To be a professional translator?

Question

I was wondering what it takes to be a professional translator. My main questions are:

-What kind of training/education do you need?
-What kind of work (specifically) do you do?
-Is is more of Spanish-English or English-Spanish'

Answer 1

To answer your questions would not be a brief endeavor, by any means. The answers could vary widely, and can depend on your preferences as a translator. That is, especially if you are a freelance translator, you can focus on what you want to specialize in, if anything. You may want to look at the American Translators Association website: www.atanet.org. I'm not sure if you'll find all your answers there, but they are a nationally recognized and respected organization that certifies translators. Another widely respected institution is the Monterey Institute of International Studies. There is a lot of information on their website: http://www.miis.edu/.

We should also clarify that in the US, the definitions of the terms translation/translator and interpretation/interpreter have been standardized. "Translation/translator" refer to rendering a written text from its source language to a target language (usually in written format, but sometimes orally). "Interpretation/interpreter" refer to rendering spoken communication from its source language to a target language (and vice versa).

You might want to take a look at this thread: http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/show/7209/

That is a good thread; I might add some things, though.

Freelance interpreters and translators have the potential to earn more money. Many of my fellow freelance interpreters/translators and I make two to three times what I have seen published as an average interpreter or translator salary, and I work part time. We also have the freedom to choose what type of work we want to focus on. Your possibilities are greatly expanded, though, if you can do a wide variety of work, particularly both interpreting and translating.

If you don't have native or close-to-native ability in both languages (source and target), you probably want to focus on work, or get a job that focuses on work, that will be rendered in your native language. That way, the style and diction will sound natural to the readers/recipients.

In regards to this quote from that other thread:

Another point not mentioned so far: The overwhelming odds are that (as a translator and, to a slightly lesser extent, as an interpreter) you will be rendering something from some other language into English. For this reason, it is vitally important that your command of English be (at least) good. By "good", I don't mean that you get along with your (current) friends in school but, rather, better than that of the average college graduate. It does absolutely no good to understand what is being said in Spanish (or whatever), if you cannot accurately express the thought in English.

This cannot be emphasized enough. I have read work done by "professional" and even certified translators that couldn't pass for elementary school grammar. There are several that post on these forums, and there is one about whom I must say that her English is shameful. I have had judges call me in to replace other certified judicial (court) interpreters because the judges could not understand the English of the interpreters. If you're not a person that strives for perfection in your work, then translating (and probably interpreting, as well) is not for you.

During my training I was told that those who become Certified Judicial Interpreters on the state level have the equivalent of at least a bachelor's-degree-level of skill in the language that is not their native tongue (English, if that is not their native tongue, or whatever foreign language they plan to interpret for). Then there is additional required knowledge of judicial/legal terms and procedures.

Also quoting from the other thread:

Shelly, if you'll search the forum, you'll see this has been discussed before. How much translators earn is going to vary greatly. (James likes to point out that if you want to be paid well, Spanish is probably not the language you should be looking at.)

We may suppose that a court interpreter in Missouri is not going to get paid nearly as much as a simultaneous interpreter employed at the UN.

I don't know where James lives, but most of the interpreters and translators I know that earn well work with Spanish. There is much more demand for it. In my state, a Swahili interpreter or an interpreter of some obscure dialect may be able to name his price per hour, say $150 or $200, maybe three to five times as much as a qualified/certified Spanish interpreter; but he might only get a call once or twice a year. As a Spanish interpreter/translator, I have more work than I can handle and have to turn it away or hire others to do it for me.

Now in other parts of the country or in large metropolitan areas like New York City or Los Angeles, it may be reversed. The market may be flooded with Spanish interpreters, and interpreters of less common languages may be in more demand due to concentrations of populations that speak that language. Of course, if you're talking about salaries of staff interpreters (like, maybe, at the UN or a government agency), pay is higher for less common languages which are in higher demand, like Chinese, Arabic, and Middle Eastern languages.

Another noteworthy point ... I am speaking of current conditions. Who knows what the interpreter/translator demand will be in the near and distant future? I would imagine that the competition will be stiff for Spanish interpreters, due to the large number of children of first generation immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries. However, if you have top-notch skills (particularly written) in both English and Spanish, I believe you can edge out the competition.

I will comment further in a future post.

Answer 2

You might want to take a look at this thread: http://www.spanishdict.com/answers/show/7209/

Answer 3

Those that have studied the field of language interpretation say that there are 21 cognitive skills that are used during simultaneous interpretation (the interpreter speaks in the target language at the same time the "interpretee" is speaking in the source language). Many of these cognitive skills are innate (a person is born with them), while others are acquired. If the innate skills are lacking, there is nothing that can be done to acquire them. If a person is not willing to work to develop his innate skills to an adequate level, then neither will the others be acquired.

This is why there are people with double native languages, or college professors of Spanish, for instance, with PhDs in both English and Spanish, that cannot interpret simultaneously. They just do not possess the innate abilities required. They may have more knowledge of the languages, and actually be better translators than some certified interpreters, but they could never be simultaneous interpreters.

It is noteworthy that in judicial (court) interpreting, certification requires passing a test in three areas: sight translation (translating a document written in one language to oral speech in the other language), consecutive interpreting (listening to an entire passage and then rendering it completely and accurately in the other language), and simultaneous interpreting. All three tests must be passed to earn certification, and it must be done bi-directionally (e.g., English to Spanish and Spanish to English), and without the use of any aids (notes, dictionaries, etc.). And yes, judicial interpreters are required to perform all three tasks on the job.

As far as medical interpreting is concerned, there is a nationwide effort to require and standardize testing and certification for healthcare interpreting. Simultaneous interpretation is used much less (and in some cases, not at all) in medical interpreting. Due to the current lack of certification requirements, it is, at least for the present, to get a job as a healthcare interpreter. Also, healthcare interpreters are more likely to be employees than judicial interpreters, who are largely freelance interpreters. However, there are captive positions as court interpreters, and there are medical providers, insurance companies, and interpreting agencies that contract with freelance medical interpreters.

Interpreters are also used in other industries such as banking, mortgage, finance, education, travel, and numerous government agencies. Translators are used in just about any industry or area of life where there is a demand. Many times the two overlap.

Answer 4

Nathaniel is a respected member of this website, and his profile indicates he is a professional translator. Maybe he would be willing to talk more about his work.

Answer 5

Nathaniel is a respected member of this website, and his profile indicates he is a professional translator. Maybe he would be willing to talk more about his work.

My job is translating written texts from English to Spanish (usually, sometimes it is the other way around). Usually it is training and marketing material for VoIP telephone service and the representatives who sell the service.

I do very little interpreting.

With regards to how much someone can make... I know that people can make thousands of dollars for doing on-demand translation work, but the customers specify the time frame and that can make your life rather hectic.

I am not certified, and am very fortunate to have a native Spanish speaker work with me so that we can review each others work.

It would not be unreasonable to expect a starting (certified) in-house Spanish translator to earn $20 an hour or more. But, as has been mentioned before, the market concentration of Spanish speakers will help to determine the rate.

With regards to education, I don't believe that you would need a 'formal' education to work as a translator. I only have a 2nd year high school Spanish Education formally, but I speak and understand at a much higher level (thanks to living in a Spanish speaking country for two years). Your best bet would be to get certified by the state that you are in (assuming that you are in the United States). You could do a simple google search for Spanish Language Certification Programs in your area.

With regards to finding a job as a translator, it could be as simple as being in the right place at the right time (which is how I got my job). Or, if you live in a large city, it would be easier to find a job as a translator and you can look for contacts within the Latino Business Association or a simple job searching website.

In my experience it is mostly English to Spanish, though I am sure that if you went to a Spanish speaking country it would be mostly the other way around. It all depends on what you are looking for and where you are.