A professional translator is someone who understands the two cultures, strives to find the right words, and who has excellent writing skills.
The
Definition of a Professional
A professional is a
person who does something for a living; a person who has the right skills and
is committed to continual professional development. A professional translator
is someone who understands the two cultures, strives to find the right words,
and who has excellent writing skills. Unless you’re able to make a career out
of translating and are generating a good monthly income from your translation
skills, then you’re still an aspiring professional.
What
Kind of Translation Work Are You Looking for?
Before you make too many
decisions about your career, you need to think long and hard about the kind of
translation work you believe you’d enjoy for the rest of your career. A
translation career in the technical arena might suit a primarily left-brained
translator, whereas a translator looking for a career in the medical or legal
fields should target their marketing towards these industries. Perhaps you’re
interested in the world of finance, or you’re considering specializing in marketing
translations, then you need to make sure you fully understand the terminology.
Remember that mistakes can be very costly, and mistakes in the medical arena
could well make the difference between life and death.
Continuing development
is not difficult these days because there are so many CPD courses available for
translators, and some of these are free. Keep in mind also that the translation
community is a very supportive community and there’s always someone there ready
to lend a hand if required.
Don’t
Attempt Translations Beyond Your Ability
When starting out as a
newbie translator it can be very tempting to accept any translation project that’s offered to you, but a word of
warning: never accept translation projects that are beyond your abilities.
Besides the fact that it will take you a long time to complete, doing a just-okay job instead of a high-quality translation will
have a negative impact on your reputation and subsequently any future
assignments that may be offered to you. And, of course, there’s the potential
damage that your mistranslation could well be responsible for, even though the
mistake may be innocent and caused solely by your inexperience.
Building
a Career as a Successful Professional Translator
Being a successful
professional translator is a lot more than simply having a full-time job as a
translator. One of the most important aspects of being a professional is career
progress, and this is where your work ethic comes in. If you want to be treated
like professional, then you must act like professional.
- Any completed project that
leaves your hands must be error-free;
- Never accept projects unless
you’re fully qualified to take them on;
- Make sure your translation
projects are completed in a timely manner;
- Schedule your translation work
in an efficient way using project management tools;
- Never, never stop learning and
perfecting your translation knowledge and skills; and
- Finally, don’t get flustered:
try to always stay cool, calm, and collected – the true signs of a
professional!
We wish you every
success on your path to becoming a successful, professional translator,
regardless of whether you decide to work as a freelancer or an in-house
translator.