Is being a translator a good job?
Both working in house and/or as a freelance come with there positive and negative job aspects. This post comes as recent search engine queries show “Is a translator a good job?” a frequent ask! This must mean either translators are doubting their careers or newbies feeling a little unsure in the present climate to enter the industry as a professional.
Is translating a career you would advise or steer clear of if you had your time again (Not saying that anyone is old)? Give your take on the situation!
I’m just starting out, but I have to say that for me, the answer depends very much on whether you really want to translate or not. If you enjoy translation, it will be a “good job” even if you don’t make buckets of money doing it – much the same way that any job is. Conversely, you can earn enough to put you well into the upper tax bracket and hate your job. The notion of a “good job” seems to change as you get more experienced, I think. Fresh onto the job market, and people assume good = well paid. After 10 years of working in jobs that don’t make me happy, for me, good = satisfying.
I can certainly understand people feeling unsure about whether they can actually live on translation income in this climate… but I am pretty sure that, with a little effort on my part, I will be able to make at least enough to live comfortably on. I just have to juggle a little until then – I consider it the initial sacrifice I’ll have to make to get the career I’ve wanted for so long.
I have been translating for a few months and, to be honest, it must be the crisis affecting the translation sector, because i haven´t had as much work so, in my opinion, working as a translator should be only a complementary job.
Thank you for your help!
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Hi Careerguide-tips.com
Being a translator is both a challenging and awarding job, you never now what will happen next. The so called “Crisis” I think affected us all in the beginning as companies searched for the cheapest options as budgets were tight. As with all things the cheapest option is not always the best and now in the translation industry the survivors are the professional translators offering quality translations at adjusted prices giving the present circumstances.
So, “Is being a translator a good job?”, certainly if your heart is in it and you have the talent and knowledge to produce a professional translation you are proud of.
Hola, a todos:
Soy traductora y me encuentro con el problema de la legalización de documentos de Brasil.
Aunque el trabajo de traductor es todo un reto a veces te ves incapacitado por los obtáculos y cuestiones de los clientes, sobre todo en traducciones juradas.
Translating is an art so if you consider yourself an artist, then it is a good job.
I can personally spend hours perfecting a translation that never seems to end but I reckon that is not profitable, is it?
Ser traductor supone conocer dos combinaciones de idiomas,como mínimo, a la perfección: gramática y vocabulario. Además el traductor debe conocer expresiones idiomáticas y estar al día en diferentes temas así como herramientas de traducción.
El trabajo de traductor es complicado pues requiere tener un background empapado de culturas para poder producir una traducción de calidad
From my point of view, being a translator can be a very satisfying if you have a good contact list and you are your own boss (if you work as a freelancer). On the other hand, if you work for a translation company you will probabaly feel exploited and stressed as they require a lot of translation work properly done in a very short deadline.
Yes, Lola, you are right, if you are a perfectionist, then any type of job becomes a nightmare. I believe a sense of proportion helps, specially in translations.
Being a translator have advantages such as working from home, artistic work as well as disadvantages, for example, difficulty to edit documents, difficulty in the language, deadlines
Translating is a good job if you are an expert and have the right tools to deliver an accurate translation. Translations are often well paid but the responsibility involved is high and complaints from clients can ruin your reputation if you don´t know how to deal with it. Make sure you are a professional translator before taking on the job
I am quite content with my job as a translator. I just love the feeling of freedom and creativity, not to mention the pay.
All I can see is advantages as long as you are a professional translator with the proper tools to delivery a good job
What I really think is a good job is interpreting for official bodies. All you need is to have the confidence to speak fluently in two languages. Police stations and courts are the right places to offer your services and availability
Yes, I agree with Mark, working for official bodies is the best job an interpretere can have. However, all depends on the town you live. For instance, in Spain, there is a major company regulating all interpreters in Spain for different police stations and courts and the pay is not that good
Being a translator is a good job providing you have clients or constant workflow, otherwise it might be a bit tricky