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A New Chapter Begins After completing the Spanish-English Translation Certificate Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston, I felt proud of my progress but uncertain about my next step. I worked as an in-house medical interpreter and translator at a Harvard-affiliated teaching hospital in Boston for nine years. My work taught me to listen closely, think quickly, and communicate with compassion. However, I wanted to build on that experience through medical translation. Soon after graduation, I was selected as one of five recipients of the American Foundation for Translation and Interpretation’s (AFTI) First-Time ATA Conference Attendee Scholarship. The award allowed…
Wherever you live and wherever you do business in the world, you will have noticed a major uptick in inflation in 2021 and especially in the recent months of 2022. In an industry with very high added value and with limited direct costs like translation and interpreting, it is not immediately self-evident that some of us may need or want…
This post was originally published on A Translator Thinking Outside the Box. It is reposted with permission. December’s always been a crazy month for me. Work pours in ahead of the Holiday Season, the house and the pool get more crowded and noisy than usual with my two teenage boys out of school, not to mention preparations for Christmas’ Eve,…
Most translators I know also work as editors. There seems to be an industry assumption that translators do both by default. This makes sense, of course: the translator-turned-editor knows the source and target languages and is also an excellent reader and writer. However, revising one’s own work is different from revising someone else’s. And without training or clear expectations for…
This post is a reblog, originally published on Marketing Tips for Translators. It is reposted with permission from the author. Do you know what the easiest way to grow your business exponentially is? Yes, you guessed it, through referrals. Think about how you shop for services yourself. If you are looking for a new hairdresser, for example, many of us…
This post was originally published on the 15 Minute Freelancer Podcast. It is republished with permission. Tell me, is there any better feeling as a freelancer than getting that little ping in your inbox from someone saying they need someone who provides your services, and they heard from someone else that you were the number one person to ask? I…
The Globalization and Localization Association (GALA) is planning a series of events for students on soft skills. The second event is May 20th and focuses on interviewing and CV prep. Standout as a Job Candidate Are you ready for a career in the language industry? Students and new professionals are invited to learn how to create a compelling CV and…
In December 2021, Next Level had the opportunity to interview English to German translator Jost Zetzsche. Jost is known in the industry for his expertise with technology, but he spoke with us about his thoughts on the business side of being a translator. Please leave a comment with your thoughts on our discussion and ideas for other translators you would…
A lot of us first became interested in translation because we wanted to translate books, or more specifically, novels. Even if we ended up specializing in marketing, insurance, or patent translation, we never quite gave up that literary dream. The thing is, if you don’t already have a track record as a literary translator, the chances of a publisher emailing…
ATA launched its new Back to Business Basics webinar series in September 2020. These webinars focus on a small, practical piece of business advice for translators and interpreters at different stages of their careers. The series quickly became popular: there are usually a few hundred people attending each live session. Members can access these webinars free of charge, and non-members can purchase each…
This post is a reblog, originally published on Andrew Bell’s blog. It is reposted with permission from the author. Bilingual review files come in many shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common, and that is that they’re meant to facilitate the revision stage of a translation project. As you can see in the image above, the…