| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: What influenced your decision to specialize in your area(s) of expertise? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What influenced your decision to specialize in your area(s) of expertise?".
View the poll results »
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 14:56
Spanish to English
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I don't really consider myself a specialist and in fact am wary of the concept, as I see it as narrowing down my options to a certain extent. I suppose I may have achieved insider or specialist knowledge of certain areas through working in them, but I never set out to do so. I prefer to play with as many options as possible at all times and find it much easier to identify areas which I do not like working in. For example, I no longer attempt financial texts as I find them dispiriting.
| | | | Tim Drayton 
Cyprus
Local time: 15:56
Turkish to English
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The market pushed me in that direction. In my main language pair, most of the work at reasonable rates appears to be in the legal field, so I put in a great deal of effort to become proficient in that area.
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I was hired to edit publications in the field of public health. I didn't know squat, but my client (an MD) liked my writing and the way I summarized discussions at meetings. He tutored me for about an hour a day for several months. From editing I worked my way into translation - though I had also been doing freelance translation in other fields for about 6 years before I started the editing stint.
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I missed the possibility to answer "It interests me" - because I like doing medical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, biological translations or translations on Development Aid, not because it is my "hobby" or because I studied, but because I find the texts interesting and like to occupy myself with these subjects.
I am also doing patent translations, codes of conduct, MSDS and many other stuff that I do not find so exciting, but that are more or less okay.
In my studies, I actually did... See more I missed the possibility to answer "It interests me" - because I like doing medical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, biological translations or translations on Development Aid, not because it is my "hobby" or because I studied, but because I find the texts interesting and like to occupy myself with these subjects.
I am also doing patent translations, codes of conduct, MSDS and many other stuff that I do not find so exciting, but that are more or less okay.
In my studies, I actually did medicine and law translations - and I used to do quite a lot of contract translations some years ago, until I noticed that these kind of texts really got on my nerves - so I avoided doing these kinds of translations after that experience. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 14:56
Member (2009)
English to German
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I was a writer before I became a translator, so actually I am now specializing in the fields that have been my interest all along, literature, poetry, and the media world.
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According to my degree, my specialization would be economics but the truth is that what seemed attractive to me when I was twenty five years or so started being much less attractive and I drifted away from that. Life pushed me in different directions and translation came my way. I started out as a generalist and the “specialization” answer came in the form of long term clients who gave me lots of repeat business in several fields…
| | | | | Interest, aptitude, demand, lack of competition, money | Oct 20, 2014 |
I've always found the workings of the economy and financial markets fascinating, though I totally understand why many people find it all tedious beyond belief.
There's always been strong demand for financial translation from the Scandinavian languages. Most translators seem happy to take on annual reports despite a limited knowledge of accounts (and often make a mess of it) but fewer venture into the more technical stuff, so there's good money for those who do know what they are doi... See more I've always found the workings of the economy and financial markets fascinating, though I totally understand why many people find it all tedious beyond belief.
There's always been strong demand for financial translation from the Scandinavian languages. Most translators seem happy to take on annual reports despite a limited knowledge of accounts (and often make a mess of it) but fewer venture into the more technical stuff, so there's good money for those who do know what they are doing.
Other specialist areas have come about by chance. You translate financial reports about oil and shipping and you end up knowing a whole lot about oil and shipping. And the things I could tell you about enzymes and diabetes...
The one area I really can't stand is law. Case law, contracts, the whole bloody lot of it bores me to tears. I don't suppose it's intrinsically any duller than the stuff I do, so I really don't know why I have such an aversion to it, but I do.
Edit: On second thoughts, one reason why I can't stand legal is because I translate very freely, and apparently you can't do that with law. Not sure why, but for some reason you have to translate words not thoughts. Bizarre.
[Edited at 2014-10-20 10:22 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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My first clients were in the field, so I continued to market myself as working in those fields, and so it continued — more clients appeared with similar material.
| | | | | A combination of a few factors, but mostly interest. | Oct 20, 2014 |
My background is in linguistics, literature and creative writing--so literary translation is the outcome of those interests and education.
As to legal translation--I have always had an interest in law, and worked in a few law firms. Yes, I actually think that my other option, as a profession, would be law-- especially human rights.
| | | | | It's my hobby | Oct 20, 2014 |
Definitely my hobby (video games)
| | | | | Specialize in medical translation because of clients need. | Oct 20, 2014 |
I simply specialize in medical translation because of clients need. Specializing in a field will produce a more high quality and cost effective and eficient translation and no need for further multiple editing and reviewing which will increase the cost.
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EvaVer (X)
Local time: 14:56
Czech to French
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| The same for certain of my "specialties" | Oct 20, 2014 |
Tim Drayton wrote:
The market pushed me in that direction. In my main language pair, most of the work at reasonable rates appears to be in the legal field, so I put in a great deal of effort to become proficient in that area.
Yes, for legal, pharmaceutical etc. As to agriculture/food, I came upon the subject early in my career and decided that it was so vast and complicated a field that nobody would want to deal with it, so that there would be no competition. This decision proved to be a wise one.
| | | | | In-house work | Oct 20, 2014 |
I was trained in legal and financial translation during my years as an in-house translator for Mercedes-Benz and Toyota. When I went freelance, I found similar work, which led to similar clients, and here I am, four years later, still doing the same thing.
I am finding more work in my preferred area of expertise: video games! I know it's silly, but I really enjoy working on them and there is a huge demand for good translators. I just recently finished a 170k word project for a game... See more I was trained in legal and financial translation during my years as an in-house translator for Mercedes-Benz and Toyota. When I went freelance, I found similar work, which led to similar clients, and here I am, four years later, still doing the same thing.
I am finding more work in my preferred area of expertise: video games! I know it's silly, but I really enjoy working on them and there is a huge demand for good translators. I just recently finished a 170k word project for a game that I've been playing for about a year now. I am debating whether or not to buy this new expansion, as I already know what is going to happen, though I usually get a free copy when the game is released. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | It just happened | Oct 20, 2014 |
After several years in translation, I got a regular customer who sent me lots of automotive translations, and I did so many of them that this field became my speciality, and of course that prompted me to study it.
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