experience Thread poster: elcapitan
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i am a recent college grad in spanish and i would like to do spanish translation work. what is the best way to gain experience? thanks
| | | | laura castori 
Netherlands
Local time: 03:59
English to Italian
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wish i knew!!!! Graduated in english and french here! Even a master degree in subtitling and adapting for audio visual works.... and the problem is.......... most ppl want like 3 ys experience or god knows how many! Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut never lose hope. Send lotsa resumes and maybe someone will hire you!Gl!
| | | | Jeff.X
English to Chinese
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| Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 19:59
English to Spanish
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In memoriam | Where do you live? | Aug 14, 2005 |
Specifically, where you live might dictate a course of action. I think it is better to start with personal contacts locally and go from there as opposed to entering the dog-eat-dog world it appears to be with agencies on the Net. Without experience you'd be nowhere, since many who do have experience still seem to be nowhere.
Or if you are flexible as to where you might live, then areas of the U.S. with a recent influx of Hispanic population might be a good bet. There are a lot of th... See more Specifically, where you live might dictate a course of action. I think it is better to start with personal contacts locally and go from there as opposed to entering the dog-eat-dog world it appears to be with agencies on the Net. Without experience you'd be nowhere, since many who do have experience still seem to be nowhere.
Or if you are flexible as to where you might live, then areas of the U.S. with a recent influx of Hispanic population might be a good bet. There are a lot of those, and many times they are at a loss on how to deal with this population in their own language.
Of course how much they might want to pay for such expertise may or may not be so encouraging. Gotta keep trying! ▲ Collapse
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Xingwei Zhou (X)
English to Chinese
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| Cooperate with your friend | Aug 15, 2005 |
You can also cooperate with your friend with translation experience if available.
elcapitan wrote:
i am a recent college grad in spanish and i would like to do spanish translation work. what is the best way to gain experience? thanks
| | | | Stephen Rifkind
Israel
Local time: 04:59
Member (2004)
French to English
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| Throwing rocks at the sea | Aug 15, 2005 |
I have been translating for a year now. I have a decent but still too small bank of regular clients. My advise is constantly check any source, local or internet, for jobs. There are jobs that are available for the first person who grabs it, regardless of experience. Someone who finished a document at 9:00 his/her local time and needs it translated tomorrow morning does not ask about experience. That is the easiest way to get the door to open. You have to throw a lot of stones in the sea to... See more I have been translating for a year now. I have a decent but still too small bank of regular clients. My advise is constantly check any source, local or internet, for jobs. There are jobs that are available for the first person who grabs it, regardless of experience. Someone who finished a document at 9:00 his/her local time and needs it translated tomorrow morning does not ask about experience. That is the easiest way to get the door to open. You have to throw a lot of stones in the sea to hit a fish, but eventually you do.
Good luck
Stephen Rifkind
Hebrew/French/Russian to English ▲ Collapse
| | | | craigs
Local time: 21:59
English to Portuguese
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| My brother got work with the local clinic/hospital | Aug 15, 2005 |
Now he interprets for patients that can't really speak English
There are a lot of hispanics in the southeast (US).
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| Take full advantage of this site | Aug 15, 2005 |
Consider updating and expanding your profile. According to what it says, you are still a student.
It also says that you specialize in multiple fields. Ironically enough, if you narrow it down, you might do better. Based upon your list of keywords, literary translations seem like your forte.
For *unpaid* experience, check out the Web for sites seeking volunteer translators. This way, you will acquire the experience you seek.
| | | | | change your profile | Aug 15, 2005 |
Professional clients are not necessarily going to take a chance on a student who "wants experience".
That is always not a good enough reason to hire someone. In fact, it probably leaves you open to being exploited.
Would **strongly** suggest you change your profile. If you want to be considered as a professional translator, then your profile must look professional. At the moment, it is not. (sorry!)
What else have you studied/worked at? Being fluent is not enou... See more Professional clients are not necessarily going to take a chance on a student who "wants experience".
That is always not a good enough reason to hire someone. In fact, it probably leaves you open to being exploited.
Would **strongly** suggest you change your profile. If you want to be considered as a professional translator, then your profile must look professional. At the moment, it is not. (sorry!)
What else have you studied/worked at? Being fluent is not enough, you really must have a specialisation in order to get the work you want.
For example, I worked in IT support for two years, so I am familar with that kind of vocabulary and so, I translate German software manuals to English. However I don't touch heavy legal translation, as I am not familar with that field.
It takes a lot of hard work to make it, but it can be done.
Orla ▲ Collapse
| | | | Natalia Elo
Germany
Local time: 03:59
English to Russian
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| Volonteering | Aug 16, 2005 |
elcapitan wrote:
i am a recent college grad in spanish and i would like to do spanish translation work. what is the best way to gain experience? thanks
Hi elcapitan,
First of all, if I were you i.e. English native speaker, I would start new sentences and write "I" in upper case at least here at ProZ.
Then, if you are desperate for ANY experience, have you considered volonteering?
Cheers
Natalia
[Edited at 2005-08-20 09:43]
| | | | | Writing skills | Aug 26, 2005 |
Natalia makes an excellent point. Your written English has to be utterly perfect at all times.
When I worked in a translation agency, my colleagues used to laugh at translators who made grammatical and spelling mistakes in their CVs and e-mails. Such applications were promptly deleted.
That is the kind of thing newbies are up against. Being fluent in the source is only one part of the translator's skill set.
O.
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MarkS
English to French
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| What about working in another trade to specialise? | Sep 1, 2005 |
Yeah, I graduated two years ago in French and Spanish and... gave up trying to get jobs. The average recent graduate rarely has the skills to do a post-grad qualification, like the DipTrans - I certainly didn't. I needed experience which was, shall we say, not forthcoming for the same reason outlined many times here - you need at least 3 years' experience. It's a vicious circle.
I'm now a Project Commercial Assistant for Network Rail in the UK. I love the job. I am also learning a ... See more Yeah, I graduated two years ago in French and Spanish and... gave up trying to get jobs. The average recent graduate rarely has the skills to do a post-grad qualification, like the DipTrans - I certainly didn't. I needed experience which was, shall we say, not forthcoming for the same reason outlined many times here - you need at least 3 years' experience. It's a vicious circle.
I'm now a Project Commercial Assistant for Network Rail in the UK. I love the job. I am also learning a lot of technical vocabulary and then finding out what it is in French and Spanish. Languages have become a hobby now, and I doubt I'll ever use them professionally (i.e. as a sole trade) but it could well be useful for a future occupation. In more established professions you could learn enough (through a degree conversion for example) to go into translating documents in that area.
As with most jobs, there is no set way to get into it but that's not saying there is no way. ▲ Collapse
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