The difficult beginning Vestluse postitaja: maria schettini
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I am architect and I have been worked in this profession for 20 years. I was 13 when I began to study foreign languages: I love it and I have extreme facility to learn. As an architect, it is important to have knowledge in foreign idioms like English, Italian or Spanish: the most important publications are written in these idioms.
For this reason and because of my pleasure in reading, researching and learning I am fluent in these idioms.
That’s the point: I want to be a profess... See more I am architect and I have been worked in this profession for 20 years. I was 13 when I began to study foreign languages: I love it and I have extreme facility to learn. As an architect, it is important to have knowledge in foreign idioms like English, Italian or Spanish: the most important publications are written in these idioms.
For this reason and because of my pleasure in reading, researching and learning I am fluent in these idioms.
That’s the point: I want to be a professional translator and I have one question: As I have never been professional translator, I do not have any previous work to report it to a possible costumer. I am confident of my skills but I don’t have a CV as professional translator, so it is difficult to get a work. I have contributed to the Kudoz in order to help the companions and I think this is also a way to share my knowledge and show my ability. What else shall I do? Am I being too anxious? What is missing? I appreciate any suggestions.
Best regards.
maria schettini
[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2009-07-13 16:55 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | The first step in the roadplan to become a translator is... | Jul 13, 2009 |
... never trust your knowledge. Instead of assuming you know enough, make an effort to challenge and improve your knowledge. That's a first general recommendation I wanted to make. Good luck!
| | | | | This question has been asked and answered many times already | Jul 13, 2009 |
Hi Maria,
please have a look around the forums - you'll find this question has been asked and answered many times already, and you'll find lots of helpful advice and suggestions. Have a good look around this "Getting Established" forum, and I'm sure it will be of great help to you.
All the best
[Edited at 2009-07-13 15:54 GMT]
| | | | James McVay 
Ameerika Ühendriigid
Local time: 09:07
vene - inglise
+ ...
| Your profile is key | Jul 13, 2009 |
Hi Maria,
I looked at your profile, and the first thing that struck me is that the "About me" section is in Portuguese. I suggest you put it in English, unless you only want customers who speak Portuguese. Ask a colleague who is native or near native in English to edit it for you. Translation is an international business, and few of your potential clients will understand Portuguese.
Next, I suggest you examine the profiles of some of the more successful ProZ.com me... See more Hi Maria,
I looked at your profile, and the first thing that struck me is that the "About me" section is in Portuguese. I suggest you put it in English, unless you only want customers who speak Portuguese. Ask a colleague who is native or near native in English to edit it for you. Translation is an international business, and few of your potential clients will understand Portuguese.
Next, I suggest you examine the profiles of some of the more successful ProZ.com members. Pay attention to how they present themselves and, particularly, how they describe their subject-matter expertise and experience. That is where your strength lies. I suggest your concentrate on your experience as an architect, especially anything that shows you have collaborated with people in your target languages.
Also, you might include some sample translations on your profile so that potential clients can see how good you are. Avoid copyright infringement, of course.
As a last suggestion, if you haven't already done so, tailor your CV to reflect your linguistic ability. Most potential clients will want to see your CV before giving you work.
And finally, good luck! ▲ Collapse
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| Thoughtful advice | Jul 13, 2009 |
Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
... never trust your knowledge. Instead of assuming you know enough, make an effort to challenge and improve your knowledge.
I wholeheartedly agree. This is great advice. Practice makes almost perfect, and humbleness makes perfect. Humbleness is not a very common quality among translators, at least not among those I am required to work with.
Maria, you seem to love languages and you also seem to be genuinely interested in becoming a true professional. As others have pointed out, this site is chock full of threads and posts on the subject. I am afraid we can't really say anything new at this point, so go ahead and search the forum. If you find posts that inspire questions, you may try contacting the person whose post you have questions about. Some will take the time to reply to it--I usually do if I feel the person is serious.
Other than that, it seems you are a bit nervous about not having experience. Please, don't be. We all started out somewhere, we all started with no experience. Don't let this thought get in the way. As long as you make sure to only take on jobs that you know you are prepared to deal with, and as long as you are serious and act in a professional manner, you can be confident that you are serving your clients well. Just make sure you practice regularly and read up on grammar, typography and other practical language-related topics. Never stop trying to improve--there will always be things left to learn.
All the best!
| | | | | A market niche for you | Jul 13, 2009 |
Maria, as an experienced architect, you might be familiar with AutoCAD, or whatever specialized software is used in your trade. Believe me, it is very difficult to find translators who can handle it.
The fast track to a career in translation is in finding some exclusive know-how you have, while most of your more experienced colleagues don't.
On my first attempt at it, I discovered a natural talent for translating video for lip-sync dubbing. I had plenty of experi... See more Maria, as an experienced architect, you might be familiar with AutoCAD, or whatever specialized software is used in your trade. Believe me, it is very difficult to find translators who can handle it.
The fast track to a career in translation is in finding some exclusive know-how you have, while most of your more experienced colleagues don't.
On my first attempt at it, I discovered a natural talent for translating video for lip-sync dubbing. I had plenty of experience in coordinating the production of technical literature in a traditional paste-up art studio. At that time, DTP came up. Putting these together, in no time I was localizing complete video-based training packages. Twenty-two years later, I haven't yet met a full-time all-encompassing competitor in this area.
Likewise, with little effort you might soon be translating architectural or civil engineering drawings in an almost deserted market niche. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | The importance of the profile | Jul 13, 2009 |
I thank you all for your attention. As a curious person I am, I have already looked in some profiles of proZ.com members and I made some changes in mine. Regarding my profile, was actually a mistake to have done in Portuguese. I will translate it into English. I am taking the first steps. Best regards to all of you.
| | | | Patricia Will
Austraalia
Local time: 22:07
Liige (2004)
saksa - inglise
| Architect or translator? | Jul 13, 2009 |
Hi there,
Of course I am not familiar with the situation in your country but I wonder why anyone would want to change career from being an architect (generally well paid, highly regarded profession) to being a translator. You must really love languages!. However, you do have the advantage of being able to start with a solid background to specialise in, and I agree that you should focus on offering translations related to your field as well as familiarity with AutoCad. This will c... See more Hi there,
Of course I am not familiar with the situation in your country but I wonder why anyone would want to change career from being an architect (generally well paid, highly regarded profession) to being a translator. You must really love languages!. However, you do have the advantage of being able to start with a solid background to specialise in, and I agree that you should focus on offering translations related to your field as well as familiarity with AutoCad. This will certainly give you a competitive edge.
Best of luck!
Patricia Will ▲ Collapse
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| How about broadening your fields; translator exams | Jul 14, 2009 |
Hello Maria
How about broadening your fields to include, for example, materials, tourism, environment ...
Are you planning to take any translation exams? That will give you confidence and credibility, and be the pathway to joining a professional assocation if you want to.
Lesley
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