Some people have had the advantage of growing up in a bilingual or even multilingual household. Still, others just seem to have a natural knack for learning a new language. It is very likely that many of these people will be requested at some point, to work on document translations or even to work as an interpreter, albeit in a very informal setting. Even informally, however, there is some money to be made in translation services. Whether the objective is to earn a little additional discretionary disposable income to pay for that latest splurge purchase or to learn how to develop your language skills to make a career with translation and interpretation, this article will show how that can be accomplished.
Medical Translation and the COVID 19 Global Pandemic
While the current global pandemic from the COVID 19 virus is certainly a tragedy in every sense of the word, it is also an incredible opportunity for translators, most notably those providing medical translation services. Any time there is a global pandemic or other major crisis, individuals that specialize in medical translation ensure that all of the data is translated and transmitted as quickly and accurately as possible. This provides numerous job opportunities for anyone who speaks multiple languages, has an understanding of medical terminology and can handle medical translations as their special area of expertise.
In the case of the COVID 19 global pandemic, this means that there are literally thousands of jobs that require translating services for everyone from academic researchers to scientists to medical researchers and healthcare providers around the world. The World Health Organization requires each and every document that is written to be instantly translated into their six official languages. These documents must then be translated, generally by specialists in medical translation, to virtually every other language in the world, for at least all of the nations that are suffering from the current medical crisis.
The requirements for a certified medical translation expert may be a little more intense and industry-specific. However, this will also allow the individual translator to continue doing normal translations, while, bad as it may sound on some levels, taking full advantage of the next global crisis like the current Coronavirus outbreak. These translation specialists can often command top dollar for their work for doing part time work. It is possible in some cases that they can continue to work their regular translation jobs as a full time employee and work as a medical translator in their off hours.
What Qualifications do You Need to Become a Translator
Growing up in a bilingual household is a great start, but it is not enough to automatically guarantee that the individual can become a professional translator or interpreter. For those who elect to make professional translation services a career path, it may well be worthwhile to first learn how to become a certified translator. For those individuals who want to earn extra income as a translator, it may not be necessary to qualify as a certified translator at all.
There are many ways to earn money online and offline using natural language skills, though having a native level in both languages will certainly help. Some people have moved into more advanced language courses throughout their schooling, including some who will attain a Master’s degree or even a Ph.D. in linguistics or certain languages. Even for someone without any advanced language degrees, it is still possible to put those language skills to use. Though there should always be consideration given to learn more about the culture and linguistic idiosyncrasies of the language. There are limitations that even growing up in a bilingual or multilingual household will not overcome alone.
It is imperative that anyone who wants to become a professional translator, even part-time or online, be willing to learn about the social and cultural norms of their native land, in addition to having a wider range of knowledge about local idioms and other linguistic characteristics that change based on geographic locations or other factors in their native lands. Growing up in a bilingual household tends to restrict or limit the knowledge based on the locale and the cultural habits of the family.
In American English as one example, in some areas, it is common for people to call their father their “pop”. In other areas, when someone is talking about a “pop”, they are referring to a soft drink or “soda pop”. These minor issues become even more pronounced when dealing with working with British and American English. What is commonly referred to as the ground floor in some locations is commonly referred to as the first floor in other locations.
While this may not sound very important, what would be the second floor in one location is now the first floor in the other location. Imagine running a very successful advertising campaign, only to have the customers lost because they were sent to the wrong location, perhaps even to a direct competitor who happened to be in the “right” location to benefit from the advertising campaign that was not properly translated.
It is imperative that people who are working as freelance translators as well as those that provide certified professional translation services be ready to continue learning about their respective languages. As long as the individual is willing to do this, there are numerous job opportunities and career paths available in the life of a translator. According to Statista.com the global language services industry will reach nearly fifty billion US dollars in 2020 and surpass fifty-six billion US dollars in 2021. The question then becomes is how does one gain experience as a translator without a fancy college degree or translator certification?
How do I get Translation Experience?
One of the easiest methods to prove that you have what it takes to become a professional translator online is to start a bilingual blog site. Be certain to keep the comments section open as well, in order to prove a sense of prowess in conversing freely in both languages. You can also learn how to create a six-figure blog here with the Blog Launch Breakthrough.
As long as the blog remains online, it will serve as a means to prove the ability of the blog owner to freely converse in both languages. Furthermore, it will show that the blog owner has a proven history of being able to accurately translate documents and conversations in both languages. Other options include working as a freelance translator online.
Bonus Tip For Freelance Translators Online
Among the most popular items for people involved with Internet Marketing are informational products. How many of these products could enjoy a much larger audience if they were translated into additional languages? Whether the internet marketing masters are selling informational products online or producing viral YouTube videos for their followers, how many of them would be open to an expanded customer base and an increased income?
For those people that want to make a living online, imagine how the ranks of clients would swell with a successful joint venture with the masters of internet marketing? Why would someone willingly settle for a position as an affiliate trying to sell the products of others for a small commission when they have the capacity to enter into a full joint venture? If someone is intent on working from home and making a living online, what better way than to start at the top? The benefits of just one successful joint venture may be more than sufficient to begin that world tour!
How Much Money Can I Earn as a Professional Translator?
How much does a freelance translator make? Freelancing can be a tricky means to get translation experience, but it is not impossible. Moreover, this can serve as a means by which the freelance translator can begin building a steady list of regular clients to ensure that they will always be able to earn extra money as a translator online.
When working as a freelance translator, the key to success will be successfully navigating the freelance sites and online forums and blogs specifically set up to allow people to find freelance translation work online. In the early days of working as a freelance translator, it may be desirable or even necessary to take every job that comes along. This should not be a career choice for any professional translator though, and the practice must be refined as more translation work online becomes available.
Once a freelance translator has begun to build up a good reputation, care should be taken to look largely for long-term clients who will have ongoing work. The rates for the freelance translator should then be increased little by little for the new clients, until such a time as there is an adequate level of work to make a living freelancing online.
When new clients are found that are willing to pay the new, higher cost for professional translation services, the older, lower-paying clients should be given the opportunity to pay the new rates. In this way, not only is there a regular supply of translation work, but the regular rate increases will allow someone to make a living as a freelance translator online to earn a living wage for their work.
Is a Translator a Good Career Choice?
The ability to speak in two or more languages is often seen as an added advantage when applying for jobs, though most locations will merely consider this to be an added benefit for the company hiring the bilingual person. This is all well and good, especially if the person has a desire to work in some field other than providing professional translation services.
There are a great many locations where two languages are so prevalent that in order to get hired, one must speak at least a smattering of both languages. In Europe just as one example, it is not at all uncommon for people to grow up speaking four or five different languages. There are different geographical locations in Switzerland where the primary language changes based solely on the location. National borders are another location where it is virtually mandatory to speak more than one language.
What job options are available for a professional translator though? Will they be able to earn as good a living in the real world as people in other careers? Will there still be opportunities for the professional certified translator to earn additional income? The good thing about choosing to become a professional translator or interpreter online or offline is that there will always be numerous job opportunities, especially for the certified translator.
What are the Best Career Choices for a Certified Translator?
Once someone has become a Certified Translator, it will become much easier to demand a higher salary for the work, commensurate with experience of course. Most careers as a professional translator will offer full-time employment though others will not. As one example, working as a certified court interpreter in the judicial system may or may not be a full-time job, depending on where the person works.
The more prevalent their second language is in the local area will determine how frequently they work, though the pay scales are often quite good and allow for the professional court interpreter to make a fairly good living even only working part-time. For those that do not select a more full time and permanent career as a professional translator, these same skills can allow for them to supplement their incomes in related fields as well.
There are also numerous similar jobs in the diplomatic corps with the United Nations as one example, conducting document translation services on a daily basis. There is also a great demand for live interpreters and translators within the United Nations as well. While French and English are the two primary languages of the United Nations, virtually all of their documentation is immediately translated into six languages with additional languages being used as necessary. The United Nations is virtually always hiring professional translators and interpreters.
For someone who has worked to become a certified court interpreter, legal transcription work may be available. For someone who has worked to become a certified medical translator, there is always work to be had in the field of medical transcription. You can find out more about how to become a transcriptionist here.
For many people, the freedom to work only part-time while making a full-time wage is just too good to pass up. For other people, the stability of a regular employer is a more viable choice when choosing a career in the translation industry. As was previously noted, there are numerous locations where court reporters can still secure a very nice salary while at the same time enjoying the benefits of full-time work. These job opportunities for certified translators will mostly be in larger cities where more than one language is very common or even necessary.
Working for a professional translation services company is another option for full-time work. Even here however, there may be a special demand for someone who not only has the benefit of being bilingual but also has an intimate cultural knowledge of both nations and their linguistic anomalies. In this day and age when globalization is an increasingly important part of sales, marketing and even growth and expansion for many businesses, localization remains the key to successful marketing campaigns. Finding a professional translator with an intimate knowledge of two languages and two cultures provides a “win” for everyone in that case.
Many certified professional translators will also specialize in one field or another, such as the medical and legal translators as noted above. Such specialization will allow these people to start their own business offering professional translation skills in their selected field, and again, allow them to command a higher payment based on their individual linguistic specialties.
Whether someone wants to work part-time online or work full time in a full-blown career or even someone who just wants to open up their very own private business, becoming a certified translator is a very good choice indeed. Very few other careers can offer the same variety of job opportunities, career choices or other benefits such as those offered to the certified translator. Start working from home now and build your way into a full career, or travel the world taking your work with you as a freelance translator online. The choice is yours to make if you want to become a professional translator.
