Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Interpreter to sign language interpreter

An interpreter already meets 69% of what the sign language interpreter role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From interpreter
69 % overlap
Strong match
To sign language interpreter
21 You already bring
4 Still to learn
31 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

32/ 100

1 How much of what a sign language interpreter is expected to do is already part of an interpreter’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the sign language interpreter role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A sign language interpreter role treats 10 of its required skills as things an interpreter already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • grammar
  • linguistics
  • preserve original text
  • semantics
  • show intercultural awareness
  • speak different languages

What stands in the way is 4 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 21 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A sign language interpreter role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an interpreter background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held interpret languages in conferences communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held translate spoken language simultaneously communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held interpret spoken language between two parties communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held translate spoken language consecutively communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held translate spoken language communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held translate texts communication, collaboration and creativity

All 21 carried skills, including the 10 the sign language interpreter role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 10 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 arts and humanities 2 required, 3 supplementary
  • still to learn communication related to hearing impairment required
  • still to learn sign language required
  • optional, not held fingerspelling optional
  • optional, not held lipspeaking optional
  • optional, not held voice interpreting optional
02 health and welfare 1 required
  • still to learn hearing disability required
03 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 required
  • still to learn screen reader required
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held analyse text before translation optional
  • optional, not held communicate using non-verbal language optional
05 assisting and caring 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held support people with hearing impairment optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a sign language interpreter role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 21 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held grammar knowledge
  • already held linguistics knowledge
  • already held preserve original text skill
  • already held semantics knowledge
  • already held show intercultural awareness skill
  • already held speak different languages skill
  • already held translate language concepts skill
  • already held translate spoken language skill
  • already held translate spoken language simultaneously skill
  • already held translate texts skill
  • already held body language knowledge
  • already held conduct scholarly research skill
  • already held consult information sources skill
  • already held court interpreting knowledge
  • already held interpret languages in conferences skill
  • already held interpret spoken language between two parties skill
  • already held scientific research methodology knowledge
  • already held translate spoken language consecutively skill
  • already held use word processing software skill
  • already held write research proposals skill
  • already held write scientific publications skill
6 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held fingerspelling optional
  • optional, not held lipspeaking optional
  • optional, not held voice interpreting optional
  • optional, not held analyse text before translation optional
  • optional, not held communicate using non-verbal language optional
  • optional, not held support people with hearing impairment optional
33 held skills the sign language interpreter role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role answer incoming calls skill
  • not needed by the target role chuchotage interpreting knowledge
  • not needed by the target role communicate by telephone skill
  • not needed by the target role communicate with target community skill
  • not needed by the target role create subtitles skill
  • not needed by the target role develop a translation strategy skill
  • not needed by the target role develop technical glossaries skill
  • not needed by the target role follow an ethical code of conduct for translation activities skill
  • not needed by the target role follow interpreting quality standards skill
  • not needed by the target role interpret languages in live broadcasting shows skill
  • not needed by the target role interpreting modes knowledge
  • not needed by the target role liaise with government officials skill
  • not needed by the target role manage a good diction skill
  • not needed by the target role master language rules skill
  • not needed by the target role medical terminology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role memorise large amounts of information skill
  • not needed by the target role observe confidentiality skill
  • not needed by the target role operate audio equipment skill
  • not needed by the target role perceive context when interpreting skill
  • not needed by the target role perform bilateral interpretation skill
  • not needed by the target role perform sight translation skill
  • not needed by the target role perform sworn interpretations skill
  • not needed by the target role phonetics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role preserve meaning of original speech skill
  • not needed by the target role provide advocacy interpreting services skill
  • not needed by the target role provide interpreting services in tours skill
  • not needed by the target role spelling knowledge
  • not needed by the target role tape transcription knowledge
  • not needed by the target role technical terminology knowledge
  • not needed by the target role type texts from audio sources skill
  • not needed by the target role unseen translation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role update language skills skill
  • not needed by the target role use consulting techniques skill
7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn communication related to hearing impairment required
  • still to learn hearing disability required
  • still to learn screen reader required
  • still to learn sign language required
  • optional, not held fingerspelling optional
  • optional, not held lipspeaking optional
  • optional, not held voice interpreting optional
Index

Other moves recorded from interpreter

Full index of moves from interpreter

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can an interpreter become a sign language interpreter?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. An interpreter already covers 69% of what a sign language interpreter is expected to do: 21 skills carry over, 10 of which the sign language interpreter role treats as required.

What skills does an interpreter need to become a sign language interpreter?

4 required skills are missing, plus 6 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by arts and humanities. The single most important is communication related to hearing impairment.

How hard is the move from interpreter to sign language interpreter?

Its learning distance is 32 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.