Poll: What was the defining moment in your career as a translator/interpreter? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What was the defining moment in your career as a translator/interpreter?".
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1) My first client - so I started
2) My second client (found by myself and not through someone else) - that prevented me from depending on only one client
Then, after several years:
New clients who needed translations in different fields - So I could gain experience in different areas
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My internship (that resulted in my first job, in-house)
Going freelance
I'd say the second is one of the best things I've ever done, but it would not have been possible (or not in that way) without the first one.
| | | | Mary Worby 
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:19
German to English
+ ...
| Going freelance | Dec 16, 2009 |
I had a poorly paid in-house job on a pretty casual basis, and was accepting freelance work on the side. The defining moment when I knew the job was going to work was when I was able to give up the day job, as it were, and focus on freelance. (As it happened, the in-house job then offered me freelance work anyway!)
That was 12 years ago, and I've never looked back.
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| Studying in a university dedicated to translation | Dec 16, 2009 |
My defining moment was when I started studying in a university where languages were taught in order to train future translators, not just for the sake of learning foreign languages and cultures (or as a communication tool in commercial jobs).
Thanks to the ERASMUS program (European student exchange program), when I came back to France after one year, I knew that I would be able to make a living with something I love to do and that translation was not limited to books! ... See more My defining moment was when I started studying in a university where languages were taught in order to train future translators, not just for the sake of learning foreign languages and cultures (or as a communication tool in commercial jobs).
Thanks to the ERASMUS program (European student exchange program), when I came back to France after one year, I knew that I would be able to make a living with something I love to do and that translation was not limited to books! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | My first (paid) job | Dec 16, 2009 |
I was 18 and remember it perfectly. It was a very complex report on the coffee stock exchange for Lehman Brothers. I split it up with a friend and apparently we did a very good job cause we were congratulated for it.
Of course, we got paid peanuts, like US$50 in total each one of us, for a document I would be nowadays charging US$500, but the feeling of it being my first job was something really special. I had this great feeling that with very little translation knowledge I could do... See more I was 18 and remember it perfectly. It was a very complex report on the coffee stock exchange for Lehman Brothers. I split it up with a friend and apparently we did a very good job cause we were congratulated for it.
Of course, we got paid peanuts, like US$50 in total each one of us, for a document I would be nowadays charging US$500, but the feeling of it being my first job was something really special. I had this great feeling that with very little translation knowledge I could do a good job. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Doing 9 months in-house! | Dec 16, 2009 |
Before doing these 9 months in-house in possibly the largest Italian translations agency, I had the technical skills for translating. But being in-house gave me also the insight necessary to deal with clients (project managers, accounts) necessary to sell well my services. Selling translations is not quite the same as selling chocolate bars or driving a taxi cab. Of course I was underpaid while in-house but, after that, having a better picture of how our industry works, I work shorter hours and ... See more Before doing these 9 months in-house in possibly the largest Italian translations agency, I had the technical skills for translating. But being in-house gave me also the insight necessary to deal with clients (project managers, accounts) necessary to sell well my services. Selling translations is not quite the same as selling chocolate bars or driving a taxi cab. Of course I was underpaid while in-house but, after that, having a better picture of how our industry works, I work shorter hours and get more money. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Rebekka Groß (X)
Local time: 09:19
English to German
I guess that would be my first job as an in-house translator with a software company straight after receiving my translation degree. Because there were very few translators specialising in localisation when I went freelance 3 years later I was so highly sought after that I never experienced how the difficulties of getting established. Ah, those were the days...Nowadays, translators who work in localisation are 2 a penny, though experienced and reliable freelancers working to a high standard will... See more I guess that would be my first job as an in-house translator with a software company straight after receiving my translation degree. Because there were very few translators specialising in localisation when I went freelance 3 years later I was so highly sought after that I never experienced how the difficulties of getting established. Ah, those were the days...Nowadays, translators who work in localisation are 2 a penny, though experienced and reliable freelancers working to a high standard will never really be short of work (and if they are it's usually not for long). ▲ Collapse
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Abdulvahed
Iran
Local time: 11:49
English to Persian (Farsi)
| university years | Dec 16, 2009 |
The second year in the university I was offered with a text in architecture which I translated along with a list of references needed observing all translation related subtleties and delicacies.That was followed with articles in midwifery,psychology,agriculture and so on…leading to my coming into contact with texts of some sort and a strong belief in translation industry as a source of enjoyment and income.
| | | | | Getting certified | Dec 16, 2009 |
Getting certified
I had worked as a freelancer for about 3 years before I got my Canadian accreditation, which is highly regarded in Canada and comes with the protected title ”C.T. - Certified Translator”. Before, 80 % of my clients consisted of agencies, 10% was pro bono work and 10% were direct clients. Now, with my accreditation, 80% are direct clients, 5% agencies, 5% pro bono, and 10% government jobs.
Without doubt, this was a defining moment in my career ... See more Getting certified
I had worked as a freelancer for about 3 years before I got my Canadian accreditation, which is highly regarded in Canada and comes with the protected title ”C.T. - Certified Translator”. Before, 80 % of my clients consisted of agencies, 10% was pro bono work and 10% were direct clients. Now, with my accreditation, 80% are direct clients, 5% agencies, 5% pro bono, and 10% government jobs.
Without doubt, this was a defining moment in my career ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Other - selected for a job in a competition | Dec 17, 2009 |
I had been an editor and wanted to be a translator. I competed for a job opening in an international organization, took a day-long test, and came in first in a sizable field of competitors. That's when I knew I really was a translator!
[Edited at 2009-12-17 08:42 GMT]
| | | | Ruth Luna
Peru
Local time: 03:19
English to Spanish
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| My first paid Job(s) | Dec 17, 2009 |
Cristina Heraud-van Tol wrote:
Of course, we got paid peanuts, like US$50 in total each one of us, for a document I would be nowadays charging US$500, but the feeling of it being my first job was something really special. I had this great feeling that with very little translation knowledge I could do a good job.
Hahaha Yes, that was my first too! And I agree, we were paid peanuts but the $50 felt like a fortune; I still remember the feeling of accomplishment... Thank you for splitting it up with me!
Then I would also include my first job as a consecutive interpreter, and then my first job as a simultaneous interpreter.
Those were defining moments for me because they were moments of awareness: my professional dream was indeed coming true.
[Edited at 2009-12-17 00:48 GMT]
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| A specyfic client | Dec 17, 2009 |
For me it was a big agency, which was in serious trouble because a fellow translator had messed up a big tender. There was no time, my future colleagues were not available and the agency was desperate (I know the stuff, because I discussed this issue with the PM after years of successful collaboration). I was paid a normal rate, which was an unbelievable money to me – I did during a weekend like twice as much as my mom made in a month as a teacher.
I never forget the feeling: to h... See more For me it was a big agency, which was in serious trouble because a fellow translator had messed up a big tender. There was no time, my future colleagues were not available and the agency was desperate (I know the stuff, because I discussed this issue with the PM after years of successful collaboration). I was paid a normal rate, which was an unbelievable money to me – I did during a weekend like twice as much as my mom made in a month as a teacher.
I never forget the feeling: to have worked for the biggest power plant in my country, getting superb feedback and being paid a lot. For a 22-year old is was a dream. The agency kept flooding me with jobs in different fields, so I could get much experience. But nevertheless this one job (which was far from being my fist one) and the FEELING I had afterwards made me translator.
Of course there were other landmarks:
1st client from Germany
1st interpreting
1st CAT Tool
1st proz.com Conference
1st negotiations interpreting
1st translated book
1st proz.com Conference presentation
1st very good fedback from a German company for translations into German (not my mother tongue)
... and I am sure there will be more.
[Zmieniono 2009-12-17 06:24 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ildiko Santana
United States
Local time: 01:19
Member (2002)
Hungarian to English
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MODERATOR | my first job not proofread in-house | Mar 18, 2010 |
Almost 20 years ago when I started working in-house, my boss and role model (an Oxford graduate linguist/translator/interpreter with a brilliant mind & lovely personality) would proofread every document ever leaving my hands; circling, underlining, commenting with her red pencil on the hard copies. I will always remember the feeling of... relief? ...sense of accomplishment? ...pride?... when, about two years and thousands of pages later, one day she handed the papers back to me without reading,... See more Almost 20 years ago when I started working in-house, my boss and role model (an Oxford graduate linguist/translator/interpreter with a brilliant mind & lovely personality) would proofread every document ever leaving my hands; circling, underlining, commenting with her red pencil on the hard copies. I will always remember the feeling of... relief? ...sense of accomplishment? ...pride?... when, about two years and thousands of pages later, one day she handed the papers back to me without reading, looked at me and said, "I don't need to check on you anymore."
: ) ▲ Collapse
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