How many of you have a professional background in translation?

6 posts / 0 нових

Сбт, 09/11/2024 - 09:24

Гуру

На сайті з: 08.01.2023

Pending moderation

I know most people here are probably hobby translators, but I was wondering how many people here are professional translators or otherwise have an education in translation. I personally started translating as a hobby but I eventually ended up doing some for volunteer/work purposes and eventually ended up taking a certificate program in French to English translation. I'm still actually looking for a job up my alley, but in the meantime I'm using LT for practice as well as getting feedback - and of course it remains a hobby.

How about you? Does anyone else do translation as part of their career or formal education? If so, what kind of work do you usually do and - for those who are already working in translation - how was it like finding a job in your area?

Сбт, 09/11/2024 - 09:32

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robinofsherwood17021981

Експерт

На сайті з: 29.01.2014

I begun to be a translator when i got my cochlears. With this operation my world has changed. I can hear music, I can listen to the radio, watch TV without help. Maybe you don't know but rehabilitation after cochlear operation is only one: working with your ears. And i studied more languages and went abroad and work in many companies as a translator. my languages are not so perfect but I have no problems wth understanding. I can switch between many languages. I am the biggest fan of Emil Krebs and his method. So I read tons of books and watch tons of tv series and it can help me in my daily routines as a translator...

Сбт, 09/11/2024 - 12:35

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Don Juan

Модератор et al.

На сайті з: 05.04.2012

I never studied translation (but as a child I always loved drawing parallels between languages, being curious and very into them). I'm also not a legally recognized translator (though I've been told I should apply for one of those positions quite often).

My background in translating is quite simple. At Uni I was very close to my teachers as I was the student representative in the college board of the Languages department - and with that I also knew people from other ares. My coordinator (who was one of my own teachers) recommended me to aid some fellow teachers from other departments with translating content either from or into Portuguese. I had a few clients due to this - and was hired by one of them to do something bigger, provide both translating and proofreading services for a website they wanted to build. It was what put food in my plate and paid for my bills for some time before I became a full-time teacher. I still love translating academic content, but opportunities have gone scarce (well, I'm not looking for them as much as I did, which influences in it).

I joined LT in April 2012. College, in August 2013. You probably won't get surprised one thing led to the other. But just a curiosity: i took English as a major and Portuguese as a minor - always preferring English because, yeah, international language, knowing it broadens your horizons. Here I stand, having last taught English ca. 10 years ago, on my 3rd year of teaching HS Portuguese.

Сбт, 09/11/2024 - 17:03

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Олександр CABAL Григорієв

Експерт

На сайті з: 20.05.2024

I started learning foreign languages (English, to be more exact) back when I was 8, at the second year at school. Our class specialized in foreign languages. After school I entered the university to study to become translator/interpreter. There I learned French. Actually I wanted to learn German upon entering the university, but our group was assigned to learn French and I didn't manage to transfer to the German group. Yet I learned German later, after graduation.

My first job was in express delivery company, but there I had little use of my languages knowledge. Only some communication due to faiiled deliveries, namely incorrect addresses and other contact data. It gave me no professional joy, so I quit and started looking for a new job with more use of my skills. Fortunately my search was a short one - I landed in the translation company, where they taught me properly on the basics.

The main difficulty on the start of carreer was to find an employer who would employ a newbie. Almost all job offers required certain experience. Yet in that case I decided "ask what you may – asking needs no pay" and got lucky.

Сбт, 22/03/2025 - 20:48

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Z Tetriminos

Супер користувач Sir/Madman

На сайті з: 06.03.2014

Technically I am a translator - one of the odd ones who are actually employed by an agency. But I'm still at the beginning of my career, and being autistic I struggle with communication, be it human-based (written or spoken) or marketing-based (nooooo I don't wanna depend on Linkedin to find wooooork). What I really want to translate as a job someday are documentaries, biographies, general nonfiction and subtitles.

I don't particularly like the type of work I currently do (personal documents for notarisation), but the things I learn everyday are something I wouldn't learn otherwise, not in any course or degree. I'm grateful for having this opportunity.

The highlight of my day is coming here and translating some lyrics for a good brain reset! I love dealing with language the way it's spoken, and I love music, so it's win-win. This website is a blessing.

Птн, 03/10/2025 - 14:16

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Zaimon

Експерт Sōshireikan

На сайті з: 13.09.2024

I have a masters' degree in translation! Well, English Philology actually, but I specialized in translation. I've always been a huge fan of foreign media (especially fiction) and always loved seeing how different languages could get the same plot or character's speech pattern across, for example, so choosing an English Philology course and specializing in translation was a bit of a hobby thing rather than a serious career choice. I mean, I ended up writing my final thesis on differences in Polish and English translations of three manga series I love (KEYMAN, Dorohedoro and Ninja Slayer), so that's saying something about what a hobby-driven path this was, lol.

Sadly, I never really had any luck getting hired as anything other than a dishwasher (funnily enough, I was the only person at the restaurant I worked at who could speak English, so for example one time I had to translate for an American client), and as of writing this it doesn't seem like I'll be able to find a translation-related gig anytime soon (two places that I was briefly an unpaid intern at rejected my application after I graduated, first after doing my licentiate, second after my masters'... I did get paid to translate a comic once, but I'm not yet sure if I'll be able to put that on my CV).

However - the stories you guys posted in this thread are really giving me hope for the future! So thank you for sharing them!