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Photo by Kermen Tutkunova<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n We hope you enjoyed the first<\/a> and second part<\/a> of our interview with Jessie as much as we did. In this third and last part of our conversation, we shift to the broader profession. Jessie reflects on teamwork in the booth, the qualities of a great interpreting partner, advice for younger interpreters entering the field, and how she sees translation and interpreting evolving in the age of AI.<\/p>\n Sijin: You mentioned teamwork and working with booth partners. What, in your view, makes an ideal booth partner?<\/strong><\/p>\n Jessie:<\/strong> I actually have a list.<\/p>\n First, be on time. And by \u201con time,\u201d I don\u2019t mean arriving right at the start time. I mean arriving at least 30 minutes early. I\u2019ve worked with interpreters who were late, and that is one of the fastest ways to lose trust.<\/p>\n Second, do your homework. If materials were shared with you, prepare. I prepare thoroughly, and I expect my booth partners to do the same.<\/p>\n Third, share your glossaries and preparation materials. This is teamwork, not a one-person show. Just like with translation projects, if we can align our terminology in advance, the whole interpretation assignment goes more smoothly with greater consistency.<\/p>\n Fourth, be kind and flexible. Things happen on the job. Sessions run over, topics change, people get sick. I\u2019ve worked with interpreters who say, \u201cI\u2019m not doing that session; it\u2019s too hard.\u201d That\u2019s simply not acceptable. It\u2019s not about your ego\u2014it\u2019s about the job.<\/p>\n Fifth, have team spirit. Sometimes your partner needs help in the booth. Sometimes the schedule changes. Sometimes you end up doing more than expected. Please do not complain. That\u2019s part of the work. I\u2019ve been a head interpreter for quite some time now, and we value people who go above and beyond to get the job done.<\/p>\n And finally, after all those soft skills, you need to be competent at what you do. If your 20-minute turn is weak, the rest of the team has to compensate for that, and people will remember. They may not say anything in the moment, but they will think twice before working with you again.<\/p>\n So, in short, you need to be easy to work with. That matters enormously on the buyer\u2019s side. I hire people who are capable and easy to work with. I do not hire people who become a thorn in the team.<\/p>\n Sijin: That\u2019s such an important perspective. You\u2019ve now been in the profession for 20 years. Where do you see the field going in the next 5, 10, or 15 years, especially in the age of AI?<\/strong><\/p>\n Jessie:<\/strong> My feelings are mixed. I think everyone in our field has mixed feelings right now. Personally, I\u2019m also exploring other possibilities, not because I would ever quit translation and interpretation\u2014this is still my passion\u2014but because the content of the work may shift.<\/p>\n Over the past few years, through seminars, workshops, and self-study, what I\u2019ve come to believe is that AI and machine translation will be our primary tools, but they are still tools. We need to learn how to use them well.<\/p>\n For now, I don\u2019t think AI can replace interpreters. Not in medical interpreting, where HIPAA-related privacy and confidentiality are critical. Not in court interpreting, where accuracy and confidentiality are essential. And not in conference interpreting, which involves multiple speakers, multiple accents, different speaking speeds, changing situations, and a level of complexity that AI still cannot reliably handle. So, for the next 10 to 15 years, I don\u2019t think conference interpreters will be replaced.<\/p>\n Translation is a different story. If you make your living only through traditional translation, I think you need to expand your skills. That change is already here. Soon, a great deal of translation work will likely become machine translation post-editing (MTPE). Machines can do the first pass quickly, but there still needs to be a highly skilled human gatekeeper, and we need to make sure we are good enough to be those gatekeepers.<\/p>\n Sijin: It really does all come down to strong skills, adaptability, professionalism, and working well with others\u2014the whole package. <\/strong><\/p>\n Jessie:<\/strong> Exactly. You have to become the whole package if you want to survive and thrive in this field. Even for interpreters, we\u2019re seeing companies move toward AI interpreting because it\u2019s cheaper and more convenient. So as human professionals, we need to expand our mindset, strengthen our relationships, and learn skills that AI cannot replace. And for some, this might go beyond the scope of the T&I profession.<\/p>\n Sijin: Thank you so much, Jessie, for taking the time to talk with us. We really appreciate your insights and your perspective from the trenches. We\u2019re very lucky to have you as part of our community and leadership council. <\/strong><\/p>\n Jessie:<\/strong> Thank you. Before we wrap up, I\u2019d like to leave you with one final thought.<\/p>\n There are a few ideas that have really shaped my career. One is the saying often attributed to Mark Twain: \u201cIf you love what you do, you\u2019ll never work a day in your life.\u201d That has always been my motto.<\/p>\n Another influence was Bi Shumin, a Chinese writer. I love all her work. I read this piece by her when I was very young, and this quote deeply resonated with me:<\/p>\n \u8981\u77e5\u9053\uff0c\u6211\u4eec\u6bcf\u4e2a\u4eba\uff0c\u4e00\u751f\u7528\u4e8e\u5de5\u4f5c\u7684\u65f6\u95f4\u5927\u4e8e\u4e03\u4e07\u5c0f\u65f6\u3002\u53ef\u4e0d\u8981\u5c0f\u77a7\u4e86\u8fd9\u4e03\u4e07\u5c0f\u65f6\uff0c\u5982\u679c\u4f60\u662f\u5728\u5feb\u4e50\u548c\u521b\u9020\u4e2d\uff0c\u4f60\u662f\u5728\u5bfb\u627e\u81ea\u6211\u4ef7\u503c\u7684\u6311\u6218\u4e2d\uff0c\u4f60\u7684\u4eba\u751f\u5c31\u4f1a\u8fc7\u5f97\u5f88\u5145\u5b9e\u3002\u5982\u679c\u4f60\u53ea\u662f\u4e3a\u4e86\u66f4\u591a\u7684\u94b1\u3001\u66f4\u5bbd\u655e\u7684\u623f\u5b50\u3001\u66f4\u591a\u7684\u5e94\u916c\u548c\u540d\u58f0\u4e0a\u7684\u865a\u8363\uff0c\u4f60\u5c06\u5728\u4e03\u4e07\u5c0f\u65f6\u751a\u81f3\u66f4\u591a\u7684\u65f6\u95f4\u91cc\u59d4\u5c48\u7740\u81ea\u5df1\uff0c\u627c\u6740\u7740\u81ea\u5df1\uff0c\u6bc1\u706d\u7740\u81ea\u5df1\u7684\u81ea\u7531\u3002<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014\u6bd5\u6dd1\u654f<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s Joseph Campbell, who said in The Power of Myth<\/em> that you need to \u201cfollow your bliss.\u201d It means pursuing what genuinely excites and energizes you, trusting that this path, though uncertain, aligns with your true purpose and will lead to self-discovery, unexpected opportunities, and a more vital, meaningful life. That\u2019s really what I\u2019ve been trying to do in my life. Life is a journey, and I think you need to find meaning and happiness in what you do.<\/p>\n Sijin: Thank you. Those are very powerful final thoughts, and I\u2019ll make sure to include them.<\/strong><\/p>\n Photo by Kermen Tutkunova on Unsplash We hope you enjoyed the first and second part of our interview with Jessie as much as we did. In this third and last part of our conversation, we shift to the broader profession. Jessie reflects on teamwork in the booth, the qualities of a great interpreting partner, advice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":2732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,21,22,30,11],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2731","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-industry","8":"category-interpretation","9":"category-interview","10":"category-selfimprovementsuccess","11":"category-translation","12":"entry"},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/kermen-tutkunova-rJdHuW2UD5Q-unsplash-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2731"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2736,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2731\/revisions\/2736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Jessie](\"https:\/\/www.ata-divisions.org\/CLD\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Jessie_Headshot-300x300.png\")
With nearly 20 years in the language field, Jessie is an AIIC member and EU-accredited Chinese\u2013English conference interpreter who loves bringing clarity to complex multilingual settings. She is also an ATA-certified translator and CHI\u2122 interpreter, experienced with RSI platforms and CAT tools. With added coding skills for website localization, she enjoys blending technology with human-centered communication. Outside work, Jessie paints in oils and watercolors, sketches flowers, gardens, and crafts. A proud mom to three furry babies, she lives in Memphis, TN with her husband, son, and mother\u2014her daily source of joy and inspiration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"