How to Become a Translator 7 Steps to Your Dream Job

How to Become a Translator 7 Steps to Your Dream Job How to Become a Translator: 7 Steps to Your Dream Job Everyone has a dream.Or maybe a  sueño.Or perhaps yours is a  ?????.Or a  rêve.But if you really enjoy toggling between all these options, theres a strong chance that your dream is being a translator.In spite of all the awesome translation apps  out there, theres still a high demand for people who can provide concise, clear, accurate translations.In fact, the  Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook  reports that growth in the field is expected to be much faster than average in coming years, meaning new positions are likely to continue opening up.Regardless of what language you choose to study, with the right skills and qualifications, you  may be able to find work translating between that language and your native language.Maybe your dream is being able to land freelance translation gigs from your neighborhood coffee shop.Or maybe youd enjoy doing regular translation work for an employer or agency, or  possibly even the government.So if youre dreaming of a career a s a translator, follow the seven steps below to land that dream job. What Do Translators Do?Technically speaking, interpreting and translating are two different professions. While both jobs require at least one additional language, interpreting is spoken, while translating is written, so a translators job focuses on translating written text between languages. Usually, translators translate from a source language into their native language. While a translator may fully understand their source language and even be able to write quite well in it, writing in ones native language is usually easier, and the text produced is usually smoother and more natural.Translators work in a wide variety of industries, ranging from government to medicine to  business to education and everything in between. Any industry that uses language could need a translator.Translators often freelance or have their own businesses. However, others work for agencies or even directly for a single employer. This giv es translators some flexibility with whether they want consistent work or would prefer to manage their own schedules.How to Become a Translator: 7 Steps to Your Dream Job1. Study your source language extensively.First, you must select a language and study it extensively.Theres translation work available for nearly any living language, and theres an argument to be made for learning virtually any language you can name. Naturally, theres more translating work available for the most common languages. However, since more people know these languages, theres also more competition for work. While there may be fewer jobs for less common languages, knowing one could make you stand out from the crowd and give you access to jobs that fewer people can perform.To choose a language, you might consider researching what jobs are out there.To do this, you can peruse current translator listings on Indeed. If youre interested in a specific field, you might also investigate languages that are most used in that field. For instance, if youre interested in diplomatic or international work, the official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) may be useful.Once youve selected your language, youll need to study to a high degree of fluency. Majoring in the language in college is useful, as is studying abroad or living abroad. Advanced degrees in your source translation language could set you apart further. The more language experience and education you have, the better.One easy way to grow and maintain your language skills is by studying regularly with FluentU.  FluentU takes real-world videosâ€"like movie trailers, music videos, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language lessons.2. Get specialized training.The fact is that even if youre fluent in a language, it doesnt necessarily mean you have the skills to translate.Being able to provide clear, efficient translation often requires specialized training in additio n to language study. Here are some options to consider:American Translators Association (ATA) offers a list of approved schools that can help prepare you to work as a translator.ALTA Language Services  has a list of top translation schools in the United States.Looking for a brief course that will give you a taste of the translation industry? Future Learn offers a translation course taught by experts from  Cardiff University and the University of Namibia. You can take this course for $69 if youd like to earn a certificate. However, you can also access course materials for up to six weeks at no charge, which is a great opportunity to see if you have enough interest in the field to continue pursuing it.3. Get certified.A certification in translation is an easy way to show you have the skills necessary to do the work.ATA offers a certification  that gives you a special designation (CT) that you can use with your name on your resume, website, business cards and/or other promotional mater ial.Additionally, there are industry-specific certifications available, though these are often targeted at interpreters. For instance, the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters offers a CMI (Certified Medical Interpreter) credential. However, getting certified as an interpreter in a specific field can still show that you know a lot about the language used in this context, so it could also help you get translating work.Another thing to consider is getting non-language-related certifications in a field in which youre interested in translating. For instance, becoming a certified paralegal could help you get translating work in the legal field by showing that you understand the industry. Similarly, being a certified nurse might help you get medical translation work.4. Target a specific industry and learn industry-specific terms.Once youre fluent in a language, youll also want to target industry-specific terms for whatever field youre interested in working in.Merely be ing fluent doesnt always provide the relevant terminology youll need to translate, so youll need to put some additional focus into industry-specific terminology.For instance, you might consider studying words that are particularly necessary in medicine, business, government or education. There are several ways to do this.You may want to  consider looking for a course or learning resource that focuses on a specific field. For instance, there are plenty of medical Spanish courses and resources available. You might take a self-paced online course, or study a relevant book, like Spanish for Health Care Professionals.If youre already familiar with your specific field of interest, you might otherwise consider putting together a list of important terms in English. Then, you can look up and study the equivalent vocabulary words in the language you want to translate from.If you want more one-on-one, customized study, you might want to  look for a tutor who can help you. Some language trainin g services, like Cactus Language Training and ALTA Language Services, offer customized training to help meet client needs, so they might be able to customize a course to teach you more specialized vocabulary.5. Hone your computer skills.A lot of translating requires using specific computer programs. This is meant to make the translation process quicker and more efficient. Common programs used by professional translators that you might want to familiarize yourself with include:MemsourceWordfastmemoQSDL Trados StudioThe linked websites can give you a brief introduction into the capabilities and interface of the programs. You might also consider subscribing to get more firsthand experience with the programs.6. Get some experience.One of the cruel ironies of translating and most other career fields is that to get most jobs, you already need work experience in the field, leaving you with a conundrumâ€"how do you get that experience in the first place?The answer is simpler than you might think. Contract or freelance work is an easy way to get some experience to add to your  resume. Your first few gigs might not pay as well as youd like, but once you get more experience under your belt, you can usually get more and more compensation for your services.You might find your first gigs through acquaintances or business connections. If this isnt possible, you can always  check Upwork  or  fiverr, both of which help connect users with freelance opportunities.7. To further grow your career, learn more languages.If you want to make yourself even more marketable, you might want to acquire more languages that you can translate between to expand your range of offerings.For instance, lets say youre fully fluent in Chinese and can translate between Chinese and English. However, what if you also managed to add Spanish to your range of offerings? Now, you could translate from Spanish to English or Chinese to English. Eventually, its possible that you might even be able to translate into Chinese and/or Spanish, thereby multiplying your potential translation options and making yourself more employable. Hows that for career growth?Go ahead and live your dream of becoming a translator.Following these tips will help you translate that dream into success.