Hi everyone! I’m graduating my ITP in the spring and I’m thinking of going into VRS. Any advice? Obviously everybody knows Sorenson, but any other company suggestions? Purple looks good? but I don’t really know what I’m looking for😂 And how much can I expect to be making working full time? I’m in Southern California and open to different cities in SoCal. Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Thank you everyone for all the advice and insight! I’m glad I asked! And sorry for the late response, I was a little overwhelmed and surprised with how off track my train of thought seemed to be! As far as life experience I definitely feel prepared, I’ve had some gap years, been living on my own/supporting myself since 18, moved a lot/traveled etc. As far as interpreting, I feel like my skills are strong but I’m not a CODA and didn’t know ASL before my ITP so my signing skills reflect that.

My thought process was that VRS would be something consistent starting out, steady pay, and I’d get a lot of practice interpreting while being exposed to many different signing styles. And it would give me time to figure out what other kind of work I wanted to do. I also was enticed by the option of working from home. Personally, obviously the heavy conversations would effect me, but I think it would effect me less than the average person. I also like that the environment seems very controlled with usually only 2 participants.

All that being said, hearing everyone’s responses is definitely making me reconsider. Right now I have a job that requires me driving all over the city for different clients and I wanted a little break from that. And I’m a big planner so I’m trying to make a plan now for post grad so I know what kind of schedule and income to expect. But I guess it’s back to the drawing board!