Graduate Careers in Languages - Translation and Interpreting

Language graduates have the advantage of being a valuable asset to any company where there are international relations. One of the most natural choices for a graduate career in languages is translation and interpreting. Why not use the knowledge and skills you acquired during your degree in a graduate career in languages? A graduate career in translation and interpreting will more than likely give you the opportunity to travel. However, the first thing you need to know about translation and interpreting is that there is a difference between the two: Translation is written, interpreting is spoken.

Translators work with written texts – reports, manuals, websites, books and film scripts – usually on a computer and using the Internet for research, although paper and dictionaries are not yet obsolete.

Interpreters translate speech – at conferences, in business negotiations, in hospitals and in all sorts of situations, from politics to police work. Interpreters may use hi-tech facilities such as simultaneous interpreting booths and telephone interpreting, but they can also operate on a person-to-person basis without technical aids.

Both jobs require an in-depth knowledge of at least one foreign language and culture, as well as an ability to express yourself well in your own language, and appropriate training and qualifications. Because the specific qualities required of translators and interpreters are different – see below – it is usual to work as either a translator or an interpreter. But it is also possible for one person to do both jobs.

A flexible career

There are two main options – working as a staff translator or interpreter, on a regular salary, or working freelance. There are very few salaried jobs available, and most are with translation companies, government departments and international organisations outside the UK. So the majority of translators and interpreters are self-employed freelancers, with all the freedom and risks that involves. It is great to be your own boss, but daunting to cope on your own with a fluctuating workload and conflicting deadlines, not to mention computer crashes and tax returns. Freelancers are paid according to the amount they work, so no work means no pay.

For that reason, there is no standard level of pay. International organisations such as the United Nations and the European Union pay the highest salaries, but they also have exacting standards and usually require applicants to know two foreign languages in addition to their mother tongue. Other staff jobs, with translation companies for example, pay less but provide valuable experience. Earnings can be high for expert freelancers with a good clientele and the skills and confidence to command high rates. But market pressure and tight public budgets mean that many have to put up with low pay, especially in community interpreting (in police stations, immigration services, hospitals, social services and schools etc.)

Travel is the big bonus for translators and interpreters. Most interpreters have to travel as part of their work. Thanks to e-mail and the Internet, freelance translators can work anywhere, and some choose to live outside the UK for part of the year in the countries where their foreign languages are spoken. Staff translators are less free, but many are employed in pleasant places such as Luxembourg, Geneva, Brussels, New York and Paris where the big international organisations employing translators and interpreters have their headquarters.

And for all translators and interpreters there is the luxury of travel ‘in the mind’, as you spend your working day immersed in different language and cultures.

Skills and qualities required

For both translators and interpreters:

Excellent knowledge of at least one foreign language and culture.
Research skills (knowing how to use PCs, people and paper to find the facts and words you need to do your job).
Curiosity about language and communication.

Plus, for interpreters:

Good voice, clarity of expression.
Rapid recall, quick thinking, concentration.

Plus, for translators:

Ability to write well in various registers.
Computer skills and willingness to keep updating them.

Qualifications (not essential, but they do help):

University degree

Postgraduate qualification in translation and /or interpreting

Membership of a professional association (in the UK: the Institute of Translation and Interpreting and/or the Chartered Institute of Linguists)

Some myths about translation

Myth No. 1: “Everyone speaks English, so we don’t need translation”. No, this is not the case. Many people do not speak English, but because of globalisation the English-speaking countries expect to be able to sell products to them. This increases the demand for translation or ‘localisation’ as it is also called in this context.

Myth No. 2: “Computers can translate, so we don’t need human translators”. This myth has been around for several decades, during which computers have transformed our lives for the better but have not made human translators superfluous. If you doubt this, take a text in a foreign language and get a computer translation into your mother tongue. Only then can you judge the usability of the translation obtained.

Where professional associations can help

To help and support translators and interpreters, professional associations such as the Institute of Translation and Interpreting provide:

Peer support and mentoring for newcomers.
Advice on starting out (marketing, standard terms and conditions).
Legal helpline, professional indemnity insurance.
Opportunities to meet and network with others, even to share and help solve language problems.
An on-line directory enabling clients to find translators and interpreters.
Training courses and continuing professional development.
The ITI bulletin, with job adverts, software reviews etc.
A website www.iti.org.uk explaining how to access all of the above facilities, including information on how to join.

A graduate career in languages is a career option that puts you in the driving seat. Working freelance gives you flexibility and freedom that many careers from other industries don’t allow. If you want to find out more about a graduate career in languages then contact a professional association for more advice on requirements and routes into your chosen career.

Emma Wagner

Institute of Translation and Interpreting

www.iti.org.uk