low, yet Deaf consumers are placed in a holding cue rather than adequate staffing to keep call volume at a sustainable level. Working conditions due to above reasons have become so intolerable that many interpreters are leaving. This impacts the Deaf community in a big way with long hold times and low call quality.