ProZ.com Translation Forums

credentials through testing? | Being a certified fit tester is not as pertinent as it seems

Viktoria Gimbe — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 09:25:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Viktoria Gimbe
Post title: Being a certified fit tester is not as pertinent as it seems

While I agree that my being a certified fit tester can be useful if I was working in the field of health and safety, I don't agree that it is of use as a translator.

A certified fit tester is basically a person who is qualified to find the right respiratory protection for workers who wear it. The knowledge is limited to figuring out how to make sure a mask fits despite scars, irregular facial features, beards, mustaches and the size and shape of the jaw. It also deals with finding out if a person can smell a substance placed directly in front of the cartridge on the mask - in which case the fit needs to be adjusted, obviously. It doesn't deal with the choice of the cartridge or the type of respiratory protection - those decisions are taken by industrial hygienists, who are much more qualified in the more technical stuff, and who also have a broader knowledge of the specific requirements of a construction/sanitation/abatement project.

Being a fit tester doesn't qualify me to pick the type of protection or cartridge used (I don't get to decide if the worker will use assisted protection or just a cartridge mask, for example). It only qualifies me to find the right make, model and size for the worker's facial features.

While I do have fairly good knowledge of the technical aspects of respiratory protection, I don't have any credentials that cover them. I have translated many documents that deal with health and safety (I am busy with a project at the moment which also deals with the subject), but so far, my knowledge of fit testing has been gathering dust more than anything else. Fit testing is much more specific than it may seem to those who are not familiar with it.

I think that the fact that I have translated countless documents that deal with health and safety is much more telling of my translation abilities in the field of health and safety than my fit tester certification.

[Edited at 2008-12-06 09:26 GMT]

credentials through testing? | Yes, please...

Rossana Triaca — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 02:10:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Rossana Triaca
Post title: Yes, please...

[quote](...) An option may be to allow for the declaration of more than one degree (at the moment only the highest degree achieved is requested), and to allow degrees declared in this field to be verified. How would this work? [/quote]

A long time ago, many voices clamored for this idea, but alas it was never implemented.

As a translator I'd love to display other degrees, and as a subcontractor I'd find it useful to know up front if a translator has other qualifications useful for the job at hand.

Verification is entirely another matter, and I don't think Proz should get that far since it's a tricky and potentially expensive subject . A simple field to display other non-translation related degrees it's all we're asking.

credentials through testing? | "Education field" in the profile?!

Cristina Lo Bianco — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 21:06:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Cristina Lo Bianco
Post title: "Education field" in the profile?!

[quote]Jared wrote:

Your profile has a field for "Education", where such degrees can be declared.
[/quote]

In my profile I can only find a "Translation education" field (empty), there's no"Education" field... Maybe there is a different between "old" and "new" profiles?
Anyway, as a result, the only place where you can read about my degree is in my CV.

Ciao,
Cristina

credentials through testing? | It makes sense to consider all degrees & credentials

Kevin Lossner — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:14:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Kevin Lossner
Post title: It makes sense to consider all degrees & credentials

[quote]Jared wrote:
An option may be to allow for the declaration of more than one degree (at the moment only the highest degree achieved is requested), and to allow degrees declared in this field to be verified. How would this work?
[/quote]

Only having one official degree, I never noticed this limitation, but I'm a bit appalled to see that it exists. There are double and triple undergraduate majors, people who collect various relevant or irrelevant masters degrees, etc. It would be a shame if the listing of a J.D. would squeeze out the MBA and the degree in electrical engineering one might have, all of which could be relevant to a particular assignment. So by all means - remove this limitation and possibly consider the addition of minor subjects.

So where would welding certificates go? Or licensing as a plumber? (I don't think there are many plumber/translators out there, but if I had a sanitary piping catalog to do, I might consider using one.)

credentials through testing? | Translation-related credentials and credentials which make you stronger as a translator

Jared Tabor — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:56:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Jared Tabor
Post title: Translation-related credentials and credentials which make you stronger as a translator

Hello all,

Nice discussion, and I see where there can be some confusion regarding credentials and what to declare in your profile.

Translation-related credentials can readily be declared and verified in your profile. But, as has been mentioned, there may be other types of credentials which, while not directly related to translation, do make you stronger as a translator. Your profile has a field for "Education", where such degrees can be declared. An option may be to allow for the declaration of more than one degree (at the moment only the highest degree achieved is requested), and to allow degrees declared in this field to be verified. How would this work?

Best regards,

Jared

credentials through testing? | I don't see why not

Kevin Lossner — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:28:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Kevin Lossner
Post title: I don't see why not

[quote]Cristina Lo Bianco wrote:
I have a degree in physics (5 years) from an italian university, and physics is one of my work fields: can I put that in the "credentials" section of my Proz profile?
[/quote]

Since it's obviously relevant to your working fields, I think it would be wise to do so. ProZ apparently only verifies translated-related credentials - it makes sense to limit the bottomless pit of effort - but so what? Scan your degree certificate and put a link to it if you like.

If I have a geology text to translate, it's nice to know that I may have it done by a working translator with a degree in geology whatever his or her credentials as a translator may be. I think it certainly beats someone who studied to be an interpreter and just likes rocks in this case. Unless maybe he's been collecting them fanatically and reading all the technical literature too.

credentials through testing? | Do degrees in subjects other than translation count as "credentials"?

Cristina Lo Bianco — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:25:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Cristina Lo Bianco
Post title: Do degrees in subjects other than translation count as "credentials"?

I'm sorry, but I'm getting a bit confused about what is "credentials" and what is not.

I have a degree in physics (5 years) from an italian university, and physics is one of my work fields: can I put that in the "credentials" section of my Proz profile?

Ciao, ciao,
Cristina

credentials through testing? | ISO quality not necessarily good quality

Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:30:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Post title: ISO quality not necessarily good quality

[quote]Laura Allison Pomenta wrote:
I have for example, proofreadand copyedited a translation from a company who boasted about having ISO quality cert. and bla bla bla, and that text was full of mistakes. Some pages required me to redo them completely!!! So in my opinion credentials don' t guarantee a thing...[/quote]

Well, an ISO quality system in place only guarantees that the company follows specific, standardised, documented, repeatable, traceable, officially audited steps in the process of producing a translation. It does not mean that the translation will be a good one. Many ISO-certified companies have such a high overhead that they need to hire bad translators, bad reviewers, bad proofreaders. All members of the process comply with the system, but if all of them are not careful enough... the end product is quite bad even with an ISO scheme in place.

As for translator credentials, I think that people who are certified translators can be expected to deliver a reasonable quality as long as they work in their areas of specialty. And any company hiring them will enjoy the edge of delivering reasonably good translations even without an ISO scheme in place, and even without the editor and the proofreader.

credentials through testing? | Reply to Viktoria's post

Sebastian Witte — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:19:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Sebastian Witte
Post title: Reply to Viktoria's post

[quote]Viktoria Gimbe wrote:

I think there may be a misunderstanding about what credentials mean.

Credentials usually don't include diplomas. Rather, they include certification. If you are officially certified in anything, that's what you would add there. A good example - at least, the most widespread one on this site - is ATA certification in XYZ language pair. In other words, if you have a title (doctor XYZ, master XYZ, etc., certified transator, certified engineer, certified nurse, etc.), then you have credentials. It is possible to have a portfolio of successful university studies without having any credentials.
___________________
From ProZ FAQ:
9.1 - What is a "credential"?

Various associations, schools and other bodies around the world offer to translators what ProZ.com generally refers to as "credentials". These may include "certifications", "degrees" or other forms of qualification.

This shows Viktoria must be wrong.

credentials through testing? | That does not keep you from...

Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:43:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Post title: That does not keep you from...

[quote]Miroslav Jeftic wrote:
So, it seems only language-related certification can be verified, not every kind of certification.[/quote]

OK, but that does not keep you from adding any credentials you consider interesting to describe your abilities, I reckon.

credentials through testing? | But...

Miroslav Jeftic — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:06:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Miroslav Jeftic
Post title: But...

[quote]Kevin Lossner wrote:

[quote]Viktoria Gimbe wrote:
For example, I am a certified fit tester for respiratory protection, so I could include that - but I seriously doubt it would have any meaning as it pertains to translation, so I didn't add it. [/quote]

I've had a number of translation jobs for chemical safety where that would be relevant. I wouldn't make such an assumption. If a translator were needed for French to handle such specialized instructions, you'd be the automatic winner with that background.

[Edited at 2008-12-04 09:00 GMT] [/quote]

I checked the FAQ and it says:

[quote]ProZ.com verifies language-related credentials reported by ProZ.com members. [/quote]

So, it seems only language-related certification can be verified, not every kind of certification.

[Edited at 2008-12-04 12:07 GMT]

credentials through testing? | I would add it

Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:51:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Post title: I would add it

[quote]Viktoria Gimbe wrote:
For example, I am a certified fit tester for respiratory protection, so I could include that - but I seriously doubt it would have any meaning as it pertains to translation, so I didn't add it.[/quote]

I agree with Kevin. I would add it. I am convinced that there are plenty of jobs about industrial safety out there and this data could be relevant for some potential customers. I assume you do translate about industry and personal safety equipment every now and then, so it does make perfect sense to me to add the credential.

credentials through testing? | On the contrary!

Kevin Lossner — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 08:23:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Kevin Lossner
Post title: On the contrary!

[quote]Viktoria Gimbe wrote:
For example, I am a certified fit tester for respiratory protection, so I could include that - but I seriously doubt it would have any meaning as it pertains to translation, so I didn't add it. [/quote]

I've had a number of translation jobs for chemical safety where that would be relevant. I wouldn't make such an assumption. If a translator were needed for French to handle such specialized instructions, you'd be the automatic winner with that background.

[Edited at 2008-12-04 09:00 GMT]

credentials through testing? | Some certifying associations and institutes

Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:11:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Post title: Some certifying associations and institutes

[quote]Laura Allison Pomenta wrote:
If it is resticted to translation-specific credentials I would like to know if there is some sort of test, which would save me four more years of study in order to obtain translating credentials.[/quote]

There are several bodies and associations who offer a certification system recognised in the world of translation and officially. You may want to visit the sites of:
- US: American Translators Association
- UK: Institute of Translation and Interpreting
- UK: Institute of Chartered Linguists
- Canada: Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council (CTIC)

They have different requirements. For instance, the ITI in the UK requires you to have a degree in some specialty, as well as proven experience in translation. The ATA does not require a degree, but if you don't have one you must be able to prove at least 5 years of translation work for several customers. The customers must certify in written that you have worked for them over that time and to their satisfaction.

After being a full-time (in the many senses of the expression) translator with no credential as a translator (I did have one in English language by Cambridge University) for over a decade, I had the same situation and concerns. After registering as an ATA member I did my ATA certification exam back in August and recently received the news about my passing of the exam.

Thus, I sincerely encourage you to research your options and do the exams. If you decide to go ahead, do prepare yourself well in the source and target languages (grammar, spelling, cognates, international versions of your language...) as the texts are full of little pitfalls and tricks, not very different from what we encounter in our everyday work though.

Good luck!

credentials through testing? | Credentials vs. diplomas

Viktoria Gimbe — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:08:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Viktoria Gimbe
Post title: Credentials vs. diplomas

I think there may be a misunderstanding about what credentials mean.

Credentials usually don't include diplomas. Rather, they include certification. If you are officially certified in anything, that's what you would add there. A good example - at least, the most widespread one on this site - is ATA certification in XYZ language pair. In other words, if you have a title (doctor XYZ, master XYZ, etc., certified transator, certified engineer, certified nurse, etc.), then you have credentials. It is possible to have a portfolio of successful university studies without having any credentials.

For example, I am a certified fit tester for respiratory protection, so I could include that - but I seriously doubt it would have any meaning as it pertains to translation, so I didn't add it. It's on my oldfashioned resume, though - in case I wanted to apply for a job with health and safety functions, it probably would be useful. The same way, I am sure there are a bunch of people here certified in first aid, as lifeguards, etc., but these are not pertinent here. Might I add that being certified in something doesn't mean you have any kind of diploma in it, or that certification requires any graduate studies. This also applies to ATA certification - many of our ATA certified colleagues haven't studied translation, and some haven't even been to university.

Of course, within the credentials section, it is wise to add any credential you may have even outside the field of translation and interpreting, as long as you feel it has to do with your translation activities and will be viewed as pertinent by your potential clients.

[Edited at 2008-12-04 07:15 GMT]

credentials through testing? | Just enter there your credentials!

Ali Bayraktar — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:11:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Ali Bayraktar
Post title: Just enter there your credentials!

Hello,
For now, you can just enter there the short name of your credential (Profile updater/language pairs/add credentials)

In future if you wish them to be verified by site, you can follow the instructions listed here: [url removed] #credential_verified

As far as I know, there is not any restriction regarding that they are verified by site or not.

So, just report it in your profile, verification is up to you

Regards,

[Edited at 2008-12-03 23:12 GMT]

credentials through testing?

Laura Allison Pomenta — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:59:00 +0000

Forum: ProZ.com: Translator Coop
Topic: credentials through testing?
Poster: Laura Allison Pomenta

Hi, In order to complete my profile and have a higher ranking, and even be able to quote to some restricted jobs, I would need to complete the "credentials" section. But I'm a bit confused: does this refer only to credentials specifically on the field of translating, or can these refer to your BA or postgraduate studies not related to translation, but which are part of your fields of expertise?

If it is resticted to translation-specific credentials I would like to know if there is some sort of test, which would save me four more years of study in order to obtain translating credentials. I have invested 7 years of study in different areas and I don't have time to invest in more...I need to earn money now!!!I have for example, proofreadand copyedited a translation from a company who boasted about having ISO quality cert. and bla bla bla, and that text was full of mistakes. Some pages required me to redo them completely!!! So in my opinion credentials don' t guarantee a thing.... But I can't quote for certain jobs beause I lack specific translating credentials. Any suggestions?

[Edited at 2008-12-03 23:03 GMT]