A nodding acquaintance

"Interpreters need to have a nodding acquaintance with a varied range of different issues". I picked this snippet from the UK National Network for Interpreting. Good, clear basic explanations on what interpreting is all about. But it's not enough nodding at the need to get nodding acquaintance with varied subjects. Cram strategies to go beyond nodding without expecting turning into a specialist is a key subject in itself when you work as a ubiquitous interpreter, a jack of all trade, almost. One agency outside Japan contacted me for a potential stint. I skip the exact subject but quote this : "The interpreter needs to have a strong IT background ...". Does such expectation meet reality? It could, depending on the circumstances. There are in-house interpreters working in automobile. They have strong automobile background. There are not available on the freelance market. I assume there may be interpreters working in a single subject, but by far and large, interpreters are multi-subjects oriented and strive to get quickly acquainted with new stuff. What with over the phone interpretation when background info is close to nil? The proper answer to an agent would be that "I am highly confident I can meet your client's expectations because although I am no IT engineer, I am highly competent at going beyond nodding acquaintance." Now, building that competence is key.