Poll: Do you think today's generation of translators is well prepared to work in the industry?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Jan 18, 2015

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you think today's generation of translators is well prepared to work in the industry?".

This poll was originally submitted by Leon Hunter. View the poll results »



 
Karen Stokes
Karen Stokes  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:24
Member (2003)
French to English
CIOL / EC survey Jan 18, 2015

CIOL and the European Commission Representation in the UK ran a follow-up survey to the joint CIOL / EC / ITI Translating Europe event on this topic in London last July: the event report and the survey results are on the CIOL website here:

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CIOL and the European Commission Representation in the UK ran a follow-up survey to the joint CIOL / EC / ITI Translating Europe event on this topic in London last July: the event report and the survey results are on the CIOL website here:


http://www.ciol.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=437:future-proofing-the-translation-profession-report-survey-results&catid=122:ciol-news&Itemid=545

[Edited at 2015-01-18 08:57 GMT]
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EvaVer (X)
EvaVer (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 08:24
Czech to French
+ ...
You cannot generalize Jan 18, 2015

Some are, some aren't. Difference between generations? Situations will be different in different countries. In mine, today's young people can travel and have access to information (internet, foreign TV stations), which we weren't allowed to and hadn't. But when proofreading, I feel their command of their native language is often poor. And so is their knowledge of real life (e.g., business terminology), but maybe some of my generation aren't better in that respect.

 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 08:24
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Jan 18, 2015

On one hand, I think that recent graduates of translation courses are probably well prepared to work in the "industry", especially in terms of CAT and use of new technologies, but I doubt very much that their training prepares them for the harsh reality of working as a freelancer.

I would also tend to agree with Eva's comment: "I feel their command of their native language is often poor. And so is their knowledge of real life (e.g., business terminology)... "

[Edited at 2015
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On one hand, I think that recent graduates of translation courses are probably well prepared to work in the "industry", especially in terms of CAT and use of new technologies, but I doubt very much that their training prepares them for the harsh reality of working as a freelancer.

I would also tend to agree with Eva's comment: "I feel their command of their native language is often poor. And so is their knowledge of real life (e.g., business terminology)... "

[Edited at 2015-01-18 10:29 GMT]
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Julian Holmes
Julian Holmes  Identity Verified
Japan
Local time: 16:24
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Don't know Jan 18, 2015

Because I really don't frequent or 'hang out' with 'today's generation of translators,' per se.

Amazing tools, technology and infrastructure - the Internet, online resources, etc., etc. - are in place and ready for anybody to use. In retrospect, if I'd had these at my fingertips when I first started out instead of a manual typewriter and books available only at the local library, I could have got a big jump start and gained a lot of knowledge much more quickly.

But to u
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Because I really don't frequent or 'hang out' with 'today's generation of translators,' per se.

Amazing tools, technology and infrastructure - the Internet, online resources, etc., etc. - are in place and ready for anybody to use. In retrospect, if I'd had these at my fingertips when I first started out instead of a manual typewriter and books available only at the local library, I could have got a big jump start and gained a lot of knowledge much more quickly.

But to use a tool properly, you have to have the basic skills - in this case, linguistic ability. That can only come from hard work, experience and dedication, things you can't buy in a software package off the Internet. IMHO

I ought to add that I've started mentoring a lad who, in fact, went to the same grammar school as I did, about the ins and outs of translation here in Japan. I call him 'grasshopper.'

Small edit + added last line

[Edited at 2015-01-19 08:17 GMT]
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Diana Coada (X)
Diana Coada (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:24
Portuguese to English
+ ...
This: Jan 18, 2015

neilmac wrote:

On one hand, I think that recent graduates of translation courses are probably well prepared to work in the "industry", especially in terms of CAT and use of new technologies, but I doubt very much that their training prepares them for the harsh reality of working as a freelancer.


 
Christel Zipfel
Christel Zipfel  Identity Verified
Local time: 08:24
Member (2004)
Italian to German
+ ...
Technically they may be prepared to a certain extent Jan 18, 2015

But as long as they don't know the appropriate rates, charging peanuts (plus often not being ready to learn better) and thus harming our whole industry, well, I am sorry to say in my opinion they are not sufficiently prepared.

 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 08:24
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
I don't know Jan 18, 2015

But as I mentioned before, it is not only what you learned at school that makes you a good translator, you also need to have lived in both the source and the target language country for a substantial period of time.

 
Leon Hunter
Leon Hunter  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 08:24
Member (2005)
Spanish to English
+ ...
General comment on poll Jan 18, 2015

I made this poll question quite some time ago (I believe it was in 2011 or 2012) but the issue is still relevant today.
Although at the time I was heavily criticised for even daring to ask the question, I am pleased to see that some organisations are running surveys and discussing the issue today.
Since I made the question, I am proud to say that some of my former employees and also mentored translators have done extremely well as all-round professionals and have done well as in-hous
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I made this poll question quite some time ago (I believe it was in 2011 or 2012) but the issue is still relevant today.
Although at the time I was heavily criticised for even daring to ask the question, I am pleased to see that some organisations are running surveys and discussing the issue today.
Since I made the question, I am proud to say that some of my former employees and also mentored translators have done extremely well as all-round professionals and have done well as in-house translators and as business owners too.
Perhaps I was harsh with them at times and their training was very demanding but the results are there and the effort paid off.
I also made them attend training and provided very detailed feedback on all of their work.
The translation profession is extremely challenging even for people with many years of experience so training should be appropriate to the level of actual expectation likely to be found by graduates entering into the labour market, as otherwise they will simply fail and be disappointed with their education.
I also believe that as the translation market itself has actually become less profitable in recent years there is a growing number of professionals offering courses. However, I believe that courses should be a lot more demanding and encourage less - rather than more - people to enter into the profession, given that there is not enough work for all of these trainees.
I have also pointed out that the translation training business is currently big bucks and it could well be worth more than the actual industry itself - that is another question that people should be asking themselves.
Best regards,
Leon Hunter
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Mariel Varjão Azoubel
Mariel Varjão Azoubel  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 04:24
English to Portuguese
+ ...
To a certain extent Jan 18, 2015

Although technology is widely available to everyone now, and I feel that as part of "today's generation of translators" that certainly comes in handy to me, formal education (namely undergrad and grad programs, at least in Brazil) is seriously behind in terms of preparing new translators to deal with CAT tools and the particulars of technical translation.

Speaking from personal experience, it feels like the biggest slice of this local market is translating technical text, and even i
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Although technology is widely available to everyone now, and I feel that as part of "today's generation of translators" that certainly comes in handy to me, formal education (namely undergrad and grad programs, at least in Brazil) is seriously behind in terms of preparing new translators to deal with CAT tools and the particulars of technical translation.

Speaking from personal experience, it feels like the biggest slice of this local market is translating technical text, and even if you are a savvy-internet-user-and-researcher generalist translator with a strong ethical backbone, nothing can replace proper (not necessarily in-depth, but at least proper) knowledge of a certain area.
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Daniel Penso
Daniel Penso
United States
Local time: 00:24
Member (2012)
Japanese to English
+ ...
Sums it up Jan 18, 2015

Christel Zipfel wrote:

But as long as they don't know the appropriate rates, charging peanuts (plus often not being ready to learn better) and thus harming our whole industry, well, I am sorry to say in my opinion they are not sufficiently prepared.


 
Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 03:24
English to Spanish
+ ...
Poorly phrased question Jan 18, 2015

The poll question is poorly phrased because it's a yes/no question, and that type of question doesn't help to think or discuss.

Having said that, I'd venture that my generation of Spanish translators in general is inadequately prepared. Why? Very few of us know how to write standard Spanish properly. If you read Spanish, I invite you to visit any website representing a large corporation (Dell, IBM, etc.), university or government organization (American or European) and pick a page.
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The poll question is poorly phrased because it's a yes/no question, and that type of question doesn't help to think or discuss.

Having said that, I'd venture that my generation of Spanish translators in general is inadequately prepared. Why? Very few of us know how to write standard Spanish properly. If you read Spanish, I invite you to visit any website representing a large corporation (Dell, IBM, etc.), university or government organization (American or European) and pick a page. The Spanish is not flawless and does not flow naturally, and you can tell it was translated from English.

[Edited at 2015-01-18 17:36 GMT]
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Mario Chavez (X)
Mario Chavez (X)  Identity Verified
Local time: 03:24
English to Spanish
+ ...
Grasshopper Jan 18, 2015

Julian Holmes wrote:

I ought to add that I've started mentoring a lad who, in fact, went to the same grammar school as I did, about the ins and outs of translation here in Japan. I call him 'grasshopper.'



And do you guys shave your heads?




 
Maxi Schwarz
Maxi Schwarz  Identity Verified
Local time: 02:24
German to English
+ ...
In the whole world? How can this be answered? Jan 18, 2015

Personally I have not seen the work of many young translators, or if I have seen it, the age of the translator does not jump off the page. How many young translators do any of us know, to be able to answer?

And then this is a worldwide forum. I know that in Canada translation is a four year course which deals with translation from the get go, and a few more years after that to get certified. For some. I know that in the US it's a postgraduate course. I know that in Germany the
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Personally I have not seen the work of many young translators, or if I have seen it, the age of the translator does not jump off the page. How many young translators do any of us know, to be able to answer?

And then this is a worldwide forum. I know that in Canada translation is a four year course which deals with translation from the get go, and a few more years after that to get certified. For some. I know that in the US it's a postgraduate course. I know that in Germany there are sworn translators, with some exams and I assume training preceding it. That's it. That is all I know. So how could any of us state whether translators the world over are well prepared?

Further, there are people who start with extensive training, others who learn on the job having no initial background other than being bilingual. Still others; bilingual doctors, engineers, financial analysts become specialists in medical, patent, and financial translation. It might make more sense to go by background than by age group.

The bigger concern may be what is happening to the industry. Someone does a four year course and then gets e-mails saying "Hey there! We'll pay you .03 a word to translate 10,000 words by this evening in a completely unrelated language pair." It's got to be a bit of a shocker.

One thing that has puzzled me about the younger group is that all surveys for postgraduate work have always been about CAT tools. They never seem to want to know anything else. Surely that can't be the only thing they study in preparation for translation.
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Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 04:24
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
No, Jan 18, 2015

Not if you're talking about the recently graduated translators. And we were not, either, when we entered the market.

The translation courses hardly even teach two languages and translation techniques correctly. They are very superficial, a good set of hints at the most. The new generation is perhaps prepared for what they'll have to face once they enter the market, but certainly not to be a good professional.

This would be perfeclty ok, if these new professionals were a
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Not if you're talking about the recently graduated translators. And we were not, either, when we entered the market.

The translation courses hardly even teach two languages and translation techniques correctly. They are very superficial, a good set of hints at the most. The new generation is perhaps prepared for what they'll have to face once they enter the market, but certainly not to be a good professional.

This would be perfeclty ok, if these new professionals were aware of it. However, what I've been seeing around is that they dive into the market believing they can "compete" with people who are already there for 20 years. Influenced by areas like engineering and IT, where the new professionals sometimes have more knowledge and are more up to date than the dinosaurs, in our area it's the other way around. It takes years of practice to become a good professional, and what you've studied in school dissipates gradually as experience takes over, unless it's recycled on a daily basis.
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Poll: Do you think today's generation of translators is well prepared to work in the industry?






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