Looking for guidance starting out after years away from languages

Peter Shortall wrote:

Hi Chloë,

Your situation sounds a bit similar to mine just before I got into translation. I did a language degree and wanted to get into translation but couldn't find any in-house jobs that didn't require a knowledge of German, which I hadn't studied to degree level, so I ended up taking other jobs for a few years. I considered doing a full-time MA in Translation and was offered a place at Leeds Uni, but was then offered a full-time job and ended up taking that instead. On the side, I studied for the DipTrans through a correspondence course. It all worked out well for me; a couple of years after that, I got into freelance translation, and I haven't looked back since!

Although I haven't done an MA by distance learning, I strongly suspect the workload would be heavy. Given your other commitments, I feel that the DipTrans may be a more realistic option for you. The correspondence course I did (it was so long ago, I'm not even sure off hand which university it was with - maybe City University London) was perfect for me as I could go at my own pace and the workload wasn't that heavy - a series of translations, eight I think, which I submitted to the tutor as and when I completed them. Maybe distance learning MAs are flexible too, I wouldn't know as I haven't done one, but my feeling is that the DipTrans would be a more manageable commitment for you. I managed it while doing a full-time job and a Saturday job at the same time, and I'm not even the most energetic of people!

In my opinion, active language skills - i.e. speaking and writing in a foreign language - are not important if you're translating from a foreign language into your native language, and they're very different from the skills of understanding, analysis and research, which are what a translator needs. You might be surprised - comforted, even? - to learn that plenty of translators are actually not that strong in writing and speaking their source language(s). So if I were you, I would focus on reading. All exposure to your source languages is good, but reading is by far the most important skill to practise.

As for your other questions, I'll leave those for other people to answer, except to say that any "real-world" experience is better than none. Again, my situation was a bit similar to yours in a way, as the jobs I did prior to getting into translation were a bit difficult to combine in a single coherent "package" for marketing purposes. Perhaps you could market yourself as a "Business and Education" specialist? Anyway, let's see what other people have to say. Good luck!

Teresa Borges wrote:

If that’s what you love doing, just go for it. We spend so many hours working day in day out that we should at least enjoy what we are doing. I have been translating full-time since 1986 from English, French, Spanish and Italian into Portuguese and I’m only really fluent in French (lived in a francophone country for 30 years). I also started translating quite late in life (my late 30s)… Good luck!

David Hayes wrote:

Hello Cloë,

From what you wrote, it sounds like you really need a quick way of getting up to speed with practical translation skills. I therefore suggest you first do a DipTrans preparation course and then take the exam when you feel ready (I believe it is now offered more than once a year). An MA would probably be too much work for you at this stage, although you could always do one later (if time and money allow). I have enjoyed doing both of these qualifications, although I'm glad I did the DipTrans first. My interest in pursuing an MA was to pursue more theoretical interests and it would not have been worth doing that ten years ago when I first became a free-lancer.

Kay-Viktor Stegemann wrote:

Just to add to the other comments, I think that the difference between active and passive skills can be great in this profession. First, you should distinguish between translation and interpreting in regard to writing and speaking skills. Translation needs very strong active writing skills in the target language, very strong reading comprehension skills in the source language(s), but only adequate speaking or listening skills in both. For interpreting, you need very strong speaking and listening skills (probably in both languages, but this is not my field so I won't dig deeper here).

Even though I do professional translation, I have only adequate listening or speaking skills in my source language and I have difficulties to follow a movie or radio show in it. Keep in mind that the product you sell (as a translator) is the written word in your native language.

You can and should proceed with confidence in regard of your business experience. Experience in different industries can only be helpful. You know how to treat your clients (as customers) and you know how your clients want to treat their customers. When you go for translation, everything is about the written word. Read, read, read, and write, write, write. Find out what kind of documents are around in the industry and how they look like (be it user manuals, press releases, advertisements, product descriptions, customer emails, policies, contracts, internal bulletins, blogs, webpages, tweets, whatnot.) That is the stuff you deal with as a professional translator. Find out how readers are addressed, what kinds of target audiences are there, and so on.

You are not an imposter if you give your clients what they want and need. It's that easy. You have a linguistic background and you have business experience. Find out what you could offer to what clients. Stop learning, start doing.

JOHN WINDER wrote:

Your qualifications are impressive and should serve as a sound basis for career development. I agree with the other posts suggesting the DipTrans could be the most appropriate route for you. I completed the qualification in both my source languages many years ago, finding that it was possible to manage the extra work in tandem with a full-time job. Having a tutor for the DipTrans is also a good way of boosting confidence if you haven't done regular translation for a while.

You may also wish to consider joining a local network of translators. The North West Translators network (https://nwtn.org.uk/) is very active and I am sure that some of its members could advise you about your specific language combination. It is mainly based around Manchester and it caters for people at all stages of their career. I am a member but attend less frequently than I should as it is a bit of a hike to Manchester. They are currently doing a lot of virtual meetings which could help you dip your toe in the water. Hopefully the network will be able to resume in-person meetings soon.

Best wishes for the career change.

Chloë McQuarrie wrote:

Just to add, my current role is within financial services, specially pensions and investments. Whilst I find the industry and the role dry and dull, I have been working here for 8 years (the longest time I have spent in any role). Perhaps if I was using my languages and translating financial documents I would find it more interesting? I would then be able to sell my industry skills rather effectively. Financial services and business specialist, perhaps?