Poll: Would you recommend translation as a career to future generations?

Christine Andersen wrote:

Only a forty or fifty years ago, my father was translating in more or less the same way as St. Jerome!

There were minor differences, but the big advantage was the telephone - he could call and consult with colleagues.

Many members of this site can remember working without computers!

Now that CATS and MT do a lot of the repetitive work, that frees us for the important, interesting, creative jobs.

Try running a good advertisement or marketing text through your favourite MT. The result will NOT be suitable for any kind of serious use in the target country. It has to be localised, and I would like to see a machine that can do that.

Would you entrust your medical records to a machine if you had an accident abroad and needed a translation for the insurance company or your doctor at home?

Are machines really that good at translating user manuals?
IKEA does not trust them - they use pictures! For anything more complicated than flat-pack furniture, a CAT may be useful, but a human somewhere to check is still indispensable.

This is also a good chance to raise the prestige of human translation. Differentiate the market. Educate clients and show them where there is still a need for real, thinking professionals.

Translating is not a goldmine, but it's a satisfying way to earn a living. Raise your fees, folks, hold your heads up and call yourselves multilingual negotiators, copywriters or language consultants - something that sounds important, if you are not respected as translators. It is hard work, but so is any worthwhile career.

As I mentioned earlier, my younger relatives are thinking about their careers. Not all of them are native speakers of English, and a few are bilingual. All of them travel and speak several languages, especially the Scandinavians.

I'm not going to be here for ever, but I think there will be work for many more generations of new-style translators.

Happy translating!

Marieschen wrote:

Come on, guys, ok it's hard, and we're working crazy, but we're free!

Nothing in the world would make me go back to working in an office, with a bossy boss who thinks we're worth nothing, being "only" linguists... I love this life too much, even if it's difficult

Would definitely recommend it, if I meet someone with the passion and the skill.

Leon Ivanihin wrote:

Dear Marie, seems you mix two separate things.
I completely agree that freelancing is wonderful lifestyle, undoubtedly!
But you can BE freelancer, and NOT TO BE translator. You can be freelance copywriter or SEO-specialist or painter or even just writer - never mind - and enjoy freelancing.

At the same time you can be translator and not to be freelancer - say, working as translator in office.

So, as I can judge, you recommend to be freelancer rather than translator. Aren't you?

Christine Andersen: This is also a good chance to raise the prestige of human translation. Differentiate the market. Educate clients and show them where there is still a need for real, thinking professionals.

Translating is not a goldmine, but it's a satisfying way to earn a living. Raise your fees, folks, hold your heads up and call yourselves multilingual negotiators, copywriters or language consultants - something that sounds important, if you are not respected as translators. It is hard work, but so is any worthwhile career.