It’s a very popular issue, a debated topic, in some cases a metter of money, but in the majority of cases it’s mainly a matter of indecisiveness. I am talking about the importance of having (or not) an academic education to access this profession.

Do we need an academic education in order to offer qualified translation services? I believe the answer is in the question. Some of you are already picking the phone to call me and complain about this idea, but, believe me, unless you are an experienced translator with loyal clients and many years of respectable career, getting in the industry these days it’s not that easy.

A degree won’t grant you clients, the ability to work both iOS and Windows or the understanding of the most basics negotiations skills. But, a degree will help you cutting the teeth on the topic, experiment, fail without breaking the bank (you can ask a peer to review your translation, but you can’t ask you client to do that..!), understanding what you want to do and gather a couple of initial references.

Working with no degree might have been an option for those people getting into the industry 20-25 years ago, when the whole education system was different.

I met retired translators and interpreters who have been skilled and smart enough to create brilliant careers but have no official qualification, no degree, no diploma. Some are bilinguals, some others simply moved abroad in their twenties and learned the hard way. More.

See: Balance Your Words

See also: Exploring translation studies online: Where to start?

Subscribe to the translation news daily digest here. See more translation news.