| Teemakohased leheküljed: [1 2 3 4] > | How to start as a translator? Vestluse postitaja: Renan Dias
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Renan Dias
Brasiilia
Local time: 21:09
Uus kasutaja
inglise - portugali
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
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Madalmaad
Local time: 02:09
Liige (2006)
inglise - afrikaani
+ ...
| Baran Keki
Türgi
Local time: 04:09
Liige
inglise - türgi
If you're young, consider another profession. I see that your profile says "I'm always trying". Well, that's a good thing. If you can kick a ball halfway decent and have the skin colour of Romario, you can always play in the shitty Turkish football league and earn somewhere around 8 to 10k a week. They're crazy about 'Brazilian soon to be flopped wonderkids'. And, what's more, it's AI proof. If only I were young and born in South America...
Joke aside, there's no money to be made in this ... See more If you're young, consider another profession. I see that your profile says "I'm always trying". Well, that's a good thing. If you can kick a ball halfway decent and have the skin colour of Romario, you can always play in the shitty Turkish football league and earn somewhere around 8 to 10k a week. They're crazy about 'Brazilian soon to be flopped wonderkids'. And, what's more, it's AI proof. If only I were young and born in South America...
Joke aside, there's no money to be made in this business anymore. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia ja Hertsegoviina
Local time: 02:09
Liige (2009)
inglise - horvaadi
+ ...
What translator? You mean post-editor?
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Renan Dias
Brasiilia
Local time: 21:09
Uus kasutaja
inglise - portugali
TOPIC STARTER
Lingua 5B wrote:
What translator? You mean post-editor?
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)
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgia
Local time: 02:09
Liige (2020)
prantsuse - hollandi
+ ...
- 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. If that's not an option:
- Find an inhouse translator position to gain experience in general translation, learn to use a CAT tool and machine translation properly and learn a thing or two about rates and the importance of knowing your translation speed and daily capacity. If that's not possible:
... See more - 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. If that's not an option:
- Find an inhouse translator position to gain experience in general translation, learn to use a CAT tool and machine translation properly and learn a thing or two about rates and the importance of knowing your translation speed and daily capacity. If that's not possible:
- I wish you good luck, but I'm afraid your mission might be an impossible one. Entering totally unprepared an overcrowded market that is full of sharks and scammers is a recipe for disaster. ▲ Collapse
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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
i did not landed = I have not landed, among some other issues...
| | | | Dan Lucas
Suurbritannia
Local time: 01:09
Liige (2014)
jaapani - inglise
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
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| | expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 01:09
Liige (2015)
inglise - portugali
+ ...
| "Translation" can definitely take on different shapes... | Feb 13 |
Wilsonn Perez Reyes wrote:
i did not landed = I have not landed, among some other issues...
Let me "translate" what Mr Reyes wrote:
For any translator, one important thing to remember is that attention to detail in writing is essential!
Even small mistakes can impact the accuracy of your translations. That's why it's so helpful to take your time and be extra careful with your writing.
To avoid errors, tools like Microsoft Word, which has spelling and grammar checks, can be very useful. There are also other tools like Grammarly, LanguageTool, and others that can help you spot mistakes.
So, my advice for now is to always double-check your work/writing: it's a great habit to develop!
Baran and Lieven have already given you some excellent tips that I would give you as well.
"Translation" can definitely take on different shapes, especially when we try to explain things in a more clear or friendly way!
[Edited at 2025-02-13 22:38 GMT]
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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?
| | | | Renan Dias
Brasiilia
Local time: 21:09
Uus kasutaja
inglise - portugali
TOPIC STARTER | Here is my background | Feb 13 |
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
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Baran Keki
Türgi
Local time: 04:09
Liige
inglise - türgi
| Other career options | Feb 14 |
As well intentioned as he is, I wouldn't listen to Lieven's advice. It would've been sensible to follow his advice as recently as 2 years ago, but now it's largely out of touch with the current reality dictated by AI.
I'd like to suggest a couple of career options that you might want to pursue instead of translation.
1. Dog walking: a good friend of mine living in Vancouver said that you could earn up to 1500 dollars a week as a dog walker. Dog walkers are also in demand in the UK as... See more As well intentioned as he is, I wouldn't listen to Lieven's advice. It would've been sensible to follow his advice as recently as 2 years ago, but now it's largely out of touch with the current reality dictated by AI.
I'd like to suggest a couple of career options that you might want to pursue instead of translation.
1. Dog walking: a good friend of mine living in Vancouver said that you could earn up to 1500 dollars a week as a dog walker. Dog walkers are also in demand in the UK as there appears to be a shortage of them, so much so that they grant you a skilled worker visa if you're a dog walker:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/feb/12/uk-skilled-worker-visa-eligibility-list
Fancy that! As a translator you couldn't even get a tourist visa to go to UK, but as a dog walker you can actually immigrate to UK!
2. Plumbing: constant comparisons between translators and plumbers on Proz forums suggest that plumbing is the dream job of most translators. Those who lack the necessary plumbing training and skills break into translation instead, and they come here to make comparisons between plumbers and translators. I assume you're young (and not that interested in football as you haven't commented on my earlier suggestion), you can enroll to a plumbing course in your area, and get trained as a plumber. You'll definitely earn a lot more than you would as a translator with minimal effort. If nothing else, you'll be able to fix your own faucets, sinks and toilets rather than calling a plumber and save money that way.
To learn more about the career options available to you, feel free to contact our HR experts at Keki HR Consulting Ltd. for a free consultation. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgia
Local time: 02:09
Liige (2020)
prantsuse - hollandi
+ ...
Baran Keki wrote:
It would've been sensible to follow his advice as recently as 2 years ago, but now it's largely out of touch with the current reality dictated by AI.
The thing is that quality translation isn't dictated by AI, not 2 years ago, not today. There will always be room for well-prepared translators with common sense. So no, I don't think obtaining a translation degree will be a waste of time. I'm more inclined to think that it will be more than ever a prerequisite to stand a chance as a future freelancer.
The adventurers, people that believe that translation is something that basically everybody can do, translators that immediately turn to freelancing translation without proper education or basic economic knowledge, bad translators, lazy translators (the ones that work way too fast to earn as much money as possible, making a heap of mistakes in the process), translators that refuse to offer MTPE services, translators with an unsustainable price/quality ratio... They all will be gone.
I don't mind. It will even make more room for truly qualified translators.
[Bijgewerkt op 2025-02-14 08:42 GMT]
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Lieven Malaise wrote:
Baran Keki wrote:
It would've been sensible to follow his advice as recently as 2 years ago, but now it's largely out of touch with the current reality dictated by AI.
The thing is that quality translation isn't dictated by AI, not 2 years ago, not today. There will always be room for well-prepared translators with common sense. So no, I don't think obtaining a translation degree will be a waste of time. I'm more inclined to think that it will be more than ever a prerequisite to stand a chance as a future freelancer.
The adventurers, people that believe that translation is something that basically everybody can do, translators that immediately turn to freelancing translation without proper education or basic economic knowledge, bad translators, lazy translators (the ones that work way too fast to earn as much money as possible, making a heap of mistakes in the process), translators that refuse to offer MTPE services, translators with an unsustainable price/quality ratio... They all will be gone.
I don't mind. It will even make more room for truly qualified translators. [Bijgewerkt op 2025-02-14 08:42 GMT]
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.
If the OP can get an inhouse position I agree that that would be an excellent move.
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