| Teemakohased leheküljed: < [1 2 3 4] > | How to start as a translator? Vestluse postitaja: Renan Dias
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Samuel Murray 
Madalmaad
Local time: 19:06
Liige (2006)
inglise - afrikaani
+ ...
Lieven Malaise wrote:
- Go study for a translation degree: you will learn about translation, the translation market, translation tools and the usefulness/uselessness of AI/machine translation in translation.
There is no guarantee that a translation degree will teach the OP the skills to be a translator. Many translation courses only teach you how to translate, and not how to be a translator. Plus, the OP is from Brazil, where universities are free to set their tuition fees, so his degree is likely to cost him between $20k and $40k. Contrast that to Belgium, where a 4-year degree might set you back $5k.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Madalmaad
Local time: 19:06
Liige (2006)
inglise - afrikaani
+ ...
| Two more resources | Feb 14 |
Jost Zetzsche's "The Translator's Tool Box"
https://www.academiaclp.com/course/the-translators-tool-box
There used to be annual updates to this book, but the 2022 edition is the latest one.
Jost used to have a very useful and regular translators' newsletter, and you could access the archive of over 300 newsletters if you paid a small fee, but the newsle... See more Jost Zetzsche's "The Translator's Tool Box"
https://www.academiaclp.com/course/the-translators-tool-box
There used to be annual updates to this book, but the 2022 edition is the latest one.
Jost used to have a very useful and regular translators' newsletter, and you could access the archive of over 300 newsletters if you paid a small fee, but the newsletter has been taken over by Slator.com, and there is no archive access anymore.
You might think that Alex Eames's 2001 and 2010 book(s) "How to earn 80,000 per year as a freelance translator" is outdated, but the advice in it is not. The 2010 edition was called "Business Success for Freelance Translators". The book is out of print, but: search the forum for users who said that they bought it, and ask them to send you their PDF copy. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgia
Local time: 19:06
Liige (2020)
prantsuse - hollandi
+ ...
Rachel Waddington wrote:
A translation degree is a massive investment and no guarantee at all of success as a translator. The chance of ending up poorer and gaining nothing is high. I would hesitate to recommend that to anyone these days.
Any language degree is a massive investment. Until this day I remain convinced that a language degree is highly recommended to be able to be succesful as a translator. I believe that succesful fulltime freelance translators without such degree are exceptions, not standard.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgia
Local time: 19:06
Liige (2020)
prantsuse - hollandi
+ ...
Samuel Murray wrote:
There is no guarantee that a translation degree will teach the OP the skills to be a translator. Many translation courses only teach you how to translate, and not how to be a translator.
You are right about that. But at least in Belgium you end your degree with an intership of several months in a translation agency. That's a start.
Samuel Murray wrote:
Plus, the OP is from Brazil, where universities are free to set their tuition fees, so his degree is likely to cost him between $20k and $40k. Contrast that to Belgium, where a 4-year degree might set you back $5k.
That might indeed be a problem, like it is also a problem in my opinion that someone wants to become a translator with zero educational linguistic background.
[Bijgewerkt op 2025-02-14 13:12 GMT]
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Samuel Murray
Madalmaad
Local time: 19:06
Liige (2006)
inglise - afrikaani
+ ...
Lieven Malaise wrote:
But at least in Belgium you end your degree with an intership of several months in a translation agency. That's a start.
Yes, in the Netherlands it is also quite common for translation students to end up with a 1-2 year internship at a local translation agency or similar establishment.
| | | | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 18:06
Liige (2015)
inglise - portugali
+ ...
| A couple of things that are important as well: | Feb 14 |
Renan Dias wrote:
Can't say im working doing x or y as i did not actually started yet, but im planning on translation, which i refer to translate the source text to another language(english to portuguese in this case)
This is constructive advice.
When and if you start your career in translation, stick to translating into your language variant (Brazilian Portuguese).
Unfortunately, there are some Brazilian translators who claim to translate into Portuguese from Portugal, and worse, claim to be native speakers when asked by clients, when they are not.
I've seen this happen once and the person in question is a Proz member.
Another important thing as well is that if you become a regular member of the forum, and in particular of Kudoz, a professional anf friendly behaviour will be your 'image' amongst your colleagues.
There are many newcomers who arrive here with a certain arrogance, and some are even very rude.
Yes, it happened not so long ago and it was quite serious, requiring the intervention of several moderators and members.
Lastly, take advantage of your experience in electricity and engineering, try to find a course in that area and combine it with training in English.
[Edited at 2025-02-14 13:32 GMT]
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Renan Dias wrote:
about my background, I'm a self-taught English speaker since the education system of Brazil sucks, anyway, I think my reading skills in English are good enough to start work as a translator(which is something I always thought about since I was a teen), about qualifications, I am a certified technical electrician and an electrical engineering student
The steps I've taken so far are the basics, mostly because I am lost about what exactly to do due to my lack of qualifications and experience to fill out a curriculum. However, I'm contacting some translation agencies via e-mail and their forms to start working for them as a freelancer. I am also looking for some pro bono work to gain some experience.
and I'm currently using SmartCat due to it being free
As well as excellent comprehension skills in English you will also need top notch writing skills in your native language - plus attention to detail, research skills, and the ability to market yourself and network. You'll need some kind of online presence (start by filling in your profile).
Electrical engineering is a useful specialism as translators tend to come from arts backgrounds and even those who take technical translations can be daunted by electrical engineering texts. Technical translation has been hit hard by machine translation and AI though - you will probably find yourself post-editing rather than translating. Rates for this can be shockingly low.
Even established translators with decades of experience are going through tough times at the moment. Translation may not be the best way to make a living, given your technical background.
| | | | Renan Dias
Brasiilia
Local time: 14:06
Uus kasutaja
inglise - portugali
TOPIC STARTER | thanks for the advice | Feb 14 |
expressisverbis wrote:
Renan Dias wrote:
Can't say im working doing x or y as i did not actually started yet, but im planning on translation, which i refer to translate the source text to another language(english to portuguese in this case)
This is constructive advice.
When and if you start your career in translation, stick to translating into your language variant (Brazilian Portuguese).
Unfortunately, there are some Brazilian translators who claim to translate into Portuguese from Portugal, and worse, claim to be native speakers when asked by clients, when they are not.
I've seen this happen once and the person in question is a Proz member.
Another important thing as well is that if you become a regular member of the forum, and in particular of Kudoz, a professional anf friendly behaviour will be your 'image' amongst your colleagues.
There are many newcomers who arrive here with a certain arrogance, and some are even very rude.
Yes, it happened not so long ago and it was quite serious, requiring the intervention of several moderators and members.
Lastly, take advantage of your experience in electricity and engineering, try to find a course in that area and combine it with training in English. [Edited at 2025-02-14 13:32 GMT]
thanks for the advice, I'm a stronger believer that lying won't get you far in life, lie about my native language only to get a job would only set me back as my work wouldn't be good and my image would be destroyed as you said, but if I start I will surely try to use my experience to my advantage, thanks for the advice
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Renan Dias
Brasiilia
Local time: 14:06
Uus kasutaja
inglise - portugali
TOPIC STARTER | Things are not looking great for me | Feb 14 |
Rachel Waddington wrote:
As well as excellent comprehension skills in English you will also need top notch writing skills in your native language - plus attention to detail, research skills, and the ability to market yourself and network. You'll need some kind of online presence (start by filling in your profile).
Electrical engineering is a useful specialism as translators tend to come from arts backgrounds and even those who take technical translations can be daunted by electrical engineering texts. Technical translation has been hit hard by machine translation and AI though - you will probably find yourself post-editing rather than translating. Rates for this can be shockingly low.
Even established translators with decades of experience are going through tough times at the moment. Translation may not be the best way to make a living, given your technical background.
Damn, that's a tough pill to swallow, not only your advice but this thread as a whole, I wasn't expecting to be easy but my research on other places and this thread painted the picture that I'm entering in a building where a fire just started and as I'm seeing from all the advice and the discussion about getting a degree in translation I'm seeing entering that market will take a lot more dedication than I initially thought as I was seeing it as something I could do as a side job until I got a client base big enough to stop my current job(as a seller actually because it pays so much more than being an electrician here) and become a translator full time while managing college, and on top of that there is a great chance that it's not going to be worth all that trouble but I guess trying doesn't cost me anything, and at the end of the day is a bit more knowledge than I had before. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.
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Dan Lucas wrote:
Wilsonn Perez Reyes wrote:
i did not landed = I have not landed, among some other issues...
...but the OP does not claim to translate into English, so I don't think this is a major issue.
Regards,
Dan
A disagree button is desperately needed in this forum!
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgia
Local time: 19:06
Liige (2020)
prantsuse - hollandi
+ ...
Wilsonn Perez Reyes wrote:
Dan Lucas wrote:
Wilsonn Perez Reyes wrote:
i did not landed = I have not landed, among some other issues...
...but the OP does not claim to translate into English, so I don't think this is a major issue.
Regards,
Dan
A disagree button is desperately needed in this forum!
Why would you disagree? Even passive knowledge of a language, meaning that you understand it but can't speak it, should be enough to be able to translate. So why bother about mistakes made by a non-native speaker?
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Lieven Malaise wrote:
Wilsonn Perez Reyes wrote:
Dan Lucas wrote:
Wilsonn Perez Reyes wrote:
i did not landed = I have not landed, among some other issues...
...but the OP does not claim to translate into English, so I don't think this is a major issue.
Regards,
Dan
A disagree button is desperately needed in this forum!
Why would you disagree? Even passive knowledge of a language, meaning that you understand it but can't speak it, should be enough to be able to translate. So why bother about mistakes made by a non-native speaker?
Greetings from the land of the "pupusas", Lieven! Belgium is a pending assignment in my life, much more so than Spain, France, Italy, or even Germany!
[Editado a las 2025-02-14 19:00 GMT]
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Renan Dias wrote:
Im beginning my career as a translator, actually i did not landed my first job yet, i just wanted some kind of tips or guidance on how to get started on this job, gather clients etc.
i also would love to know your personal opinions on how the market is going with the whole AI thing. thanks
First thing first, check if you can get a translation degree in any of the great Brazilian universities (like UFRGS, UFPB, UNESP, UNICAMP) or coming to Argentina, like many other students do.
If you can't, the option is to get any certificate in languages or with a linguistic background, because if you want to work as a translator, languages are your main tool. You need to know spelling and grammar, but also genres, styles, nuances, and tones of languages to be a good translator. And you must be good, otherwise AI will beat you. There are English certificates on the web for free, just pass the 70 question test.
Then, the first guide/manual I remember I had at my first college semester was Paulo Rónai's Escola de Tradutores. It's a +60 years book, but information in it didn't lose value.
So, if you can't get a degree nor a language/linguistic certificate, the last option left is to read many books like that as possible. Some Brazilian authors like Machado de Assis, Agenor Soares dos Santos, Rosemary Arrojo, Marcos Bagno are the ones that come to my mind now.
| | | | | Hard to swallow pills | Feb 15 |
Renan Dias wrote:
Rachel Waddington wrote:
Your profile is blank and you have told us nothing about yourself. This makes it hard for anyone to give you anything but the most generic advice.
What's your background? What steps have you taken so far to establish yourself?
about my background, I'm a self-taught English speaker since the education system of Brazil sucks, anyway, I think my reading skills in English are good enough to start work as a translator(which is something I always thought about since I was a teen), about qualifications, I am a certified technical electrician and an electrical engineering student
The steps I've taken so far are the basics, mostly because I am lost about what exactly to do due to my lack of qualifications and experience to fill out a curriculum. However, I'm contacting some translation agencies via e-mail and their forms to start working for them as a freelancer. I am also looking for some pro bono work to gain some experience.
and I'm currently using SmartCat due to it being free
Welcome to Proz!
My honest opinion: you have to be extremely detail oriented to be a successful translator. This means using correct punctuation, capital letters for beginning sentences and for "I", and breaking up sentences properly. This applies to your English even if you aren't native, because you will likely be working with a lot of project managers that only speak English. I know this sounds harsh, but PMs are not going to be impressed with you the way you are writing on this forum. On a lot of forums, the way you're writing is perfectly acceptable, but here, on a forum full of professional linguists, you need to make the effort to do it right. The same applies to emails with PMs.
Otherwise, people will assume you are equally detail-blind in Portuguese. This is a super competitive industry and you WILL be judged on one typo or lack of capitalization alone. This is why I disagree with @Lieven Malaise. It's not about the actual translating and being able to understand English even if you make mistakes writing it, it's about the communication surrounding the projects and how being detail-oriented carries over between languages.
If you're really adamant on becoming a translator, it can be done, you might make a good post-editor in electrical engineering. A lot of translators won't touch this kind of topic because they don't have the requisite knowledge, myself included. But based on what you're saying, you might be better off staying in electrical engineering or being an electrician, there is a better future and plenty of demand. This is a dying industry, and those who tell you otherwise are short-sighted. I know many translators and transcribers who are retraining in the trades, because it's one area that AI will not be able to touch in our lifetimes.
I'm 35, so I know that translation will not get me through to retirement. Thus, I've been retraining for the last seven years as a bioinformatician, and I'm almost ready. I still have plenty of translation work, but I'm down to a few core clients, and I know that I need to be ready to step off the ship at any moment.
My advice (the unvarnished truth):
Steer clear, don't set yourself up for disappointment, and definitely don't switch to a translation degree if you're already studying an electrical engineering degree.
[Editado a las 2025-02-15 10:24 GMT]
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Use full stops, occasionally... 
Renan Dias wrote:
Damn, that's a tough pill to swallow, not only your advice but this thread as a whole, I wasn't expecting to be easy but my research on other places and this thread painted the picture that I'm entering in a building where a fire just started and as I'm seeing from all the advice and the discussion about getting a degree in translation I'm seeing entering that market will take a lot more dedication than I initially thought as I was seeing it as something I could do as a side job until I got a client base big enough to stop my current job(as a seller actually because it pays so much more than being an electrician here) and become a translator full time while managing college, and on top of that there is a great chance that it's not going to be worth all that trouble but I guess trying doesn't cost me anything, and at the end of the day is a bit more knowledge than I had before. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.
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