| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Did you start your translation career in a translation agency (in-house position)? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Did you start your translation career in a translation agency (in-house position)?".
This poll was originally submitted by Ahmed Maher. View the poll results »
| | | | Mary Worby 
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:54
German to English
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I started out working on a casual basis producing abstracts for a press monitoring agency but took on freelance work on the side. It wasn't long before the freelance stuff was paying more than the day job, so I bit the bullet and went out on my own.
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 09:54
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Back in 1975 with the US Forces, first 4 years with the Army, then 15 years with the Air Force until the RIFP became effective,
| | | | | Started out as a Spanish and Dutch teacher | Aug 8, 2011 |
I got asked at the college where I was teaching whether I would translate/interpret for a few companies. After that, I combined the two jobs for about 5 years until I did not enjoy teaching anymore and the children arrived.
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Patricia Charnet
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:54
Member (2009)
English to French
starting doing a few translations first for a few months and very quickly managed a translation agency for someone else who was officially the director but everything was done at the office single-handedly by yours truly
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I quit my last job altogether when I decided translation was what I wanted to do and went freelance, full-time, straightaway.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 09:54
Spanish to English
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Drifted into translation after years of mostly TEFL work.
I couldn't think of anything more pointless than going back to work as a wage slave for a boss or agency, however benign, especially if it involved:
a) getting up at the same time every day;
b) travelling to and from work;
c) having to work with cumbersome formats and learn new techologies simply because they are the in-house or industry standard;
d) being arbitrarily judged by person or persons unfit... See more Drifted into translation after years of mostly TEFL work.
I couldn't think of anything more pointless than going back to work as a wage slave for a boss or agency, however benign, especially if it involved:
a) getting up at the same time every day;
b) travelling to and from work;
c) having to work with cumbersome formats and learn new techologies simply because they are the in-house or industry standard;
d) being arbitrarily judged by person or persons unfit. ▲ Collapse
| | | | John Cutler
Spain
Local time: 09:54
Spanish to English
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Actually, I did my first translations for a temporary job agency.
They hired me to do a stint as a TEFl teacher in a local school and when they heard my spoken level of Spanish and Catalan, they asked me if I was willing to do some translations for them. I said yes and the rest is history (my history anyway!).
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I started as a Freelancer for a publishing house. I still work for them
| | | | Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:54
Russian to English
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In memoriam
Like Thayenga, in Air Force (RAF in my case) 4 years engineering & 10 years as Russian linguist (monitoring radio). After that mainly BBC Monitoring (radio & TV) to retirement in 1990 but freelancing as a sideline from 1965 to present date.
| | | | Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 09:54
English to French
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Started out as a full time teacher (and [very] occasional translator). Then the computer, fax, modem and Internet successively entered my life, and I could take on more translation work. I was granted a part time school leave in 1995, full time leave in 1999 and resigned for good from teaching in 2004.
| | | | Williamson
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:54
Flemish to English
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When the Berlin Wall was still standing, I had the honor of fulfilling my military service as a translator/interpreter at one of the two Court-Martials of the Belgian army in Germany. Working-languages : Dutch, French, German and sometimes English -the British army camp was nearby and sometimes some drunk British soldiers committed some mischiefs like walking over the bonnet of a Mercedes-Benz car and kicking the Star-sign off the car with their boots. Most of the time, the translations d... See more When the Berlin Wall was still standing, I had the honor of fulfilling my military service as a translator/interpreter at one of the two Court-Martials of the Belgian army in Germany. Working-languages : Dutch, French, German and sometimes English -the British army camp was nearby and sometimes some drunk British soldiers committed some mischiefs like walking over the bonnet of a Mercedes-Benz car and kicking the Star-sign off the car with their boots. Most of the time, the translations dealt with cases from the Staatsanwaltschaft with regard to drunk driving. Sometimes a fight and I also translated part of a murder-case. A big chunk of 500 pages with detailed Kripo reports and a coroner’s report.
I also interpreted between Walloon officers and German citizens.
That was in between two years of a master in translation.
After the master, I ended -up in a traineeship at a state-owned telephone company, translating texts about telecommunications equipment and telecommunications treaties.
The service divided the work in such a manner that everybody could moonlight a bit on the side. Most translators were also working for agencies during office-hours.
I've also been a teacher of English. ▲ Collapse
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m_temmer
Local time: 01:54
English to Dutch
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I have always worked as a freelance.
| | | | | Yes, and I still work in-house | Aug 8, 2011 |
I started working at Sears Canada's Linguistic Dept. even before I finished my translation degree, because I was already working for the company taking catalogue orders on the phone. The call center's boss knew I was studying translation and she let know the Linguistic Dept.'s boss. I never even passed a test. She jus hired me based on my looks. Weird, isn't it?
I worked there 3-4 years. After that I worked a couple of months for a stafing agency, as their in-house translator. Hated it!... See more I started working at Sears Canada's Linguistic Dept. even before I finished my translation degree, because I was already working for the company taking catalogue orders on the phone. The call center's boss knew I was studying translation and she let know the Linguistic Dept.'s boss. I never even passed a test. She jus hired me based on my looks. Weird, isn't it?
I worked there 3-4 years. After that I worked a couple of months for a stafing agency, as their in-house translator. Hated it!
I've been with Rogers Communications since the end of 2002.
The only freelancing I do is I take assignments occasionnaly on week-ends and some evenings. I pays for extras, but it's not my main source of income. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Benoit HUPIN (X)
France
Local time: 09:54
English to French
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As some of our colleagues, I began in the (French) Air Force where I served for two years as a technical translator.
Then, three years in medical and chemical industry companies.
Then, as a freelancer.
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