The problem with the translating profession is that it is not really a profession, in part thanks to at least a few hundred thousand if not a few million self-deluded “linguists” on this planet who think that they are qualified to translate …. just about anything.  (…)

Of course, other professions are also diluted and polluted by people deluded enough to think that they are eminently, imminently and prominently qualified to join a certain profession, usually because they have no idea what the profession is really about.

Teachers, for instance. Because so many people think that anybody can teach, many people who simply do not have this certain je ne sais quoi that all good teachers need to have often apply for and often do get a teaching job, only to cause havoc in classroom instead of educating and expanding young, inquisitive minds.

It takes a special kind of talent to be a good teacher, as well as the right kind of education, a lot of experience and a lot of dedication to the mission.

But if you want to be a teacher, at least there are certain objective criteria that can be objectively evaluated when somebody is applying for a teaching job.

The applicant would need to have a college degree in the relevant field, including courses in something that in Europe they call “pedagogy”.

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No such objective criteria exist for people who say that they are “linguists” in the United States of America. More.

See: Patent Translator

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