A Student Guide to Becoming a Professional Translator
Professional translators are high in demand these days with the increasing need for companies to build multilingual brand identities. With more businesses expanding into new markets, the need for content translation also increases. Translators are making handsome incomes these days. And, if you know your craft very well, you are not going to run short of good translation projects.
There are great opportunities for linguistic students to start pursuing their careers in the translation sector. In this article, we are providing some step-by-step guidelines that will help you build your career as a professional translator.
Step By Step Translation Career Guidelines for Students
To be successful as a professional translator very much depends on how you approach your career. Here are some tips for you to have a mindful and strategic approach toward your career as a translator.
Choose One Target Domain
Instead of being a jack of all trades and providing mediocre translations for all business domains, it is better to be a master of one niche only. You can choose medical, legal, or financial fields for translations. Even if you choose only one target domain, it will not be that easy to understand the intricacies of the industry. Moreover, learning about complex terminologies will also take a lot of time. That’s why you must choose one niche and dedicate your time working specifically towards understanding its intricacies.
Get Specialized Training
Whether or not you have a linguistic degree, it is always good to get a professional certification in translation. Especially, if you are someone who doesn’t have any previous exposure in the industry. Getting professional training will add to your credibility and you’ll get hired by reputed translation agencies for internships and jobs. Based on the domain you are operating in, you have to get a relevant certification that caters to industry-specific and technical translation demands. During your training period, you will get to know about the practical work in the industry, how demanding the job is, and what is expected of you as a professional translator.
Start With One Language Pair
Translation careers are mostly chosen by bilinguals or students who are getting a professional linguistic degree. Sometimes it happens that people would go for multiple language pairs that not just make it hard for them to navigate between different types of languages, and they can’t grasp the nuances of one language fully. So, in order to attain excellence in one language pair, you have to focus on its technicalities. Moreover, your clients will also see you as an authority in that particular language pair.
Get Your Hands on the Latest Tools
With linguistic expertise, you also need to understand how a professional translation tool works and how you can use them to enhance your work efficiency and speed. There are plenty of tools out there for generating automated translation, managing translation projects, and effectively managing remote teams. However, if you want to understand the best use of such tools, experience matters, and here comes our next step.
Work With a Professional Agency
Just because you got a professional degree in linguistics or you can speak well in two languages, doesn’t make you a translator. You need to get the field experience first, to fully understand how things actually work in the industry. From understanding the unique clients’ requirements to working through a professional localization platform, working with a professional agency will really polish your skills as a linguist. Career growth can be slow working with an LSP but it is the only way to get experience and improve your skills as a professional linguist.
Critically Analyze Client’s Requirements
How effectively and clearly you can understand the client’s requirements and deliver the expected outcomes determines your credibility as a translator. The translation is not as simple as altering the words between different languages, it goes way beyond it. The overall market reputation of your business clients depends on the translations. By getting more exposure in the industry and working with multiple clients, you will be able to comprehend the requirements of each client. It will also help you build a successful career and close deals with high-end clients as an independent freelancer.
Widen Your Network
Your overall success as a professional translator highly depends on the clients you are working with and other credible resources in your circle. That’s why a translator needs to build a valuable network by participating in conferences and events related to their field. At professional events, you’ll find translators and clients that may turn out to be a good addition to your network. You can also pitch to your dream clients at such conferences and increase your chances of working with high-value clients.
Final Verdict!
Translation has become a high-scope career, and more people are trying their luck to grasp it fully. Students who haven’t already jumped into the industry need to be very careful about approaching their career the right way from the very beginning. Make sure to follow the steps and guidelines in this article to grow as a successful professional, polish your skills, and build your authority in the translation industry.