Why Your Interpreter Tech is the Winter Coat of Your Career

Before I moved to Canada, a friend told me that the key to getting through winter is proper gear. When I looked online and saw the prices on those coats… well, they don’t come cheap. I wondered how anyone could afford something that expensive, and he explained it very simply: a good winter coat may feel like a big purchase at first, but it keeps your entire routine going in the coldest months. A good winter coat is what keeps you earning. It helps you get to work, wait for the bus, move around the city, and if you invest in a good one, it will last for years.

Funny story: When your Tech fails you miserably

When I lived in Algeria, my internet used to cut off every two seconds. Literally. I would be mid-sentence, and suddenly everything froze. No matter how many backups I tried to set up, each one had its own special way of failing me. I started choosing boothmates who were almost too supportive of my terrible setup because I needed people who would stay calm every time I magically disappeared from the meeting or my voice started lagging. And it is not like I could not afford reliable internet. I would have paid for the best one available, but the problem was that it simply did not exist. On top of that, I lived next to a gendarmerie zone, which meant the network was restricted and already weak to begin with.

Once, during an international award ceremony and right in the middle of a very important speech, the internet dropped. I switched on all my backups, and none worked. I went outside in the rain to text my boothmate to pick up the mic, left my phone out there hoping the messages would go through whenever the network came back, returned to my room, cried for ten minutes, made a TikTok, cried a little more, and then the internet finally returned. I got back on the mic the very second it did.

Needless to say, I was too embarrassed to explain to the client what happened and spent the rest of the day imagining a thousand different ways to apologize. Only to find out later that no one was listening in the first place.

That experience stayed with me. It made me realize that no matter how good you are as an interpreter, you are only as stable as your setup. Skill means absolutely nothing if your internet drops, if your audio cracks, or if your laptop freezes at the wrong moment. Back then, I did not have access to better tools. Today, I do, and I take my tech very seriously because I know exactly what it feels like to have everything collapse in the middle of a client’s big moment.

Back to the Winter Coat

An interpreter's tech works the exact same way as that winter coat. Many people think interpreting is all about skill, but the truth is, your tools decide how well you can actually use those skills. If your audio is clean, your laptop isn’t freezing every two minutes, and your internet stays stable, you can focus on what matters: delivering clear, accurate interpretation without having to fight for your setup to function.

What Tech Do You Need?

Good gear for interpreters is not a complicated checklist, but there are a few essentials you absolutely need to work properly, including (but not limited to):

• A noise-cancelling USB headset is one of the most important tools you will ever own as an interpreter. USB gives you stable, uninterrupted audio, whereas Bluetooth can cut, lag, or desync at the worst possible moment.

• A reliable laptop is essential for stability. You need a machine that can handle long hours, multiple platforms and open tabs, without slowing you down or crashing mid-assignment.

  
  

• Strong internet plus a hotspot is non-negotiable. Remote work depends on a stable connection, and having a secondary network ready to go keeps you from losing time, clients, or entire meetings.

  
  

• Glossaries that are organized and ready to use make every assignment smoother. Quick access to terminology keeps you confident and efficient, especially in technical or fast-paced settings. I personally use Notion to manage and update all my glossaries, and it has made my prep process much easier.

  
  

• An efficient desk setup, including a comfortable ergonomic keyboard, mouse, and a secondary display (whether it is an extra monitor, a second laptop, or an iPad), helps you manage information more easily. A comfortable, well-arranged workspace directly supports your performance and reduces fatigue.

At the end of the day, investing in the right tools is not about being fancy. It is about removing obstacles that should not be there in the first place. The tech does not replace your skills, but it allows you to use them properly, in a stable and sustainable way. And just like preparing for winter, the goal is not to "look equipped" but to actually be equipped.

A good winter coat gets you through the cold months so you can keep living your life. Good interpreter tech does the exact same thing. It keeps you working, keeps you consistent, and keeps your routine running even when conditions are less than ideal. Once you have the right gear, everything feels lighter. You stop fighting your setup and start focusing on what you actually came to do: interpret.

And just like that coat, once you invest in the right tools, they carry you through season after season.