I need your advice
I have been thinking about doing freelance job, especially those concerning proofreading, translation, and writing. Visiting some websites, I found that the competition is enormous. It’s very easy to feel discouraged, above all when you lack experience. My questions are: Should I work gratis, owing to my inexperience, for a few weeks at least? Should I say I haven’t still gotten my bachelor degree? I am not going to lie but, is it necessary to make explicit this apparent weakness?
I would like to receive recommendations or thoughts, or whatever could be of help. If there are freelancers here in spanishdict, it would be great to get in touch.
Please correct my English if necessary.
6 Answers
Hola, Guigo:
It depends on the kind of work you want to do and which language you are translating into.
If you are doing legal or medical or technical translation, you need the specialized vocabulary that goes with that type of work. Business also has its own specialized vocabulary. And you need these specialized vocabularies in BOTH Languages.
It would be good for you to take a course in translation. It's a lot more complicated than what we do in SD. I do legal translation- that is documents as well as "in court" simultaneous interpretation. I had to struggle to learn the Spanish---so much vocabulary that is different. Then I had to learn the equivalent terms in English. ¡Uf! ¡Qué difícil!
You have decided on a very difficult path.
Buena suerte.
Hi Guigo,
This sounds like a great idea 
This is my advice, not that I am an expert in such matters, and people are always free to respectfully disagree with what I have written!
If you mean that you haven't yet obtained a degree in your native language of Spanish, are you sure that this is really necessary? After all, you are a native speaker so I assume that you can speak and write your native language (mother tongue) fluently! If you were wanting to teach a language in a school, college or University, then I am sure that a degree in that language would be necessary, but I know a friend of mine in my church whose native language is French and who does private translation work but I don't think he needs a degree. .
If the job description (requirement) asks you for a degree /specifies a degree is necessary you would have to mention that you are a native Spanish-speaker but don't have a degree in Spanish. However, if no such requirement is mentioned, I personally think that it is not necessary to disclose this!
As far as offering your services (skills) for free, I would suggest that you compare what people are charging (asking for) and the experience they have, if they mention that on their website and ask for a reduced payment to reflect your lack of experience; perhaps half or a third of what most people are asking until you gain the experience.
We have a member here called native Spanish speaker Txusta boy who occassionally used to answer questions in the forum and according to his profile he is (or was) a technical translator. If I can find his user profile I will add the link here!
Please attach much more weight (value) to the views of the native Spanish speakers here like Daniela or Txusta boy who can speak from personal experience of translation work! Please choose their answer as best answer in preference to mine!
I have been thinking about doing freelance work, especially proofreading, translation, and writing. Visiting some websites, I found that the competition is enormous. It’s very easy to feel discouraged, above all when you lack experience. My questions are: Should I work "gratis", owing to my inexperience, at least for a few weeks? Should I say that I still haven’t obtained my bachelor degree? I am not going to lie but, is it necessary to disclose this apparent weakness? I would like to receive recommendations or thoughts, or whatever could be of help. If there are freelancers here in spanishdict, it would be great to get in touch.
Very good English, Guigo, I have made a few recommendations for correction which I have highlighted! My recommendations are based on British, not American, English so some people here might not agree with all my corrections! 
Guidance notes:
You would use the term 'freelance work' to refer generally to this kind of work. It does not have to refer to an actual offer of work
You could say "a freelance job" if this a job (post, position) that you have been offered or an actual job that you have seen advertised!
"gratis" I have put this in quotation marks because it is taken from another language (Spanish)
Thank you for all your continued help in answering the questions in the forum ...we appreciate your kindness and the time you take in doing this; as we also appreciate the help from other Spanish-speaking natives too!
I hope this helps
Hola, Guigo. I have a couple of ideas for you. At the university you attend, I'd check whether there are opportunities for you to tutor other students learning Spanish. I did that (with math) a LONG time ago when I was at university and made quite a few dollars.
In the city where you live, is there an consular office from a Spanish-speaking country? If so, you may be able to get a part time job, or even a volunteer position there, where I'm sure you'd have a chance to practice translating things while improving your English (though it is very good).
Also, although you would need some type of certification to work in the court system as Daniela said, are there attorneys or law firms in your area that do work for Spanish speakers or deal with immigration issues? If so, you could probably work for them to translate documents, even though that would not be for official courtroom work.
Finally, see if there is a Hispanic Chamber of Commerce or other support organization for Hispanics. There would probably be some opportunities there to work on your interpreting skills.
Good luck!!!
Winkfish
Thank you all for your insights!
Winkifish, when the national currency of the country where one live is highly devalued because of a serious economic crisis, it is tempting to look at the internet in the hope of earning in a stronger currency, such as the dollar. Besides, the comfort of working from your home, without schedules to keep nor bosses to submit to, seems to be such an excellent alternative. This is in part why I’m avoiding to have a traditional job. I would like to know your advice in this context.
Daniela, this year I will obtain, God willing, my bachelor’s degree in modern languages. I fully agree with you, translation and interpreting are demanding activities.
Asking for half or one-third of what experienced professionals require is a very good idea. Thank you, Feliz, for that suggestion and for your kindness. I wonder if this last one is a natural gift or one coming from your faith.
Once again, please make corrections to my English.
It will be difficult. I have seen many interpreters in operation in the court system. Most are excellent but some struggle. I remember being in court where because of the country of origin of the witnesses and defendant English was being interpreted into Pashto and Albanian.
As others have said there is a difference between needing to understand something and the skill and precision needed in legal work. Why not speak to your professors if you are in a language faculty? Are you near a tourist area? You could see if work is available helping tourists - either free or for a small fee. This will get you used to different accents and working in two languages. There may be local businesses happy to pay you for writing or replying to emails. If you are in a popular tourist area you may be able to provide part time guide work just to improve your language skills. There is a site called proz used by interpreters checking the use of different words.
There are many people who are brought up bilingual. You need to find a niche be it a particular dialect or an additional skill eg knowledge of engineering or law. I suggest at the moment you find lots of ways to improve and speak and understand English. I know in England some universities offer degrees including interpreting but I do not know how specialist you need to be. I know with the internet and skype an interpreter can be effective without being in the country where the translation is needed. However good translation/interpretation requires an understanding of the culture of the speaker.
Feliz said 'gratis' was a Spanish word and I agree the word ;free; is n more general use, but 'gratis' is used in English. We use it in my family. It is an adverb and an adjective [from Latin] We also have the words 'gratuity' a formal word for tips or a legal term for a sum of money free of penalties received after long service in work and gratuitous meaning needless or unnecessary [usually used about sex or violence]
Buena suerte
Guigo, send a resume or email/letter to law firms in your area and offer your translation services, like if they get documents in Spanish or if they get a client who doesn't speak English well. In that kind of a situation, they wouldn't necessarily need an official translation. They just want to service their clients.
