Good specializations for a wannabe Spanish-English Translator in Texas Auteur du fil: Michael Sowell
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Hello,
I've just attained my bachelor's degree in Spanish and am working my way toward becoming a translator. Now, I know it will take some time for me to gain enough experience to do it full time. I was a tutor in college, so right now I'm looking to continue that line of work and gain experience in translation on the side. (Sad thing is, it seems like many official positions require a teaching certification) I know that when I finally have enough experience to be able to translate... See more Hello,
I've just attained my bachelor's degree in Spanish and am working my way toward becoming a translator. Now, I know it will take some time for me to gain enough experience to do it full time. I was a tutor in college, so right now I'm looking to continue that line of work and gain experience in translation on the side. (Sad thing is, it seems like many official positions require a teaching certification) I know that when I finally have enough experience to be able to translate full-time having a specialization will help out greatly. I'd like to know what there is and what would be profitable. I'm learning French as well and would eventually like to work with that language also, if that's relevant.
Thanks ▲ Collapse
| | | | Edward Vreeburg 
Pays-Bas
Local time: 01:45
Membre (2008)
anglais vers néerlandais
+ ...
| no place for wannabees... | Feb 19, 2013 |
But if you are looking to become a professional, you would take something you already know, like teaching, or who nows... stamp collecting, wave boarding or oil & gas and translate on the subject matter...
Unfortunately you are competing with a LOT of other translator in this specific language pair....
Learning a new language (in school, online or even in university) does not give you any qualifications to add another language to your translation portfolio...
... See more But if you are looking to become a professional, you would take something you already know, like teaching, or who nows... stamp collecting, wave boarding or oil & gas and translate on the subject matter...
Unfortunately you are competing with a LOT of other translator in this specific language pair....
Learning a new language (in school, online or even in university) does not give you any qualifications to add another language to your translation portfolio...
Ed ▲ Collapse
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Not to be rude, but "want to be"/"looking to become" ...same difference?
How does learning another language not allow you to use that language professionally? Everyone who translates has either learned another language or grew up speaking both of their languages natively, so unless you're saying that only those who speak two languages natively can translate then I'm not sure what you mean.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Espagne
Local time: 00:45
Membre (2007)
anglais
+ ...
| Please help us to help you | Feb 19, 2013 |
It would be really helpful if you'd tell us a bit about yourself, michaels. I assume you're a native American English speaker, is that right? So you'll be aiming to translate from Spanish into English, and maybe from French to English later on. You say you were doing some tutoring in college - what subject(s)? What are your hobbies/interests? For ideas of possible specialisations, just complete your profile here and you'll find yourself presented with a great long list of subject areas as possib... See more It would be really helpful if you'd tell us a bit about yourself, michaels. I assume you're a native American English speaker, is that right? So you'll be aiming to translate from Spanish into English, and maybe from French to English later on. You say you were doing some tutoring in college - what subject(s)? What are your hobbies/interests? For ideas of possible specialisations, just complete your profile here and you'll find yourself presented with a great long list of subject areas as possible specialisations, working subjects and interest areas.
I don't think it's a good idea to simply find out which specialisations are profitable - if profitability is your main goal, freelance translating may be a big disappointment to you. It's a profession where you can earn a decent livelihood, but in the FIGS pairs it can be very difficult. You need to do as much as you can to give yourself an edge over the thousands of others, so you're right to be thinking about those specialisations. But if you choose specialisations that don't interest you, you'll be reading, writing and researching those subjects all day every day for the next nn years - not a very motivating prospect, I wouldn't have thought. Then again, some areas are best left to the real specialists turned translators - for example, medical translations are best done by those steeped in medical terminology from many years in medicine, in my opinion (though I know not everyone agrees with that).
A language degree is one very small step; now you have to think about justifying your choice of specialisations by studying them in both/all your languages (either formally or by yourself); living in countries where your source languages are spoken, to gain cultural and linguistic experience; getting at least basic training in translation techniques, use of CAT and other tools...; learning how to run a business, with its requirements for book-keeping, client relations, project management, invoicing....
The sad fact of life is that there are very many thousands of people who speak English, Spanish and French at least passably. Your challenge is to be seen as someone who does some aspect of the job a little better than most. Do anything and everything to get you further along that road and you won't regret the effort. ▲ Collapse
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Nicole Schnell
États-Unis
Local time: 16:45
anglais vers allemand
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In memoriam | Let's put it this way: | Feb 20, 2013 |
michaels wrote:
Not to be rude, but "want to be"/"looking to become" ...same difference?
It should not be necessary to mention the difference between a "wannabe" and an "aspiring professional". Let's just say that any "wannabe" attitude won't get you very far. To us Northerners, a "wannabe" is "purty" much the least desirable person to hire, especially when it comes to linguistics.
In the South (close to the border) and in this particular language pair, you might have lots to do in terms of legal / immigration / personal documents. See what you can do in the legal sector. Eleven million illegal "immigrants" are awaiting any help they can get. Proper and formal English required.
| | | | | Helping you to help me | Feb 20, 2013 |
Nicole Schnell wrote: michaels wrote:
Not to be rude, but "want to be"/"looking to become" ...same difference?
It should not be necessary to mention the difference between a "wannabe" and an "aspiring professional". Let's just say that any "wannabe" attitude won't get you very far. To us Northerners, a "wannabe" is "purty" much the least desirable person to hire, especially when it comes to linguistics.
Yes, you're very clever for reminding everyone of the regional dialect generally associated with ignorance that is distinct to the area in which I live. I'm not sure how that passes as positive and results-oriented, but boy was it a zinger.
I'm not here to argue such ridiculously insignificant semantics or over how to speak the English language - something that I already know how to do quite well. I've won scholarships for essays that I have written and was commended fairly frequently for my writings skills in college. Having nothing to prove, I feel quite comfortable using language like the word "wannabe" as a way of keeping things light among people that I assume share the same interest in language as me. I'm here for advice, and our time is being wasted discussing whether or not it's OK to use the aforementioned word in an online forum.
Sheila, thank you for being helpful. To answer a few of your questions: Yes, I speak American English natively, I was a Spanish tutor in college and my interests probably lean more toward tech, religion and works of fiction. I could probably list more, but I'm not sure how specific these specializations get. I'm quite interested in language itself as well. I enjoy reading about and discussing grammar, similarities between languages and effective ways of learning a new language. However, unfortunately, I've never had the opportunity to take a linguistics course and did not have the insight as a high school senior to major in linguistics instead of a specific language. Perhaps I will be able to obtain a degree in that field in the future.
I understand that it's not advisable to seek a "profitable" specialization, perhaps "practical" would have been a better word. (I wouldn't want to specialize in underwater basket-weaving, as interesting as the field may be) Living in countries where my source languages are spoken is a wonderful prospect and one of my lifelong dreams; however, my financial situation has not allowed for this so far.
I must admit I have no idea how to use a CAT tool, but hopefully I will have the resources to purchase one in the near future as they sound amazing.
In case it's helpful to have this information - I also minored in Hebrew and Ancient Greek, have taken French and Chinese courses as electives and studied Arabic a bit on the side with Rosetta Stone. I intend to learn to speak all of those languages, aside from Ancient Greek of course. As I mentioned before, I've been told I write exceptionally well in the English language. I've considered using this as a way to set myself apart. Do you have any advice concerning that tactic?
On another note, I'm beginning to realize that the username "michaels" may not be acceptable. I'll get to work completing my profile as soon as I can. I've been applying to jobs constantly over the past few weeks and the thought of filling in even more little blank boxes didn't have me giddy with excitement.
[Edited at 2013-02-21 00:18 GMT]
[Edited at 2013-02-21 16:23 GMT]
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Espagne
Local time: 00:45
Membre (2007)
anglais
+ ...
| Don't give up on living abroad - it's easier when you're young | Feb 21, 2013 |
Michael Sowell wrote:
Living in countries where my source languages are spoken is a wonderful prospect and one of my lifelong dreams; however, my financial situation has not allowed for this so far.
Could your college help with finding somewhere? There are international volunteer organisations for young people to get experience in other countries - have you tried them? I know it's easier to say than to do, but living abroad isn't just for the wealthy. Have you thought about doing a TESOL or similar qualification? Native English teachers are sought-after the world over. That's how I started out in the language industry 15 years ago; mind you, I haven't been young for a long, long time.
I must admit I have no idea how to use a CAT tool, but hopefully I will have the resources to purchase one in the near future as they sound amazing.
Some are completely free, others have either a free trial period or have certain restrictions on how much use you can make of them. You could try Wordfast Anywhere for a start.
I also minored in Hebrew and Ancient Greek, have taken French and Chinese courses as electives and studied Arabic a bit on the side with Rosetta Stone. I intend to learn to speak all of those languages
Beware of spreading your skills too thinly - being brilliant in one language pair is better than having umpteen pairs where someone else will always be better than you. OTOH, adding one other language might be a good idea, but don't offer it as a working language until it's really good: "getting by" is no good for a translator.
As I mentioned before, I've been told I write exceptionally well in the English language. I've considered using this as a way to set myself apart. Do you have any advice concerning that tactic?
Well, you could offer your services for Spanish to US English proofreading - it's unpopular with many translators. I'm talking about translation proofreading: not just checking the target for spellings etc, and perhaps for style if this is requested, but also comparing with the source to check for omissions, mistakes etc. Most proofreading is best done by experienced translators (an inexperienced translator checking the work of an experienced one is not too popular ), but sometimes where non-native speakers have been used you can usefully tidy the English. Or offer to revise the work of English language learners, for example university papers that have to be written in English. Not normally well paid but could be good for experience. If you see your writing skills as a major selling point, I would advise you to stick to subjects where that counts for most: marketing, tourism, NGO texts, literary...
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