各位前輩, 請指教如何入行? Thread poster: Cookietranslate
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Dear all,
I'm not sure if I"m asking this question in the right forum, but I'm hoping some of the experienced translators here will point me in the right direction if possible. As a brief introduction of myself - I emigrated to the US from Hong Kong many years ago, and ended up living there for 25 years. I am an accountant by trade and had worked in the financial services industry for 18 years. About two years ago, I moved back to Hong Kong with my family (I have two young kids) ... See more Dear all,
I'm not sure if I"m asking this question in the right forum, but I'm hoping some of the experienced translators here will point me in the right direction if possible. As a brief introduction of myself - I emigrated to the US from Hong Kong many years ago, and ended up living there for 25 years. I am an accountant by trade and had worked in the financial services industry for 18 years. About two years ago, I moved back to Hong Kong with my family (I have two young kids) due to my husband's job opportunities in HK.
I've always had a strong interest in the English language, and enjoy reading and writing whenever I have time. In addition, I've kept up pretty well with my Chinese over the 25 years. I have no problems reading and understanding Chinese, simplified or traditional, at newspaper level or even more. Now that I'm in Hong Kong, a place with such a strong bilingual culture, I began to develop an interest in translation - I genuinely think that is a vastly more interesting and worthwhile profession than accounting. And of course, the potential flexibility afforded by a freelance translator is very attractive as well. Given my background, I have the following questions:
- Am I totally out of my mind to think that I have a shot at being a freelance translator, without any kind of language degree to back me up?
- Should I maybe start with volunteering for a while to hone my skills? I do realize that no client will be interested in someone who has no experience.
- Should I obtain some sort of translation certification? If so, how do I go about doing that in Hong Kong? I do know that there are some translation diploma courses available at some universities. Are those programs worthwhile?
- I must admit I'm much stronger in translating Chinese to English, and not the other way around. Am I suicidal if I limit myself to this language pair only? Though I did hear that the demand for Chinese to English translation is on the rise.
- Is flexibility in terms of hours a myth? That is, if there is a deadline, you will basically be working 20 hour days without seeing any daylight, so what flexibility can we speak of? I can commit to only an average of about 7 to 8 hours of uninterrupted time for translating during the day, and on weekdays only. Is that even enough? Thankfully, financially we are doing ok, so, the lack of round-the-clock commitment is not going to hurt me too much financially, but what about operationally?
- Please kindly share your experience particularly if you are a freelance translator in Hong Kong. How do you obtain your clients? If in the field of finance, what kind of projects are the most common?
Thanks in advance for any advice, even if you will be telling me that I should forget about my foray into translation. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lawrence Lam 
China
Local time: 02:16
English to Chinese
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| All things are dificult before they are easy | May 5, 2013 |
Hi,
- Am I totally out of my mind to think that I have a shot at being a freelance translator, without any kind of language degree to back me up?
What backs you up is not the language degree(s), but your professional knowledge with some real translation skills.
- Should I maybe start with volunteering for a while to hone my skills? I do realize that no client will be interested in someone who has no experience.
With your specialty and experiences, I think that many translation agencies would like to try with you, if you are not asking too much in the beginning.
- Should I obtain some sort of translation certification? If so, how do I go about doing that in Hong Kong? I do know that there are some translation diploma courses available at some universities. Are those programs worthwhile?
Some universities have online courses. These programs may offer you the opportunity to gain some systematic knowledge in translation.
- I must admit I'm much stronger in translating Chinese to English, and not the other way around. Am I suicidal if I limit myself to this language pair only? Though I did hear that the demand for Chinese to English translation is on the rise.
Usually, most translators are more skilled in translating from source languages into their native language. Maybe you are an exception . The demand for C-E is sure on the rise, just prove your skill to your clients in your niche.
- Is flexibility in terms of hours a myth? That is, if there is a deadline, you will basically be working 20 hour days without seeing any daylight, so what flexibility can we speak of? I can commit to only an average of about 7 to 8 hours of uninterrupted time for translating during the day, and on weekdays only. Is that even enough? Thankfully, financially we are doing ok, so, the lack of round-the-clock commitment is not going to hurt me too much financially, but what about operationally?
Never accept the task beyond your ability, manage your time logically. some overtime is unavoidable, but often working far into the night will ruin your health.
- Please kindly share your experience particularly if you are a freelance translator in Hong Kong. How do you obtain your clients? If in the field of finance, what kind of projects are the most common?
Prepare a good CV and send it to your target clients. Set up your own website to promote yourself, if applicable. This forum is full of posts about how to get clients. Most of my clients are international law firms, but quite a few financial institutions ask me to help translating financial documents in the area of Foreign Investment, Hedge Funds, Banking and Finance, Capital Markets, International Trade, Structured Finance, Securitization, PE&VC Funds, Mergers & Acquisitions, General Corporate, Overseas Investment.
Well, good luck in your translation journey!
Regards
Frank
| | | | wherestip
United States
Local time: 13:16
Chinese to English
+ ...
Your English is excellent. IMO, all that is needed is some conscientious effort on your part to kickstart your career into the translation business.
Where there's a will, there's a way. Good luck!
| | | | Phil Hand
China
Local time: 02:16
Chinese to English
| Don't overestimate our industry | May 6, 2013 |
Cookietranslate wrote:
- Am I totally out of my mind to think that I have a shot at being a freelance translator, without any kind of language degree to back me up?
Not at all, a lot of people come into translation without language backgrounds. Many clients consider it a bonus - it shows that you're a person with real-world experience.
- Should I maybe start with volunteering for a while to hone my skills? I do realize that no client will be interested in someone who has no experience.
In your fields, I can't imagine that volunteering will be useful. You're a financial specialist, and financial institutions/translation agencies will value those skills. Translating human rights documents for a couple of months is a bit irrelevant.
- Should I obtain some sort of translation certification? If so, how do I go about doing that in Hong Kong? I do know that there are some translation diploma courses available at some universities. Are those programs worthwhile?
Hong Kong is the best place in the world to do specialist training in Chinese-English translation. However, it's not necessary. Plenty of people don't have certification/degrees. You can look into the ATA and IoL exams. It's certainly possible to take them in Hong Kong.
- I must admit I'm much stronger in translating Chinese to English, and not the other way around. Am I suicidal if I limit myself to this language pair only? Though I did hear that the demand for Chinese to English translation is on the rise.
Not at all, this pair is booming, and there is a huge lack of competent translators. In our pair, the problem is not finding work; the problem is making sure you distinguish yourself from low-quality, low price translators (i.e. most of the mainland translation industry).
- Is flexibility in terms of hours a myth? That is, if there is a deadline, you will basically be working 20 hour days without seeing any daylight, so what flexibility can we speak of? I can commit to only an average of about 7 to 8 hours of uninterrupted time for translating during the day, and on weekdays only. Is that even enough?
Definitely. You can take as much/as little work as you want. Good agencies will try to make sure you have enough time to complete any job you take on, and that means you can complete it in a normal working day.
Translation can be great - everything you're hoping for: relaxed, interesting, independent. But because the industry isn't regulated, and most people don't have specific qualifications, high quality translators often find themselves lumped in with low quality translators. You just have to make it clear at all times and to all clients what kind of a translator you are: professional and expensive. So you have to set your prices high, and when someone asks you to do a rush job overnight, just say, politely, no. Very quickly, you'll find the low-quality clients drop away.
We're not allowed to name names in the forum, but I've had some positive experiences with Hong Kong agencies. Try the big, international ones. They'll be very glad of a translator like you.
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Rita Pang
Canada
Local time: 14:16
Member (2011)
Chinese to English
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Moderator of this forum | A bit off-handed, but.... | May 18, 2013 |
Phil Hand wrote: Cookietranslate wrote:
- Am I totally out of my mind to think that I have a shot at being a freelance translator, without any kind of language degree to back me up? Not at all, a lot of people come into translation without language backgrounds. Many clients consider it a bonus - it shows that you're a person with real-world experience. I agree wholeheartedly. A lot of people come into the business without being truly fluent in the languages they work in. This is not a bashing post but I'm saying that you shouldn't find yourself limited to opportunities just because you have/not have a certain degree. I have a degree in French, but I don't work with French. Nuff said. - Should I maybe start with volunteering for a while to hone my skills? I do realize that no client will be interested in someone who has no experience. Phil's made a very good point. I mean I think it's worthwhile to have something on your CV so you can show how you're not "totally green" but those volunteer experiences should be relevant to what you eventually want to do. - Should I obtain some sort of translation certification? If so, how do I go about doing that in Hong Kong? I do know that there are some translation diploma courses available at some universities. Are those programs worthwhile? Hong Kong is the best place in the world to do specialist training in Chinese-English translation. However, it's not necessary. Plenty of people don't have certification/degrees. You can look into the ATA and IoL exams. It's certainly possible to take them in Hong Kong. Whoa, seriously? That I did NOT know. Care to share, Phil? I am from HK myself and I did hear about a Brit exam or certification there...other than that, OP can definitely consider doing the ATA exam, however, the ATA one is only available for translation from English into Chinese right now. Last I talked to them they did say that eventually they will do the ChH>EN test but there's no clue on when that'll happen.
| | | | Cookietranslate
Hong Kong
Local time: 02:16
Chinese to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you so much again for your replies. For Chinese to English language pair, do you mind sharing what kind of work you would usually get in the field of Business/Finance? Is it contracts? Forms? Business news articles? Marketing materials? Website translation? Which of the above do you get most frequently?
| | | | Cookietranslate
Hong Kong
Local time: 02:16
Chinese to English
TOPIC STARTER
Cookietranslate wrote:
Thank you so much again for your replies. For Chinese to English language pair, do you mind sharing what kind of work you would usually get in the field of Business/Finance? Is it contracts? Forms? Business news articles? Marketing materials? Website translation? Which of the above do you get most frequently?
Hello, bumping this up again. Can anyone share your experience so I can properly set my expectations? Thank you so much!
| | | | | same feeling | Jun 25, 2013 |
Hello dear,i am flash new in proz forum,and i got same feeling as yours,but i just take it too lose since i kind of treat freelance as a interest right now,not big pressure to rush it sharp,so still finding the way to this field
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Jinhang Wang
China
Local time: 02:16
English to Chinese
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Cookietranslate wrote: Cookietranslate wrote:
Thank you so much again for your replies. For Chinese to English language pair, do you mind sharing what kind of work you would usually get in the field of Business/Finance? Is it contracts? Forms? Business news articles? Marketing materials? Website translation? Which of the above do you get most frequently? Hello, bumping this up again. Can anyone share your experience so I can properly set my expectations? Thank you so much!
中译英做得很少，在这方面没有发言权。不过，现在的翻译公司都普遍使用翻译软件，比如 Trados，所以，我觉得您可以先买套软件，花点时间熟悉一下。这对于您将来从翻译公司接收翻译任务会很有帮助。当然，您的语言能力是没得说的。
| | | | Cookietranslate
Hong Kong
Local time: 02:16
Chinese to English
TOPIC STARTER
J.H. Wang wrote: Cookietranslate wrote: Cookietranslate wrote:
Thank you so much again for your replies. For Chinese to English language pair, do you mind sharing what kind of work you would usually get in the field of Business/Finance? Is it contracts? Forms? Business news articles? Marketing materials? Website translation? Which of the above do you get most frequently? Hello, bumping this up again. Can anyone share your experience so I can properly set my expectations? Thank you so much! 中译英做得很少，在这方面没有发言权。不过，现在的翻译公司都普遍使用翻译软件，比如 Trados，所以，我觉得您可以先买套软件，花点时间熟悉一下。这对于您将来从翻译公司接收翻译任务会很有帮助。当然，您的语言能力是没得说的。
謝謝你的建議, 我也明白Trados的普及性。當我在這行認真拼搏時,就一定會買一套! 希望操作方面還算容易吧!
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