Buying SDL Trados
Thread poster: Jennifer Bender
Jennifer Bender
Jennifer Bender  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:12
English to French
Jul 3, 2007

I'm about to buy the SDL Trados software and I would like to know if you think I should buy the package that includes training and certification or just the sofware by itself and do the training by myself and if so, how long it will take me to be confortable with it.
I will appreciate any advice.
Thanks.
Jennifer Bender


 
Selcuk Akyuz
Selcuk Akyuz  Identity Verified
Türkiye
Local time: 00:12
English to Turkish
+ ...
only the tool itself Jul 3, 2007

Hi Jennifer,

Only the tool itself is necessary. In my opinion training is needless, you can easily learn from the manuals, search or ask in this forum any unclear points. And as for the certification issue, it is not required for any translator.

But did you check other tools?


 
Jaroslaw Michalak
Jaroslaw Michalak  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 22:12
Member (2004)
English to Polish
SITE LOCALIZER
Not yet... Jul 3, 2007

I think that if you are to benefit from the training (if at all), then there is no point in participating before you get some experience with the software. After some time using it you will be aware of specific problems and issues to focus on. When starting afresh you might even not know what to ask.

As for the need for the training itself, opinions vary. Some people are quite satisfied with the results, others can easily do without it. I suppose it depends a little bit on your gene
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I think that if you are to benefit from the training (if at all), then there is no point in participating before you get some experience with the software. After some time using it you will be aware of specific problems and issues to focus on. When starting afresh you might even not know what to ask.

As for the need for the training itself, opinions vary. Some people are quite satisfied with the results, others can easily do without it. I suppose it depends a little bit on your general computer skills.

I was somewhat put off by the test sample and description, as it seemed that the course conveniently ignores all the deficiencies of the package and focuses on the "regular" use. In other words, you will not find the answers for the most frequent questions in this forum (unless you ask the instructor yourself, I suppose).

As for the certificate, for me it is a money-making scheme, nothing more (and the fact that it has to be renewed for each software version only strengthens this suspicion). My clients never asked me for an official certificate in proficient use of Windows, Microsoft Word, InDesign, Firefox and whatever other software I use in my work, they do not even inquire if I have any formal computer, fax or phone education! Why suddenly should they require a certificate for Trados?

[Zmieniono 2007-07-03 08:34]
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Jerzy Czopik
Jerzy Czopik  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 22:12
Member (2003)
Polish to German
+ ...
Training isn't needles... Jul 3, 2007

As Jarek (Jabberwock) already said, training may be agood option for you.
It depends really on your ability to cope with this very different way of working, when you start using Trados.
If a training may be usefull for you, depends also on the way the training is provided.
Should you chose a web based training, it is very advisable to have at least a little experience with the software, as otherwise you may very fast get completly lost. A webinar lasts usually for three hours a
... See more
As Jarek (Jabberwock) already said, training may be agood option for you.
It depends really on your ability to cope with this very different way of working, when you start using Trados.
If a training may be usefull for you, depends also on the way the training is provided.
Should you chose a web based training, it is very advisable to have at least a little experience with the software, as otherwise you may very fast get completly lost. A webinar lasts usually for three hours and there are many participants, so the trainer will not have the time to answer all questions. And also the possibility of your interaction with the trainer is more limited.
When you attend a training onsite, you will get a quite different approach - then you may also learn how to use the software from the beginning.
But both for online or onsite training you will need to know how to use Windows and Word. You must be fit in copying files, organising directories, using Word, you also should at least know what Word styles are and so on.

As for the certification - this may appear now a money-making option, but it is promoted at the moment with quite high intensity, so the possibility it might be required is IMHO quite realistic. This may not come within the next two or three years, but who knows what is in five or ten years - customers might then want to have it.

Jerzy
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Hilde Granlund
Hilde Granlund  Identity Verified
Norway
Local time: 22:12
English to Norwegian
+ ...
from another newbie Jul 3, 2007

I recently bought Trados, participated in the group buy here on proZ. That seemed to save me a lot of money.
I checked out the free trial first, I would recommend you do that. The tutorials are quite good, it did not take me long to be able to use the software.
If I were you, at least I would try it out first, before deciding on the need for certification.
I should think the results you produce will be more interesting to outsourcers than any certificate you might have. No one
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I recently bought Trados, participated in the group buy here on proZ. That seemed to save me a lot of money.
I checked out the free trial first, I would recommend you do that. The tutorials are quite good, it did not take me long to be able to use the software.
If I were you, at least I would try it out first, before deciding on the need for certification.
I should think the results you produce will be more interesting to outsourcers than any certificate you might have. No one has asked me for this ( in my whole month of proZ experience)
Good luck!

Hilde
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Selcuk Akyuz
Selcuk Akyuz  Identity Verified
Türkiye
Local time: 00:12
English to Turkish
+ ...
certification Jul 3, 2007

Jerzy Czopik wrote:

As for the certification - this may appear now a money-making option, but it is promoted at the moment with quite high intensity, so the possibility it might be required is IMHO quite realistic. This may not come within the next two or three years, but who knows what is in five or ten years - customers might then want to have it.

Jerzy


That is an interesting point, I was using a typewriter only 15 years ago. And I didn't know then that one day I will have to use all those CAT and DTP tools. So this is what we call technology. But I can't remember any clients which asked me if I have typing certification, and no one asked me if I was certified by a certain typewriter brand. Yes, this certification issue definitely appears a "money-making option".


 
VIVA VOCE Ltd.
VIVA VOCE Ltd.  Identity Verified
Croatia
Local time: 22:12
English to Croatian
+ ...
EU requirement Jul 3, 2007

Well, certification in the use of CAT tools is a EU requirement (ISO:12616). While it may be looked upon as money-making mode, it should also alleviate discerning between translators who are familiar with EU translation standards from those who are not.

 
Thomas Deschington (X)
Thomas Deschington (X)
Poland
Local time: 22:12
English to Norwegian
+ ...
Certification expires Jul 3, 2007

In case you don't know, the certification expires when a new version comes out.

When you read the FAQs and number 6, it says:

"6.Do I need to renew my SDL TRADOS Certification when new versions of the software are released?

Yes, your SDL TRADOS Certification is specific to the latest current version of SDL Trados 2006 and is valid for 60 days after a new exam is published for any new product version release. SDL TRADOS will email you with the details of new
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In case you don't know, the certification expires when a new version comes out.

When you read the FAQs and number 6, it says:

"6.Do I need to renew my SDL TRADOS Certification when new versions of the software are released?

Yes, your SDL TRADOS Certification is specific to the latest current version of SDL Trados 2006 and is valid for 60 days after a new exam is published for any new product version release. SDL TRADOS will email you with the details of new exams as well as a reminder of when your certification is due for renewal."

I contacted SDL about this (that they don't announce the fact that the certification expires), and I got this answer:

"The cost of upgrading the SDL TRADOS Certification to the latest version is will be nominal; we want to keep this to an absolute minimum as the objective here is not to make money. It is simply to ensure that SDL TRADOS Certified users truly learn about and how to make the most of the feature enhancements of a new release."

The fellow didn't specify the cost of upgrading either, only said it was nominal, whatever that is.

Whether you should go for the training package or not really depends on your "at ease-ness" with computers. If you know your way around in other programs (not the person who saves all his/her files to the desktop...), you should be up and running pretty quickly. There is a built-in tutorial and the user manuals are quite good. Not everything is logical, and to learn what the advanced settings are for takes some time. At any rate, you won't survive without it. Nearly all the jobs I'm offered require Trados (I've never been asked to use SDLX, although I use it sometimes voluntarily for other projects). So you might just as well go and get it! Good luck!



[Edited at 2007-07-03 12:17]
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Jennifer Bender
Jennifer Bender  Identity Verified
Local time: 13:12
English to French
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you to all of you for your help. I really appreciate. Jul 3, 2007

Jennifer Bender wrote:

I'm about to buy the SDL Trados software and I would like to know if you think I should buy the package that includes training and certification or just the sofware by itself and do the training by myself and if so, how long it will take me to be confortable with it.
I will appreciate any advice.
Thanks.
Jennifer Bender



 


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