how hard is it to get a job as a translator?

Question

i am in my 2nd to last year at secondary school. i have been learning french and spanish for nearly 4 years and i am predicted a's and a*'s for both subjects and plan to go to a language college then on to university to study the languaged further. how hard will it be to get a job as a translator and will i need a specialised subject? (also i have taken I.T and this is worth 4 gcse's .. could i use this as my specialist subject if i needed one?)

Answer 1

It is easier nowadays than it was two or three decades ago. By all means go for it and perhaps you will be one of the fortunate few who land a job with an international organisation. Many translators settle for a freelance career, which suits some people more than others, as it always seems to be a matter of feast or famine and it is very difficult to arrange one's social life around it. It is also a very lonely existence.
As far as specialisation is concerned, sometimes this comes about through sheer chance. You may, for instance, obtain a job as a staff translator for a company and find yourself absorbing the 'house' vocabulary through doing your job. If that happens, then it is a good idea to build on that area of expertise. Otherwise you might care to study for some other professional qualification over and above your linguistic qualification. The advantage of this is that you might at the end of the day find it possible to shift to that other career and use your linguistic skills as an additional asset. Some people who have done this have found that this other career (in law or banking, for instance) is more stimulating than the simply being a wordsmith.
May I impress upon you the extreme importance of being very competent indeed in English? It sounds so obvious, but it is vital to be able to present flawless work with impeccable grammar and spelling.
I note that someone has already mentioned the importance of being a cultured person and I would endorse that. Ideally a translator is that elusive person who knows something about everything and everything about something.
The languages you have chosen are the most popular ones and you must prepare yourself for fierce competition, unless you decide to diversify at this stage. Some people have become highly competent in a language which they learned from scratch at university.
It's wonderful to know what you are aiming for while you are still at school and I wish you every success.

Answer 2

I couldn't agree more with Anonymous, they don't seem to like to learn too much English in Spain. I've been there and I couldn't find too many people speaking English (luckily, I speak Spanish). The same thing happened to me in Italy. In Ecuador (my country) you can always find people who speak English at the airport (in fact, it's requirement) but I couldn't find anyone who could speak English in Milan's airport (Malpensa).

Anyways, I attended an interpreting course myself few years ago, it was not too long but it helped me a lot and one of the things they taught me is that an interpreter has to be an EXTREMELY cultivated person. If you're really planning to be one, the first thing you have to do is start reading the news from everywhere, read about everything, that way you'll have a powerful "tool" when it's needed. I would say go for it. But you'll probably find it easier to work abroad, than in the States.

Answer 3

The Air Force has no translator career fields. The Air Force has crypto linguist. Which means you must have a security clearance to hold that job. Only US citizens can hold security clearances. Your wasting your time, you want a job, you cannot do. You would have to enlist in a job that does not require a security clearance, then serve long enough to get your citizenship, then after 3 years of service, apply to cross train.

Answer 4

I got a job at a place that did translations when they got swamped with a big job. It didn't pay much (I am not the fastest at it anyhow). And, you need to have your own dictionaries pretty much. But, I would just find out what companies are in your area and apply with them with your accomplishments and see.
You may need to take special courses to become a translator for the courts ... I know that there is a test for it. But, actually we are talking about an interpeter, which is much harder than translating.

Answer 5

Yes it is hard unless you're willing to live in a capital city. Even so this kind of job is hard to get. Even teaching a foreign language is hard if you want to earn a decent living.

There are many career choices in languages, but you really need to study something else too in order to bolster it. I wouldn't listen to teachers if I were you, they have such wierd ideas. They got my sister onto Russian "the language of the future", hah!

Answer 6

well i know spain is crying out for translators and even if it was found a bit to difficult to become one over here you could always be an estate agent selling properties abroad thats not to bad money if i had learnt a bit more spanish while i was there thats what i was going to do x

Answer 7

It depends on what interests you. IT could certainly be a specialized subject, as could political science and business.