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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…
Bilingualism – Part II
Today we continue with Part II of this fascinating journey through bilingualism. In this issue, our guest author, Eta Trabing, provides some tips to put that second language to good use, whether it is polishing your skills to be more effective in your job, or becoming a translator or interpreter. By M. Eta Trabing, Berkana Language LLC – www.eberkana.us Are you…
To the Shy Networker
By Evelyn Yang Garland There I was, at a well-attended networking event… hiding in the restroom! I hated to schmooze with a room full of strangers. I forced myself to attend that event for one reason only—I was looking for a job, and the one piece of advice that I kept getting was that I needed to network. That is…
Bilingualism – Part I
Today we will begin with Part I of a series of three articles about Bilingualism. Our guest author, Ms. M. Eta Trabing, walks us through a truly fascinating description of what being bilingual means, and how to apply this knowledge in the working world. She offers help with the most daunting question we all language people face at some point:…
Negotiation — A Learnable Skill
By Nina Sattler-Hovdar. Translated from the German by Tom Ellett. Original article first published in Infoblatt 01/2013, the newsletter of ADÜ Nord. When it comes to talking prices with clients, many translators lack confidence. Nina Sattler-Hovdar, who specializes in marketing, PR, finance, and contract translations from English, Norwegian, and Danish to German, is well known as an ardent champion of…
A Day in the Life: New York University’s M.S. in Translation Program
By Samantha Lisk The first thing I realized when I began my master’s in New York University’s online Master of Science in Translation program was that it was going to be a completely difference experience from my bachelor’s. I attended a small, private liberal arts college for my undergraduate degree, earning a B.A. in English with a Spanish minor. At…
Céline’s 10 Tricky Situations Translators Might Find Themselves In and How To Get Out of Them
By Céline Graciet Reblogged from Naked Translations with permission from the author Being a freelance translator isn’t just about having the ability to take language from one culture and turn it into another. As I allude to elsewhere in this blog, there are aspects of this career which require negotiation skills and business awareness. When you start off, for example, or have…
A Translator Brand Is a Personal Brand
By Marcela Reyes, MBA Perhaps this is something you already know but hasn’t ever been said to you directly: the success of your translation or interpreting career lies in how well you market yourself. But let’s make something very clear; this does not mean that, in order to be successful, you must send an abundance of unsolicited emails to translation…
My Biggest Questions about Getting Started
By Jamie Hartz It seems to me that some translators and interpreters fall into the profession by virtue of their linguistic ability and prior knowledge in a subject area, while others aspire to the profession and gear their studies and work experience toward a career in translation and/or interpreting. For me, a student and aspiring translator, it can be hard…
Helen’s Adventures in Translation, Chapter 3: Launch Time! Going from 20% to 80% Capacity As Fast As Possible
In my last post, I explained how I evaluated and met the requirements my potential clients might have, including qualifications, website and connections. I said I would delve into how I set my rates next, but Giovanna Lester wrote an excellent post on that, and it reflected how I had done it! After making myself known, it was time to…
Getting Started in Academic Translation: Working with Credentials
By Carolyn Yohn Credential translation can be a great way to transition into your new career as a translator. Besides acting as a bridge to your previous career as a student, this work really pushes you to hone your research skills and proofreading eye. The manageable length will keep you from feeling overwhelmed, and the variety of clients you can…