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| User | Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff Poll: If you hadn't been a translator, what would you have liked to be? |
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ProZ.com Staff 
United States
Local time: 15:06
 Member (2011)
SITE STAFF |
This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "If you hadn't been a translator, what would you have liked to be?".
View the poll results »
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Sophie Dzhygir
France
Local time: 00:06
 Member (2007)
English to French
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And I don't mean that I'll never be one. Who knows?
I do love being a translator. But I'm not sure whether I'll be one all my life and there are many other options that would be pleasant.
But one thing is sure: if possible, I would never like to have a boss again!
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Nigel Greenwood
Spain
Local time: 00:06
Member (2008)
Spanish to English
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| | What about those of us who were 'something' before being a translator? | Jan 7 |
In my case, I was a Specialist in Foreign Commerce, before becoming a full-time translator.
Regards,
Nigel
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Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 00:06
Member (2009)
English to German
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These are also my actual professions aside from being a translator.
The time dedicated to each one of them depends on the workload of the other(s).
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Teresa Borges
Belgium
Local time: 00:06
Member (2007)
German to Portuguese
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I love being a translator, but before becoming a full-time professional translator, I worked as secretary during my university studies and after I graduated I had a lot of different jobs as hotel manager, public relations, advertising account executive, vocational trainer, while being a part-time translator for about a decade. Let's say that I am (I was?) adaptable. If I could go back, would I have pursued another career? No idea!
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Stephanie Mitchel
United States
Local time: 17:06
Member (2005)
French to English
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I actually have thought many times about writing and illustrating books for children. I feel like I would need substantial free time to hone my skills and some idea of how the publishing industry works (since I'm not a celebrity . I'm trying to keep my drawing skills fresh, but between family and work commitments, I really have to carve out the time. My only goal for 2012 is to do one drawing a day - and so far, so good.
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Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 07:06
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
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My earliest brush with science was when I was nine. I decided that I wanted to build a rocket, of all things. I'd drawn my own plans and had all the old tin cans and pipes ready to be soldered  . However, my hopes were dashed when the local ironmonger refused to sell me some liquid nitrogen -- one, he didn't have any and, two, you couldn't buy a whole lot with a 9-year-old's pocket money. (true story)
Yes, space cadets start really young! 
A big advantage of being a technical translator is that you're always translating the very latest technology. This requires continual learning and learning is fun. You get the occasional factory visit and product orientation as well. So, I'm still following my early aspirations, sort of.
Happy translating!
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Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:06
Member (2011)
Hebrew to English
| | Anything that doesn't involve Maths | Jan 7 |
I always hated maths. It's not that I was particularly bad at it. I wasn't, I just found it incredibly dull. It's so absolute, everything is always right or wrong. I liked the shades of grey that language(s) offered....
I'm also a teacher as well, so the question isn't quite as conditional for me personally. Although since moving onto a farm, I rather enjoy the farm work with the animals,....
...it's just unfortunate that every career path I enjoy is never the more lucrative ones! I'll never be a millionaire that's for sure!
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Emma Goldsmith
Spain
Local time: 00:06
Member (2010)
Spanish to English
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Nigel Greenwood wrote:
What about those of us who were 'something' before being a translator? |
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Indeed. I was a nurse.
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Berenice Font
Mexico
Local time: 17:06
Member (2010)
English to Spanish
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| | also a psychologist | Jan 7 |
Nigel Greenwood wrote:
In my case, I was a Specialist in Foreign Commerce, before becoming a full-time translator.
Regards,
Nigel |
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Same here, I am also a psychologist. And if it's about expressing dreams: I would have loved to be a ballet dancer
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Claire Cox
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:06
Member (2006)
German to English
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I love being a translator but I suppose if I wasn't able to do that I'd be quite happy up to my elbows in soil and potting on plants, sowing seeds and planning gardens all day - to say nothing of growing fruit and veg. I do that anyway, but on a larger scale would be nice. I don't think it would be quite as lucrative as translating though somehow! Running a tea shop would be a nice idea too as I love baking, but it might pall if I had to do it all the time! I think I'll stay as I am on balance.....
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telefpro
India
Local time: 03:36
Portuguese to English
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Translators can't really make a living by being translators. I have been engineer, economic analyst and professor. But translation does not have a retirement age.
[Edited at 2012-01-07 18:46 GMT]
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Evonymus (Ewa Kazmierczak)
Poland
Local time: 00:06
English to Polish
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a tango dancer and a café's owner
well, in my next life I guess
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Kalinka Hristova
Bulgaria
Local time: 01:06
Member (2007)
English to Bulgarian
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MODERATOR |
Well, I hold degrees in Tourism. To me, translation and tourism are just the perfect match:
- both involve languages
- both require vast knowledge of foreign and local cultures
- both imply certain amount of travel
- both demand eagerness to learn
- both require personal discipline
- both provide excellent opportunities to learn day after day
- both help me keep away from routine
- both… (you name it )
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Noni Gilbert
Spain
Local time: 00:06
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
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Digging around to find things out - rather like a translator?!
A sideline in gardening also, like Claire.
But I'm pretty happy as I am!
Happy New Year to all
Noni
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