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Discouraging advice from a translation agency owner - should I heed it?
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Thread poster: Monica Davis

Discouraging advice from a translation agency owner - should I heed it?

Monica Davis

United States
Local time: 00:46
Spanish to English

Nov 25, 2009

I am involved in a community running group, and was interested to find out that one of the men on my team owns a translation agency. As someone interested in getting established in freelance translation, I was really excited to have found a possible "mentor" and asked him if he had any tips for a budding translator like myself. His advice could not have been more discouraging.

First, he told me that he wasn't looking for any translators (not that I asked...) and he told me that to be a good translator you have to brought up completely bi-lingual (i.e. in a bi-lingual household) from a very early age. He also told me that he mostly hires translators with 20+ years experience. He went on to tell me how competitive the industry was, and how he has had to lower his prices considerably, and how there are people in South America who will do translations for so much cheaper, etc. etc. Basically telling me I didn't stand a chance.

Now, I know there a lot of negative people in this world, and I am not sure if I should pay attention to what he says, or disregard it. Here is what he said to me and how I explained my situation to him.

He told me I should get "immersion" in the language; I told him that I have been studying Spanish since I was 12 and spent several years in Mexico during high school and college. I am planning to move back there with my (Mexican) boyfriend this spring, with whom I only speak Spanish, so I consider that immersion experience.

He told me to join a professional organization like ATA; I told him I am already an ATA student member.

He told me to get educated in translation; I told him I have an NYU certification in Spanish - English translation.

He told me to find a job in which a big part of it is translating; I told him that I spent a year working in a translation agency as a project manager, which involved a lot of editing/proofing, plus gave me an understanding of the industry as a whole. Also, in my current job that I've had for the past two years, I translate documents (medical and promotional related) at least once or twice a month. I have also done a lot of volunteer translating for non-profit organizations over the past three years.

None of this really seemed to move him. He still seemed convinced I didn't stand a chance. I asked him what his language pair was, and how he got started, and then he told me that he doesn't even translate himself, much less know another language - he simply runs the agency.

He also told me that I shouldn't count on getting started as a freelancer and I could maybe try to find an in-house position at a very low level. He said most of his translators didn't go freelance until 10+ years experience in something else...

Now, I was rather discouraged after this. I feel like I have a relatively solid background and I feel that if I work hard, I can succeed in this business. But then again, he runs a translation agency, so I feel like his opinion may represent the majority of agencies. I don't know if he didn't take me seriously because I'm only 26, if he was just negative, or if he is speaking the truth and I should just forget this as a career path. I am passionate about translating and feel like I have a good understanding of what freelancing would entail and lots of ideas about how to get started, so I am trying not to let what he said get to me, but I do keep hearing his advice resonate in my head.

I would like to hear other opinions of what others out there think about this.

Ana Irena Hudi
Croatia
Local time: 06:46
English to Croatian
+ ...

looks like curiosity killed the cat ... but please don't get discouraged!

Nov 25, 2009

Monica Davis wrote:

I am involved in a community running group, and was interested to find out that one of the men on my team owns a translation agency. As someone interested in getting established in freelance translation, I was really excited to have found a possible "mentor" and asked him if he had any tips for a budding translator like myself. His advice could not have been more discouraging.

... and by saying that he said more about himself than about your prospects of becoming a good freelancer. A confident, succesful person is usually supportive and helpful when people ask them for advice.

Monica Davis wrote:

First, he told me that he wasn't looking for any translators (not that I asked...) and he told me that to be a good translator you have to brought up completely bi-lingual (i.e. in a bi-lingual household) from a very early age. He also told me that he mostly hires translators with 20+ years experience. He went on to tell me how competitive the industry was, and how he has had to lower his prices considerably, and how there are people in South America who will do translations for so much cheaper, etc. etc. Basically telling me I didn't stand a chance.

Now, I was rather discouraged after this. I feel like I have a relatively solid background and I feel that if I work hard, I can succeed in this business. But then again, he runs a translation agency, so I feel like his opinion may represent the majority of agencies. I don't know if he didn't take me seriously because I'm only 26, if he was just negative, or if he is speaking the truth and I should just forget this as a career path. I am passionate about translating and feel like I have a good understanding of what freelancing would entail and lots of ideas about how to get started, so I am trying not to let what he said get to me, but I do keep hearing his advice resonate in my head.

I would like to hear other opinions of what others out there think about this.

In brief, according to all this, you'd need further 25 years to start getting established.

If you feel you are ready to work hard and to be able to guarantee a high-quality translation (research, proof-reading etc.) - keep up the good work! There is not one single field in which it is easy to succeed without hard work and dedication- so if you are prepared to all that, don't get discouraged and above all - don't give up!

Good luck and best wishes!

Ana

Sabine Braun

United Kingdom
Local time: 05:46

Member (2006)
English to German
+ ...

From my personal experience....

Nov 25, 2009

When I was about 17 I discussed my plans of studying translating and becoming a translator with a careers adviser. He told me that translators are usually bilingual (children of diplomats and the like) and that I basically would not stand a chance. (Does that sound familiar?!)

Here I am, almost 35 years later, still (successfully) working as a translator and enjoying it. I started out as a freelancer after 1.5 years (and not 10 years) of working as an in-house translator and I was fine. Why should you wait for another 10 years?

By the way, my kids are bilingual - but would not make good translators. They find it hard to switch between the two languages. So much for the "bilingual is best" theory.

If you are really passionate about translating (which is my impression from your post), I would give it a go. Just ignore what that grumpy man was telling you. I doubt that most agencies just work with translators who have 20+ years of experience. How would all the young translators on Proz.com survive? Try to stay optimistic, keep improving your skills and make a business plan.

I wish you luck!

Sabine

PCovs
Denmark
Local time: 06:46

Member (2003)
English to Danish
+ ...

Totally agree!

Nov 25, 2009

I agree completely with Ana and Sabine.
Forget this constipated dumb a**.
If you are confident about your work, you should go for it!

A word of advice might be to start up part time, if possible, as it may take some time to get so many agencies/end clients to regularly call on you with their assignments that you can make a living. It worked like a charm for me

Oh, and I started out as a part time freelancer after approx. 6 months as an in-house translator after graduating (MA in T/I).

Good luck.

Blerta Alikaj

United States
Local time: 00:46

Member (2006)
English to Albanian
+ ...

Two cents in...

Nov 25, 2009

I think that if you are willing to work hard and not be discouraged by possible failures at the beginning, you should do fine. You will need 2-3 years to establish yourself as a translator, (unless you are really, really lucky).
Usually translation does not bring enough money to make you super-rich but it can be an excellent income supplement.
Print your business cards, make your price list, do some self-marketing and you are in business.
In my country we have a saying: ask a hundred people's advice and then follow your own.
Good luck,

magdapapa
Italy
Local time: 06:46
Italian to Greek
+ ...

Don't feel intimidated

Nov 25, 2009

From what I can see you do have the background to help you make a foray into the world of translation. What happens afterwards will depend on your efforts and your ability to produce quality work. Also you should try find out how to approach the agencies (see discussions on this before sending out your CV!). It also depends on your expectations and what goals you set. You should not feel intimidated by advice or opinions especially at this stage. Good luck!

Dan Brennan

United Kingdom
Local time: 05:46

Member (2006)
Russian to English
+ ...

The Running Man

Nov 25, 2009

This curmudgeonly running man/would-be mentor is, as they say in Scotland, talking absolute mince.

The notion that you have to be bilingual to be a good translator is one of many nonsensical assertions in the bleak overview that he has provided you with.

Love of, and feel for, language are much more important, as well as the obvious linguistic skills and a good grounding in your chosen field(s).

He'll probably be telling you to wait another 20 years before attempting a marathon next.

Edward Potter

Spain
Local time: 06:46

Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...

He lied to you

Nov 25, 2009

Hi Monika.

Based on what you say, this guy was lying to you, and I'll tell you why.

He is afraid that yet another talented and enthusiastic person is coming to crowd the industry. He is afraid of the competition you will give him. His true feelings are that you are and will be good at what you do, better than him. He is afraid of you.

On the other end, my guess is that he is insecure about his business. He thinks it is not going well and doesn't have enough control over it. In a way, he is blaming you.

As far as his running abilities go, he probably has that big L on his forehead

.

You are in the right place here. Everything you need for success can be found on this web site.

Regards,

Edward

Astrid Elke Johnson

Germany
Local time: 06:46

Member (2002)
German to English
+ ...

You seem to have done all the right things so far

Nov 25, 2009

Translating regularly in the office where you work is already a very good start. The next step in the process would be to add to the number of translations you are doing by working for translation agencies in the evenings and at weekends. Building up your profile on ProZ.com, where you can make your experience and qualifications gained to date visible, would be an important step towards obtaining work from agencies.

The only thing I cannot recommend at the present moment is to give up your current job and rely totally on freelance translating for your entire income. The present economy is not suitable for that, however it is regular and sensible advice to start freelancing on a part-time basis first (alongside an office job during the day, for example) in any case, in order to build up your client base. I think you will know when the time is right to become a full-time freelancer.

Aleksandar Gasic
Montenegro
Local time: 06:46
English to Serbo-Croat
+ ...

teenage whatever

Nov 25, 2009

Frankly, being a professional translator won't make you rich, but getting rich is not what this profession is about...
I'd say that he thought you would ask him to hire you, so he wanted to fence you off.
Good reply to his speech would be "yeah, yeah, whatever, dude". On the other hand, he might be running one of those firms that ask for "age under 25, with at least 10 years of professional experience".
I do not know why you even bothered thinking about that guy for more than 2 seconds after having finished the conversation.

RichardDeegan
Peru
Local time: 00:46
Spanish to English

Guy's a loser

Nov 25, 2009

Whatever you do in life, keep away from people with negative vibes. (Watch "Kelly's Heroes" again.)
The world has serendipity and dips--ts; steer clear of the latter and hook onto the former.
While I had done sporadic translations as part of other duties in NYC, I was mostly involved in teaching English when I cam down here. One of my students asked me (knowing of my background) if I could help one of his friends (head of an accounting firm) with translating an audit report into good English. One thing led to another and word passed from one mouth to another, and in less than a year I had no time to give classes.
I don't know what this guy's problem is (paranoia and insecurity good possibilities) but his negativity is a cancer that will destroy his agency, if it hasn't already.
Go for it!!!!

Samuel Murray

Netherlands
Local time: 06:46

Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...

Sounds like you had quite a chat

Nov 25, 2009

Monica Davis wrote:
I was really excited to have found a possible "mentor" and asked him if he had any tips for a budding translator like myself. His advice could not have been more discouraging.

I recently had a guy contact me for "tips" too, so I spent 10 minutes writing a short reply in which I suggested that (a) he joins ProZ.com and (b) he buys Alex Eames' e-book.

When I was a young translator with only a few years' experience under my belt, I was more eager to share my knowledge with anyone who asks, but these days I prefer to give short answers and let them figure it out themselves. It is better for them and it is better for me. It is impossible to transfer all my knowledge to an aspiring translator in one session, and he won't remember half of it anyway.

And when I was a newbie translator myself, I got mostly curt replies from established translators.

Let's examine some of his claims:

1. He told me that to be a good translator you have to brought up completely bi-lingual (i.e. in a bi-lingual household) from a very early age.
2. He also told me that he mostly hires translators with 20+ years experience.
3. He went on to tell me how competitive the industry was, and how he has had to lower his prices considerably, and how there are people in South America who will do translations for so much cheaper.
4. He told me I should get "immersion" in the language.
5. He told me to join a professional organization like ATA.
6. He told me to get educated in translation.
7. He told me to find a job in which a big part of it is translating.

1. Not required, but useful to have.

2. So he prefers working with old people. I've met translators who believed that anyone under the age of 30 (or 40) lacked life experience that was required to be a good translator. Having looked at translations done by 20-year olds, I think I know where that attitude comes from. I don't condone ageism, but I can understand it. Still, I myself have about a decade to go before I hit the "20 years' experience" mark.

My translation lecturer at college suggested that a translator should spend about 1 hour a day in a library, taking books off the shelf randomly and reading bits and pieces. I suppose spending some time on Wikipedia might also work. The point is that life experience is important for translation (unless you're translating highly subject-specific stuff), and younger people tend to have less of it.

3. The industry is very competitive, yes. Cheap translators will undercut you, yes.

4. He may believe in the power of immersion, but I think you can retain a feel for a language even if you're far away from people who speak it. It takes discipline, but it is possible. And with the internet and free availability of sound, video and text in many languages, it has become easier to stay abreast of a language.

Say, how many Spanish novels have you read in the past year? How many Spanish films did you watch (without subtitles)? How many days a week do you read a Spanish newspaper? I'd be interested to know...

5. Joining a professional organisation has no benefit itself, but the organisation may offer services that you can use to boost your skills or client base.

6. A little knowledge of translation theory and linguistics never hurt anyone.

7. This is possibly his best piece of advice to you. It is optional, but if you can get a job in an office where you're the "junior" translator, you can learn a lot from the other translators. Unless they are the type of translators who don't speak in the office. Try finding a dynamic, noisy place to work in. If you work in an office, you generally work against the clock in ways that you don't as a freelancer (although freelancers have their own type of pressure that office workers don't suffer from).

None of this really seemed to move him. He still seemed convinced I didn't stand a chance. I asked him what his language pair was, and how he got started, and then he told me that he doesn't even translate himself, much less know another language - he simply runs the agency.

He may simply be pessimistic because he wants you to quit unless you have the guts to go for it. Starting a career as a freelance translator is not easy, and unless you have the will to succeed, you won't. So maybe he was just trying to stimulate a fighting spirit in you.

Now, I was rather discouraged after this. I feel like I have a relatively solid background and I feel that if I work hard, I can succeed in this business. But then again, he runs a translation agency, so I feel like his opinion may represent the majority of agencies.

Excuse me... are you trying to become a translation agent or a translator? Translators have different problems (and opportunities) than agents. Some things are easier for translators than for agents.

I don't know if he didn't take me seriously because I'm only 26, if he was just negative, or if he is speaking the truth and I should just forget this as a career path.

If you're not married and you don't have children, then I would encourage you to go for it. You'll be without income for about 3 to 6 months, though, so save up first. If you are married and/or you have children, save up as if you'll be without income for a year. You can also be a part-time freelance translator, i.e. someone who does translation in the evenings. This might give you a bit of insight into the industry, and win you some clients that will help when you go freelance full-time.

[Edited at 2009-11-25 23:14 GMT]

KSL Berlin

Germany
Local time: 06:46
German to English

Get some good earplugs...

Nov 25, 2009

... if you plan to talk to this joker again.

Actually, your language pair is a tough one as I understand the situation, but I wouldn't take a bunch of South Americans seriously as competition for high quality translation into English if that's what you can offer. In the other direction you might be toast, of course.

The idea of going freelance only after ten years is the biggest load of bunk I've heard in a while. And the bit about bilingual from an early age makes me laugh. I certainly wasn't. I don't know what's eating him, but it probably has little to do with you, and I would simply continue your research, develop a realistic plan and try it.

Giuseppina Gatta, MA (Hons)
United States

Member (2005)
English to Italian
+ ...

We all have had it

Nov 25, 2009

Hi Monica,

When I started my translator career, I had about the same experience. I asked somebody who already had experience if he would give me an opinion, submitted a translation sample, and he said I could not make it.

I started anyway, and I am still working as a translator and interpreter. All my experience completely contradicts what your "friend" is saying:

I was born and educated in a strictly monolingual environment
I started immediately as a freelance translator (I was about your age)
I did not have an education strictly related to translation (although related to languages.)

So, as they say in Italian (from Dante Alighieri): "Non ti curar di lor ma guarda e passa", roughly translated: "Do not care about him, just go ahead"

Heinrich Pesch

Finland
Local time: 07:46

Member (2003)
Finnish to German
+ ...

Get a speciality

Nov 26, 2009

In case of Spanish-English you probably will find it hard to establish yourself if you do not have a speciality (science, engineering, law, medical etc.). Better more than one. The better you are in that field the better you can charge for your translations. But if you are really good you may not need translations any more.
Bilingual people need also training, and a speciality, before they can call themselves translators.

But in your situation, and if you really want to be a translator (why?), learning a rare language would be worth the effort. A language spoken only in a high-wage country.

Regards
Heinrich