Determining which are the best translations available and why will vary depending on what you are looking for individually. Specialized translation services may pay more but may not always provide the translator or interpreter with a regular work schedule. Some people may be happier working as a freelance translator where others may want to focus on more precisely defined professional translation services working for a translation company that specializes in their particular area of linguistic interest. For some people a flexible schedule may be more important while others may seek to travel and work abroad. Fortunately for everyone, there is some very helpful information about translation services that should make getting that dream job much easier.
Translation Jobs, Working From Home and the New Normal
Even as the recent Covid-19 pandemic fades into the annals of history, working from home is rapidly becoming part of the new normal.
Whether you remain in self-isolation or even full quarantine as a precautionary measure against the potential for a second wave coronavirus crisis, or merely want to seek out new ways of working from home, working among professional translators and interpreters is a relatively easy means to begin earning a living as a remote language service provider.
If you are able to provide high quality translation services on a regular basis, this may be an ideal solution for both your desire to work from home and ensuring that you have the capacity to earn a decent living at the same time.
However, there are some considerations to keep in mind so as to ensure that, as with any career, you can increase your rates as your experience increases. This is absolutely necessary if you are going to build a career as a freelance translator or interpreter and not just constantly look for work while you slowly starve.
It is important that you begin working immediately to build up long-term clients who will require a regular stream of quality translations. These long-term clients will ensure that the bills are paid and the work is there, while you seek out additional work and clients to increase your experience and earning capacity.
In the event that you are fortunate enough to acquire clients with large-scale translation projects, new tactics may be in order. Machine translation has not yet reached the stage where it can match human translation services in terms of quality, it can still be a great tool for the professional translator.
The machine translation can serve as a base for the translation project, while the human translator goes over the machine translation using a tactic known as PEMT. Post edited machine translation services are a great way to increase your speed and efficiency as a professional translator.
When large-scale translation jobs are available, the machine translation can translate the document in short order, but not always very accurately. However, using the original document as a proof, it may be substantially easier and faster to edit the machine translation rather than attempting to do a large-scale document translation from scratch. This combination of translation
There should eventually come a point in time in your career as a freelance translator, when you have a sufficient number of clients seeking out cost efficient translations in order to have a regular workload, and perhaps even a regular work schedule. This does not mean that it is time to quit looking for new clients though.
As you begin your career as a freelance translator, working on freelance job sites is among the easiest locations to find new work, though that appears to be changing with the times as well. You should also constantly seek to sell your services to new clients, even after your translation work schedule is relatively well filled.
Hopefully, by this time your translation quality has allowed you to collect some good testimonials from your clients and you can begin quoting a slightly higher price for the potential new clients. When you find a new client seeking out translation work who is willing to pay the higher price, use it as an opportunity to increase the rates paid by your lower paying clients.
Explain to the existing clients that you have new clients that are paying higher rates, but you wish to continue working with clients you have known for a long time. Offer them the opportunity to retain your professional translation services at the new rates.
If they decline, you still have the new client paying the higher rates. If they accept, you may be working some overtime for a while, but you will also be better compensated for your professional translations at the same time.
Professional and Certified Translators and Interpreters
The recent Covid-19 pandemic revealed some extreme challenges within the medical industry, including a host of very poor translations and an urgent need for both certified medical translators and interpreters.
Certified translators and interpreters in the medical field need to have an intimate knowledge, not only of the language pairs they will be translating, but also of very specific and precise medical terminology.
The same principles hold equally as true for certified legal translators and interpreters. Both medical and legal translators and interpreters must have a comprehensive understanding of the terms specific to their individual industries.
These types of translator jobs generally pay very well, not in any small way because of the specific nature of the unique lexical requirements within both the medical and legal fields. However, work schedules will generally not be relevant, with these certified interpretation and translation specialists being called in as needed.
Certified medical translators working for a general practitioner may be expected to be on call any time during regular office hours with very little work being conducted outside of that. Certified medical interpreters working for larger hospitals and general healthcare facilities may be required to make themselves available at more odd hours of the day and night.
Likewise, certified court interpreters may be required to be available at any given time that the courts are in session. There is also another factor that should be considered by those seeking a career as a certified court interpreter and their role in document translation services.
The supreme court of the United States has ruled that while courts are required to provide a court interpreter, they are not required to provide legal document translation services. Thus, any legal document translations must be independently contracted and paid for by an individual attorney, client or other individual as these translation services will not be guaranteed for payment by the courts.
These types of certified interpreter and translation jobs are more ideally suited to someone who already earns a basic income and is just seeking to earn extra money working as a translator or interpreter part time.
Translation Jobs and the Travel Industry
Jobs for both translators and interpreters working in the travel industry have taken a major hit with the recent global coronavirus crisis but may still offer viable opportunities for people seeking to earn money working part time as a translator or interpreter.
These translation jobs in the travel industry can also be full time jobs, though often translation will only be a portion of the job description, or part time jobs working with tourists or vacationers. In some locations the hotel desk clerks will be required to speak multiple languages, as will the concierge and many of the management positions within hotels and resorts alike.
Among the most common jobs for translators and interpreters in the travel industry are tour guides and vacation “hosts”. These people generally tend to be very extroverted in nature and get along well with people, even those they have never met.
These types of translation jobs are also great for people who possess adequate language skills, sufficient for general communications, but may lack a comprehensive understanding of the second language. If you really want to seek out adventure as a translator or interpreter though, and you have the necessary language skills, there is nothing quite like working as a professional translator or interpreter within the diplomatic corps or with one of the many non-governmental agencies around the world.
Translation, Interpretation and Adventure in the Diplomatic Corps
For even the smallest of meetings, the United Nations requires a minimum of 14 translators to be present at the meeting. That is just what is necessary to engage in open communications during the meetings and to record the minutes of the meeting.
Once the meeting is over, and new documents are created, document translation services are required to disseminate those documents out to the world in nearly 200 languages. This same process takes place every day, not only at the United Nations, but also at the World Bank, the World Health Organization and all of the other related non-governmental organizations and government agencies involved in global diplomatic efforts.
How many embassies are there in your local area? Perhaps none, but if you live in a large city, particularly in a capitol region, there are likely to be a host of embassies, many of which will routinely hire both translators and interpreters.
While the embassy life may not seem overly exciting to some, this does potentially open the door to the darker, more sinister, and oddly attractive world of working as a translator or interpreter for the alphabet agencies of the world.
Both domestic and international intelligence agencies routinely use the services of professional translators and interpreters, though due to the sensitive nature of the materials being handled, most of these people are internal employees.
More tempting still? Even if you only possess rudimentary language skills in your particular language pair, most of the intelligence agencies have programs in place to help you master the new language as if you were a native speaker.
Perhaps one of the most noteworthy things about translation and interpretation is that no matter what your dream job may be, it is likely that your language skills alone are sufficient to open at least one door leading down that particular career path.
Furthermore, becoming a professional translator or a certified interpreter virtually guarantees that no matter what type of job and schedule you wish for, it can be made available, again, using little more than your language skills.
Whether you are the proverbial introvert seeking to stay home alone, regardless of any global pandemics or sociopolitical unrest, or whether you are the ultimate extrovert wanting to go out and greet the world, professional translation and certified interpretation skills will allow you to pursue those opportunities.
Are you the superhero type, always wanting to save the world? Guess what. Working as a professional translator or as a certified interpreter can even afford you the opportunity to do your part to save the world.
