In addition to the ability to speak a foreign or any other language, you have to master more skills that are crucial to becoming a professional translator.
A certified translator must translate both written and spoken data. You can work in diverse fields such as healthcare, education and legal domains. Nonetheless, you will have to abide by set deadlines. Luckily, as an expert translator, you can work from home and travel only at your convenience.
As opposed to teaching a foreign language, translation careers come with financial freedom and flexibility. This is similar to most digitized itinerant careers including graphic design and freelance writing. You can dictate the place from which to work while deciding the people to work for and the preferred time for working. Above all, you can also set your income standards.
Nevertheless, living on online most requested services as an expert translator requires more than your bilingual expertise. It is unfortunate that potential translators barely know that they could take years in the field before gaining authority and success in this field. Luckily, with the following tips on getting started with your online translation career, you can start counting on your successful translation business online.
- Step 1: Education
Alongside being bilingual, you should study a translation course. High school graduates can undertake writing and comprehension courses while pursuing a course in their preferred foreign language. You can also proceed with your undergraduate degree in specific foreign language.
Any professional company today must specialize in given fields such as arts, finance, medicine, politics, and business. They take advantage of knowing several languages and their experience in their professional lines to start translation careers were given topics require experts of the same.
- Step 2: Certification Programs
Upon completing with education for nurturing your skills, you should apply for a certification program in a bid to become an accredited translator. Certification acts as proof of your professionalism in translation. Select from professional certifications from diverse schools in the US and advanced translation degrees. You can also enroll in a certification program with the American Translator’s Association (ATA). If you are a specialist in a given profession, you could seek their certification also. For instance, legal translators can receive certification from the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators.
Upon certification, you will be shortlisted in a directory where potential clients can reach out to you. The US does not strictly demand certification but accreditations vital for your starters in the translation industry.
- Passing Language Proficiency Test
Passing language proficiency tests comes as a plus to your resume. It proves your fluency in the diverse languages that you can speak. Fortunately, many schools, translation firms and organizations offer these tests for prospective translators.
- Job Experience
Beginners benefit from industry experience. Thus, when looking for entry-level jobs, you should also consider working as an intern. These experiences expose you to the minutiae of translation careers. They will sharpen your skills on the job and grant you sample works that you can later display to your potential clients once you start working independently. You will also gain recommendations and consequently a higher chance for regular employment.
- Marketing Yourself
If you intend to work successfully as a freelancer or as a permanent employee, you must market yourself well. Begin with identifying firms, companies, amenities and government agencies that need translators.
You can go a notch higher to establish your website and create blog posts for the same. Joining online communities of specialist translators will also expand your network. Considering that, clients can ask for your services unpredictably, you should always walk with your resumes. Then, come up with unique and competitive rates for varying types of work. You can consult with other professional translators from the online groups to establish a favorable rate.
- Never Stop Learning
Upon starting your translation career or professional company, you should keep up with trends, technologies, and news in the industry. You must always continue learning in order to remain competitive. You can even pursue a Master’s Degree to enhance your marketability. Through continuous learning, you can diversify or specialize in your career.
It pays to stand out in any field of work always. Therefore, you should target being the crème of translators. Make sure you develop certain qualities that define your professionalism. Those qualities might not essentially do your job, but they will prepare you for a competitive future. Remember, while pursuing excellence in your career, your counterparts are either envying you or working harder to emerge as the authority in the market.
- Improving Your Knowledge
Once you decide to specialize in a specific topic or field, you should work on updating your expertise. Thus, you must keep track of the latest developments, regulations, and trends in the field. This is vital for corporate translators to remain marketable. Remember, professional fields feature specific languages, and their terminologies often change. You must communicate processes clearly and overtly. Translating specific subjects requires that you possess a perfect mastery of the content and language. As a result, you must improve your education and never stop researching on the given subjects of specialization.