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Thinking of becoming a translator
Thread poster: Francesca Hedges
Francesca Hedges
Francesca Hedges  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:52
Spanish to English
+ ...
Nov 21, 2014

Hi,

I have been doing voluntary translations for a Spanish animal charity for about a year and I'm really enjoying it. I would like to be able to do this as a career but I have absolutely no idea how to get started.

From what I have read, it is really difficult to get established as a freelancer and you normally need a specialism or a Masters. I'm not sure how my experience would fit into industry - I can't see where it can lead other than to more voluntary work and, a
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Hi,

I have been doing voluntary translations for a Spanish animal charity for about a year and I'm really enjoying it. I would like to be able to do this as a career but I have absolutely no idea how to get started.

From what I have read, it is really difficult to get established as a freelancer and you normally need a specialism or a Masters. I'm not sure how my experience would fit into industry - I can't see where it can lead other than to more voluntary work and, as much as I enjoy it, I would like to get paid.

Sorry, this sounds really negative but I have been going around in circles on the Internet and coming up with the same old suggestions.

If it helps, my language pairs are German-English, Spanish-English and I graduated in 1993 (!)
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Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 01:52
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
What can you do for clients? Nov 21, 2014

z1ppy wrote:
I would like to get paid.

Well, that's a good motivation to start with. Now, look at it from the other side: why would clients pay you? What can you offer them for their money? Of course, the easy answer is "a good translation", but they need to be reasonably sure of that before they promise to pay you. So how can you justify that answer? That's when you get into a serious study of your skills, your experience, your knowledge, your aptitudes, your character... They can all count towards giving the client the confidence to choose you. You need to sell your services on the basis of them.

I'm afraid we have far too little information about you to help much. If you studied photography, worked for an NGO, and love sailing, then you've got yourself some possible specialisations (maybe poor examples). If you studied foreign languages at school, you may need to brush up on them; if you come from a multilingual family, use languages at work, or you've lived in various countries, then that's a plus.

When you draw up lists, you'll hopefully find there's already a lot you can offer a prospective client. If you're still motivated, that will be the time to consider the actual techniques. Maybe you need to learn (more) about your specialist subjects (in both/all languages), about the basics of running a very small business (customer relations, marketing, invoicing, tax matters...), about how translators actually set about translating (quoting, IT tools, researching...). You can learn a lot about these things here on ProZ.com. Browse these forums and the Wiki articles, explore every path in the Site Guidance Centre, make sure you visit the Scam Centre, and do attend the free webinar(s) on getting the most from the site.

New translators nowadays need to offer a bit more than the ability to speak two or more languages. If you don't have too much else to offer, then it would pay you to get a good relevant qualification, but they aren't always essential.

Hope that helps.

Sheila


 
Bernhard Sulzer
Bernhard Sulzer  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 21:52
English to German
+ ...
Starting points Nov 21, 2014

z1ppy wrote:

Hi,

I have been doing voluntary translations for a Spanish animal charity for about a year and I'm really enjoying it. I would like to be able to do this as a career but I have absolutely no idea how to get started.

From what I have read, it is really difficult to get established as a freelancer and you normally need a specialism or a Masters. I'm not sure how my experience would fit into industry - I can't see where it can lead other than to more voluntary work and, as much as I enjoy it, I would like to get paid.

Sorry, this sounds really negative but I have been going around in circles on the Internet and coming up with the same old suggestions.

If it helps, my language pairs are German-English, Spanish-English and I graduated in 1993 (!)



http://wiki.proz.com/wiki/index.php/Translator_career_path
Deciding upon translation as a profession

Though having knowledge of two or more languages may be enough reason to decide upon translation as a profession, this decision must be made carefully. There is more to translation than just knowing more than one language and being able to communicate the meaning of a source-language text through an equivalent target-language text. In other words, there is more to translation than meets the eye.

Fidelity, transparency, faithfulness, equivalence, and accuracy are concepts that have been associated with the art of translation since long ago and a full understanding of translation will imply a knowledge of these concepts.

A good knowledge of one's own native language and its nuances (formal and informal speaking & writing, grammar, synonyms, etc.) is of utmost importance.


http://wiki.proz.com/wiki/index.php/Deciding_upon_translation_as_a_profession
http://wiki.proz.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page


 
Rachel Waddington
Rachel Waddington  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:52
Dutch to English
+ ...
Tell us more? Nov 21, 2014

Hi z1ppy,

It's very difficult to advise you based on the very small amount of information you have given. Presumably you have been doing something since you graduated 20 years ago and it may well be that this experience is relevant in some way (you'd be amazed what can count as "relevant experience" to a translator!) Aspiring translators are often advised to "do something else first" to gain experience the world outside translation, so things may not be as bleak as you think.
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Hi z1ppy,

It's very difficult to advise you based on the very small amount of information you have given. Presumably you have been doing something since you graduated 20 years ago and it may well be that this experience is relevant in some way (you'd be amazed what can count as "relevant experience" to a translator!) Aspiring translators are often advised to "do something else first" to gain experience the world outside translation, so things may not be as bleak as you think.

It IS hard to get established, but not impossible if you are persistent and able to do a good job. Not everyone has a Masters degree (I don't). And many of us don't start out with a fully developed specialism.

One thing you do reveal in your profile is that you are in the UK, so I would recommend that you consider joining the ITI (Institute of Translation and Interpreting) and getting out to some local meetings where you will get the chance to chat to translators in person.

I hope that helps, but if you want useful advice, why not tell us more about yourself? What was your degree in? What jobs have you done?

Rachel
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Merab Dekano
Merab Dekano  Identity Verified
Spain
Member (2014)
English to Spanish
+ ...
And it necesarrily takes time, so be prepared for it Nov 21, 2014

I fully agree with Sheila, it is like running a small business.

Specialisation is key, but you only really understand it when you have gotten started and have seen how demanding translation work is. It is so detailed that you really have no option but to specialise (and you necessarily will, as a matter of the market dynamics).

Just a small tip; do allow time to get established. Experience is everything. You cannot aquire real experience if you do not work for at least
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I fully agree with Sheila, it is like running a small business.

Specialisation is key, but you only really understand it when you have gotten started and have seen how demanding translation work is. It is so detailed that you really have no option but to specialise (and you necessarily will, as a matter of the market dynamics).

Just a small tip; do allow time to get established. Experience is everything. You cannot aquire real experience if you do not work for at least a year, full time, with proper tools and real customers.

Allow for a "transition period" of "yes income", "no income" for about 6 months (minimum) and a year (should really be maximum).

Good luck and yes, Proz.com is wonderful place. make full use of it.
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Francesca Hedges
Francesca Hedges  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:52
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
More info Nov 21, 2014

OK, some more info:

My degree was in German and Spanish. It was a bog standard Modern Languages degree, not a translation one. However, it did go into translation in some detail. In addition to straightforward translation, we also had to do something called Critique of Translation, where we had to evaluate a completed translation and say whether it was a good or bad translation (or somewhere inbetween) and give our reasons. We had to analyse how common mistakes occurred and offer a
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OK, some more info:

My degree was in German and Spanish. It was a bog standard Modern Languages degree, not a translation one. However, it did go into translation in some detail. In addition to straightforward translation, we also had to do something called Critique of Translation, where we had to evaluate a completed translation and say whether it was a good or bad translation (or somewhere inbetween) and give our reasons. We had to analyse how common mistakes occurred and offer alternative translations. Another option we had to take was Specialised Translation. In my case, for Spanish, I did Portuguese translation for one year and, for German, I specialised in ICT for one exam paper and the environment for the other. Translation was always my strongest subject.

As part of the course, we had to do a year out whereby we spent six months in each country. For the first six months, I was a foreign language assistant in a private school, giving English conversation classes. During that period, I also completed a project on the region. The second six months were spent in Germany, where I worked for an organisation that arranged practical placements for foreign language students. It was mainly typing work but I did get the chance to translate a few documents relating to what the organisation did. Again, I did another project, which was on German reunification - very topical back then!

When I graduated, I joined the family business, which sold computer assisted language products to secondary schools. The languages were obviously relevant where I had to review the software and gain enough knowledge to sell it. In some cases, where the programs came from overseas suppliers, I would need to translate or paraphrase what the products did and put it into sales style language. We would get the odd email/letter from overseas customers, too. I stayed in the business for 10 years. Unfortunately, in the early part of this decade, the market changed and sales nose-dived just as I had started my young family so we had to close the business.

For ten years after that, it was difficult to find anything flexible so I just took a job in a supermarket to work around the children and get some money for bills. I realise this has probably just about killed my career prospects. It is only in the past year that I have had the chance to use my languages again andI realise I have missed it. The charity I am volunteering for has a social media site where I mainly translate postings. I have also uploaded translated .pdfs of newspaper articles about the organisation and translated adverts from the charity. The lady I am working for is a former English teacher and is now a journalist and published author. She does have some knowledge of Spanish but not enough to do the translations herself. Nevertheless, she describes my work as 'amazing' and the standard of my written English as 'very high.'

I might add that I did sign on to a couple of agencies to get a feel of what kind of work I could do but I was only offered call centre work. So far, I have not mentioned that I have no useful hearing in one ear and struggle in noisy environments, which is another reason (but by no means the main one) why written translation as a career would be a perfect way to continue to use my skills. Also, my youngest child is still only 6 so flexibility and a job close to - or at home - would be very important.

[Edited at 2014-11-21 21:56 GMT]

[Edited at 2014-11-21 22:00 GMT]

[Edited at 2014-11-21 22:03 GMT]

[Edited at 2014-11-21 22:10 GMT]
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Jennifer Levey
Jennifer Levey  Identity Verified
Chile
Local time: 22:52
Spanish to English
+ ...
Map reading Nov 22, 2014

As an Irish friend of mine told me, one day when we met up in Tipperary: “To be honest, if I were going to Killarney I wouldn’t start from 'ere!

Let’s be brutally frank about this…

Starting from where you find yourself today, you shouldn’t be looking for a logical ‘career progression’ leading to your becoming a ‘freelance translator’. You’ll need to jump some fences (or cut the wires…), skip sideways, think laterally, … ignore the syst
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As an Irish friend of mine told me, one day when we met up in Tipperary: “To be honest, if I were going to Killarney I wouldn’t start from 'ere!

Let’s be brutally frank about this…

Starting from where you find yourself today, you shouldn’t be looking for a logical ‘career progression’ leading to your becoming a ‘freelance translator’. You’ll need to jump some fences (or cut the wires…), skip sideways, think laterally, … ignore the system, even.

The fact is that you don’t “need a specialism or a Masters” (least of all a masters - I've been earning a living from translation for over 35 years and I never went to university). All you need is to demonstrate to your first “real” client that your work is worth paying for; in hard cash - and in advance if your persuasive powers are up to it.
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Preston Decker
Preston Decker  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 21:52
Chinese to English
Just start looking Nov 22, 2014

The nice thing about freelance translating is that unlike other business ventures, there really doesn't have to be any risk involved in the start-up phase. If you feel your language skills are good enough, and you have a working computer, then you're pretty much set to start looking for work on a part-time basis. Make a translation CV, expanding your 'language-related' experience on it as much as you feel you can ethically do, and then start replying to jobs on the Proz.com job board or other on... See more
The nice thing about freelance translating is that unlike other business ventures, there really doesn't have to be any risk involved in the start-up phase. If you feel your language skills are good enough, and you have a working computer, then you're pretty much set to start looking for work on a part-time basis. Make a translation CV, expanding your 'language-related' experience on it as much as you feel you can ethically do, and then start replying to jobs on the Proz.com job board or other online portals.

I wouldn't quit your 'day job' either. Keep this as a part-time venture to start with and see where it takes you.

Others will disagree with this, but I'd also advise you to take any job you're offered that you feel you can handle well, even if the rates are very low. Experience really is the name of the game. IMHO it's better to get as many jobs under your belt as you can in the first 6 months rather than waiting for the few higher paying jobs that may get offered to you. Note that I said jobs 'you can handle well', and this is important-- you should only take jobs you feel confident with (no nuclear designs!), and that you feel give you enough time to do proper research, etc. In your off time, pick a specialty area you're interested in, go to the library, and start reading up! And of course, keep improving your second language.

To sum up, I'd get your translating toes wet as quickly and as many times as you can rather than waiting to take a big leap.
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Tiffany Hardy
Tiffany Hardy  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 02:52
Spanish to English
Dive in head first but know you are ready Nov 22, 2014

Preston Decker said:
Others will disagree with this, but I'd also advise you to take any job you're offered that you feel you can handle well, even if the rates are very low.


I agree with Preston to some extent, but remember the rates are set by you, not the client. I have never been proposed a rate, but have always been asked to provid
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Preston Decker said:
Others will disagree with this, but I'd also advise you to take any job you're offered that you feel you can handle well, even if the rates are very low.


I agree with Preston to some extent, but remember the rates are set by you, not the client. I have never been proposed a rate, but have always been asked to provide mine. Many times, I am asked to come down on my rate, something I was inclined to do initially when starting out but that I am less inclined to do now, in line with the general principles of supply and demand.

You can be cheap and attractive to agencies, while still being within the bounds of what is professional. But there is a somewhat arbitrary low point where, because the nature of the work has ceased to be altruistic since you are no longer a volunteer, you have now entered into "slave wage" territory. Steer clear of that, while still presenting an economically attractive offer.

Preston Decker said:
I wouldn't quit your 'day job' either. Keep this as a part-time venture to start with and see where it takes you.


I've seen this advice given often and I'm sure it's a valid way of breaking into the field, but to me there is a catch-22 where you are trying to break into the profession but the demands of your "real" job don't allow you to engaged in a serious marketing campaign of your services and you are unavailable for the little work that does trickle in. Rather than clinging to your day job, another approach - if you can manage - is to tighten your belt to save up enough of a cushion to last about 6 months. Then give 100% of your time and effort to making this work. Finding translation work is a bit of a numbers game: the more legwork you do, the more response you'll get. Also, you want to be 100% available when the first offer arrives in your inbox, without worrying that you have to juggle your regular job.

Before you quit your job, however, I would invest in some feedback from some well established professionals. Request a professional revision of your best work and see what kind of feedback you get. This will give you some indication of whether or not you are really cut out for this and how well received your work will be by future clients.

[Edited at 2014-11-22 10:25 GMT]
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Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 01:52
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
So you have: Nov 22, 2014

a language degree, one that included translation studies
experience working in countries where your source languages are spoken
experience using your source languages at work (possible specialisation subjects?)
experience running (or helping to run) a business
experience translating for businesses and for NGO voluntary work
ICT knowledge, and computer assisted learning in particular
Anything else you were hiding?...
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a language degree, one that included translation studies
experience working in countries where your source languages are spoken
experience using your source languages at work (possible specialisation subjects?)
experience running (or helping to run) a business
experience translating for businesses and for NGO voluntary work
ICT knowledge, and computer assisted learning in particular
Anything else you were hiding?. You live in the UK, where there are very few hurdles to becoming self-employed and you don't even have to register for VAT to begin with. You know more than a bit about invoicing, and probably payment chasing etc. And you have a genuine reason for preferring the quieter life of a home-based worker and won't pine for office social life. Lastly, it's clear from your posts that you have no problems writing clearly.

I would advise you to find out how to use a CAT (computer assisted translation) tool, even if you don't want to buy one at the moment. Wordfast is a good one as you can use it free to start with, or there are some genuinely free ones. Just don't let clients push you into giving them all the gains these tools provide and leaving you with the little annoyances they also give. I'd also advise you to do some sort of course if you feel you didn't do enough at college, or it was too long ago. I'd heartily recommend mine (it's on my profile - I don't like to overtly advertise for them). It would mainly be useful for the techniques (how to handle acronyms, untranslatable elements, register, etc) so I wouldn't imagine it would be necessary to study in all your languages. You might want to do the DipTrans when you have some experience, but that's for you to decide.

But if you want my abbreviated opinion of what I reckon you should do, here it is: Go for it!
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Maryam Kamal (X)
Maryam Kamal (X)
Iran
Local time: 05:22
English to Persian (Farsi)
+ ...
Send out e-mails with sample of your work! Nov 22, 2014

Hi

I've been working as a translator since I turned 19 & I started my profession doing translations for my classmates in college. I didn't have any professional trainings! I didn't even get English classes. I learned English reading books & I started my work as the translator of Electronics Engineering articles, which was my major at the time! over time I found the field of management & economy interesting and started working for a management magazine for about a year until I got re
... See more
Hi

I've been working as a translator since I turned 19 & I started my profession doing translations for my classmates in college. I didn't have any professional trainings! I didn't even get English classes. I learned English reading books & I started my work as the translator of Electronics Engineering articles, which was my major at the time! over time I found the field of management & economy interesting and started working for a management magazine for about a year until I got really good at my field.

My advice to you, find a field you are comfortable with & start studying translated and original texts in that filed & take notes of the phrases & terms that you might need. (you will eventually make your own little dictionary).
After that start sending out e-mails to your address book & ask your friends to forward this e-mail so that people would know you're ready to work as a translator in that specific filed with a rate you find logical & acceptable.
With this e-mail send a sample of your work so that they know the quality of your work is of a good standard.

Another way of finding works in this field is by sending your resume (CV) to potential clients (mostly translating agencies & companies).
You will eventually get a call or two & that will lead to more calls until you won't even have time to do anything else. At least this was the case for me.

I wish you the best of luck with your work & future in translation.
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Charlie Bavington
Charlie Bavington  Identity Verified
Local time: 01:52
French to English
On the illogicity of low rates for beginners. Nov 22, 2014

http://cbavington.com/blog/2011/06/28/article-beginners-rates/

(briefly put - your own earnings might end up lower, but the price paid for the work should not be, ceteris paribus)


 
philgoddard
philgoddard
United States
German to English
+ ...
You look well qualified... Nov 22, 2014

... and if you're good at translation, I don't see any reason why you shouldn't turn it into a successful career if you're patient.

Do set up a website and a ProZ profile with samples of your work; don't accept low rates.

Good luck!

[Edited at 2014-11-22 16:08 GMT]


 
Triston Goodwin
Triston Goodwin  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 19:52
Spanish to English
+ ...
Website and profile Nov 22, 2014

Hi,

I have some really neat videos up on YouTube that can help you with your first website - free - and with your profile. I'm trying to make a bunch of them to help new translators get those things out of the way without being super complicated.

I just uploaded the next part of the website series that goes over simple search engine optimization and starts talking about Google and Bing analytics, the last video was about blogging and the one before that was where I bui
... See more
Hi,

I have some really neat videos up on YouTube that can help you with your first website - free - and with your profile. I'm trying to make a bunch of them to help new translators get those things out of the way without being super complicated.

I just uploaded the next part of the website series that goes over simple search engine optimization and starts talking about Google and Bing analytics, the last video was about blogging and the one before that was where I built the actual site - again, everything is free and as simple as I can possibly make it

You're more than welcome to check them out here: https://www.youtube.com/user/opl10nt9n
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564354352 (X)
564354352 (X)  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 02:52
Danish to English
+ ...
Be professional Nov 23, 2014

So, you want to be a translator?
You believe you have the necessary language and research skills?
You would prefer to work from home?
You want to run your own translation business?

If you answered yes to these four questions, then put on a new cap and go professional.

1. Register as self-employed. That will get you into 'professional' mode instantly. It's like putting on a mental busi
... See more
So, you want to be a translator?
You believe you have the necessary language and research skills?
You would prefer to work from home?
You want to run your own translation business?

If you answered yes to these four questions, then put on a new cap and go professional.

1. Register as self-employed. That will get you into 'professional' mode instantly. It's like putting on a mental business suit.
2. Decide on any particular fields you want to work in, and start reading stuff from those fields (any random and selected articles online will be useful) on a very regular basis and in all languages you intend to work in. Although you have a language degree, it is 20 years old (?), and languages and subjects of topical interest change. Also, by deliberately doing research like this with your new translator's cap on, you will start noticing (or refreshing your memory of) how languages are used.
3. Beef up your ProZ profile (it's easily done, and it's a start).
4. Get yourself a website to use as an electronic business card when you start contacting potential clients. It takes a little while to focus on how you want to present yourself, but remember to present the website in a format that makes it easy for potential clients to see what THEY are looking for in a business partner.
5. Do your research and look for agencies that work within the subject fields that you want to work with (you can start by searching the directory here on ProZ), and carefully select those you want to contact. Then contact them INDIVIDUALLY, not through a mailshot where you CC any number of people.
6. Do your research and look for companies, organisations and institutions that work within the fields that you are interested in, and contact them directly with an customised business proposal.

If I were you, I would NOT put together a CV outlining your job experience in chronological order, as the end focus of your supermarket career and busy mum of young children might detract from the attention you want to draw to your language expertise and status as a professional translator. Instead, tell potential clients what you can do for them, what your areas of expertise are, and why they would benefit from working with you.

Believe in yourself and present a strong, professional image to potential clients, so that they get the sense that they are dealing with an equal, not someone asking them to cut you some slack and give you a chance. If you do the latter, they (agencies in particular) will take advantage of you and push you into working at too low rates, and you really don't want to go there.

And here's an additional piece of advice: Do a search here on ProZ for Sheila Wilson's contributions. She has repeatedly given excellent advice to newcomers here, and you will probably find that she has already given answers to loads of questions you will be asking yourself about how to get started as a professional translator.

Good luck to you - and don't hesitate to ask more specific questions as you dig a little deeper into the wonderful world of translation.
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