From teacher to translator

McConnie wrote:


I need some advice on how to get started as a freelance translator in Ireland if I’m neither highly experienced in doing translations nor can I claim to be specialised in any specific field.

I’m originally from Buenos Aires where I did a four-year intensive course on English. I would be qualified as an “English Professor” if I had obtained my degree after doing a three-month, masochistic internship in a secondary school. However, I quit the internship when I was half way through it because I was doing so badly! I felt I was expected to perform as a clown and I just lacked the personality to put up an act, get over and done with it and finally get my degree. I found the whole experience very frustrating as all I received was diminishing “feedback” from my Methodology teacher.

My last employment was as a teacher in Buenos Aires giving in-house business English courses to IT and marketing managers in multinational companies. I was doing really well then, which was kind of boost for my confidence in my teaching ability; but I can hardly do the same in Ireland! Anyway, I’d rather quit teaching altogether and switch to translating, which I could do from home. I believe I have both the ability and the tools to do translations, yet how can I gain the experience that would allow me to find employment without having to do a university course? I’ve a baby now so I couldn’t really afford to go back to university and start all over again. And then it’d be more of a pastime than anything else. Just to keep learning and feel mind is still working! How should I go about it?

CMJ_Trans wrote:

... because, if you are, you ought to obtain some sort of qualifications. It's tough out there on the market and it is not because you (in the sense of "one") speak one or several other languages that you will necessarily make it as a translator. Theoretically anyone can set themselves up (and many often do!). What happens then is that, to get work, they tend to bid the lowest prices. Customers who are bottom-line conscious go for the cheapest option irrespective of quality but it means that you have to churn out industrial quantitites to eek out even a basic living. In addition, you talk about a baby. The problem here is that deadlines have to be met: is this compatible with bringing up a small child? There is much more I could say on the subject but the basic message is that "translation is not a game, so it should either be done seriously or not at all". If that message doesn't put you off, good luck!
Chris

Valeria Verona wrote:

Con respecto a los cursos a larga distancia, pensé en hacer algo así pero ¿Cómo estar segura de cuál va a tener validez? Las universidades de Dublin en las que yo averigué, ninguna parece dar cursos de traducción a larga distancia.
Tema libros ¿Vos podrías recomendarme alguno?
Desde ya soy consciente de que tengo que repasar la gramática española. Mi preocupación también es que ahora estoy más cerca de España y la realidad es que nuestro castellano les suena ridículo, así que no se cómo eso afectaría mi probabilidad de conseguir trabajo en Irlanda.

Hola desde Buenos Aires!
1) A distance course
2) A workshop with a translator
3) Reading a book on translation theory
4) Reviewing your Spanish grammar.
5) Talking to a translator friend who can give you tips, introduce you into this activity, which is cerainly VERY DIFFERENT from teaching. I do both... that's why I'm telling you! It's two different worlds, two different ways of thinking.
Good luck and contact me if I can be of any help

Saludos,
Valeria

CMJ_Trans wrote:

So am I! I don't really know if I want to be a translator. I won't know until I give it a try! Maybe I didn't express myself correctly and gave the wrong impression. It's not that I'm not prepared to study at all. I just can't afford to go to university because it would be both a heavy economic burden and the commuting itself would be a waste of time.

I'm not just 'anyone', a chancer, who learnt a language from working in a McDonald's in a foreign country and believes she now knows it all about translating. I'm someone who learnt a language from studying hard. I'm not mediocre in anything I set out to do. Would I be here seeking advice if I was? I'm not a mediocre mother and I don't expect to be a mediocre translator either. I never said it would be a 'game' to me or that I meant to take the profession lightly. Even with a small child, I believe it's possible to do small amounts of work professionally without loading oneself with deadlines one couldn't meet. It's not my aim to be cheap and unprofessional! I'm looking for self-fulfilment. I don't really need to work at the moment.

In Buenos Aires there's an old rivalry between English teachers and translators as the latter, for some reason, are thought to be superior. Teaching seems to be an 'easy' job that doesn't need as much knowledge or preparation. Well believe me, there are hundreds of translators taking up all sorts of teaching positions because there's no market for translators. One could easily claim that they have not a clue about pedagogy, child psychology, methodology, that they're too structured.. etc..etc.. and yet who knows... I never saw them as a threat because I was professional in doing my job and was getting more and more work in spite of the economic downturn.

Your message hasn't put me off at all. It actually makes me more determined. I'm stubborn by nature!

...because, if you are, you ought to obtain some sort of qualifications. It's tough out there on the market and it is not because you (in the sense of "one") speak one or several other languages that you will necessarily make it as a translator. Theoretically anyone can set themselves up (and many often do!). What happens then is that, to get work, they tend to bid the lowest prices. Customers who are bottom-line conscious go for the cheapest option irrespective of quality but it means that you have to churn out industrial quantitites to eek out even a basic living. In addition, you talk about a baby. The problem here is that deadlines have to be met: is this compatible with bringing up a small child? There is much more I could say on the subject but the basic message is that "translation is not a game, so it should either be done seriously or not at all". If that message doesn't put you off, good luck!
Chris

Flora Iacoponi wrote:

Hi,
if you are considering doing a distance course in translation I can give you a couple of address. One is the Words language service school in Dublin, http://www.wls.ie, the other one is London City University http://www.city.ac.uk/languages/dt.htm. They both organize distance courses and offer the option of doing either a course for a certificate in translation or a preparation course to sit the London Institute of Linguists Diploma in translation that is a good accreditation to have. I did a distance course with WLS myself and everything went fine, I could do it at my pace and entirely from home. Please let me know if you need more information about it. Cheers,
Flora

McConnie wrote:


I need some advice on how to get started as a freelance translator in Ireland if I’m neither highly experienced in doing translations nor can I claim to be specialised in any specific field.

I’m originally from Buenos Aires where I did a four-year intensive course on English. I would be qualified as an “English Professor” if I had obtained my degree after doing a three-month, masochistic internship in a secondary school. However, I quit the internship when I was half way through it because I was doing so badly! I felt I was expected to perform as a clown and I just lacked the personality to put up an act, get over and done with it and finally get my degree. I found the whole experience very frustrating as all I received was diminishing “feedback” from my Methodology teacher.

My last employment was as a teacher in Buenos Aires giving in-house business English courses to IT and marketing managers in multinational companies. I was doing really well then, which was kind of boost for my confidence in my teaching ability; but I can hardly do the same in Ireland! Anyway, I’d rather quit teaching altogether and switch to translating, which I could do from home. I believe I have both the ability and the tools to do translations, yet how can I gain the experience that would allow me to find employment without having to do a university course? I’ve a baby now so I couldn’t really afford to go back to university and start all over again. And then it’d be more of a pastime than anything else. Just to keep learning and feel mind is still working! How should I go about it?

CMJ_Trans wrote:

It looks as though you may find courses you can do from home and that should put you on the right track.
I certainly didn't want to sound presumptuous but I am not in my first youth and have seen it all before. The market is full of people who think that translation is a doddle and anyone with a bit of language knowledge can play. You only have to read the English on restaurant menus abroad to see the sort of end result you can get!!! (OK - I'm exaggerating slightly).
In the past I have lost business to people who have underbid me with my regular customers, who were naturally tempted by a cheaper option, only to have these customers coming running back with the resulting text asking me to sort out the mess! Whatever you do, don't go down that road. A nod is as good as a wink, they say....
But if you are stubborn and keen, you may be just the sort of material needed - so good on you!
Chris