As professional experience has shown us, translation is a highly interdisciplinar experience. In our article titled Debunking myths about translation, we explained that, in the collective mind, translation is understood as a mere task of interlinguistic matching for which it is only required to know a couple of languages. From this, a series of false beliefs about its nature have emerged which has wrongly conditioned the expectations that some clients have regarding the provision of language services in the current context. However, as we concluded, the reality is that translation is a very complex profession which is not only related to interlinguistic matching, but rather to market research, cultural adaptation, business strategy assessment and even with the creation of entirely new content. Thus, we can affirm that the translation profile is equally complex, since it comprises a varied body of knowledge and plenty of competences which constitute a hybrid profile. When we mentioned that a translator’s profile comprises a body of knowledge, we are immediately reminded of the mastery over a linguistic combination, an aspect that is undoubtedly essential for performing this activity. Nevertheless, from the beginning of their studies and for the entire learning period, translators dive into different areas of expertise and familiarize with the fields of knowledge about which they translate, either by previous study or by research processes, on their way to gradually become experts. Of course, depending on the translation sector they specialize in, they can have relevant contact with the markets in which the language services they provide are framed, placing themselves in a privileged position to understand the needs of different cultures, as well as their expectations and main points of interest. On the other hand, we mentioned that translators learn to master a series of skills, such as project management, establishment and follow-up of relationships with clients, actuation protocols in the face of urgent assigments (also entailing stress management), etc., in addition to developing a competitive command in the technological area, since they must be able to adequately use different software tools, oriented to translation per se, to task management and to invoicing, among others.
For these reasons, professional translators’ profiles gather a great number of features and knowledge that makes of them a competitive group of workers. This, in turn, makes them highly adaptable to other professional occupations. This is specially the case when a translator decides to change profession or devote themselves to an area that veers away from your typical translation jobs. As we said, translation is an interdisciplinar,y activity, but also a versatile one. Today’s article will explore the most characteristic professional outlets for translation and interpretation professionals, as well as other professions which they can access more easily, bypassing the need for specific training that is required for performing any job.
Firstly, we could highlight one of the professional areas that better mactehes translation experience, which is content creation. Some of the current translation modalities require more than a mere reproduction of textual content from one language to another. Oftentimes, client’s expectations include the ability to capture the essence of the message coded in one language and culture of origin to then be able to reproduce the same in the destination language. The name for this type of translation is “transcreation” and is made of a series of linguistic services which often require translators to create content from scratch, with an emphasis on connecting with the target audience in a more efficient manner considering their native point of view. Our article Key points about transcreation in translation, analyses this in greater detail. Indeed, along the lines of a wide knowledge about cultures and destination markets, translators can easily become commercial advisors, responsible for consulting for companies regarding the internationalization campaigns of their products. With the acquisition of experience, translators acquire a more acute sensitivity to know whether a international localization campaign willl be successful or whether it will need to be adjusted before launching on the new market. Therefore, the opinion of this type of professionals is highly valued and often required, meaning that these kind of services can turn into an independent career. In addition to performing consultancy services, some translator profiles are also excellent escorts, this role being understood as a service for accompanying company’s personnel during their commercial bonding with representatives of other cultures, where translators can act as liaison interpreters. Along these lines, those translators who master multicultural knowledge can also be responsible for managing social networks, which would be linked to the content creation mentioned above and could highlight their ability to generate interest by means of alluring and localized copy.
Another professional setting which translators can easily access is the teaching field, as they’re usually knowledgeable about specialized areas besides languages, and can communicate them at the academic level. There are of course other skills in play that are specific to teaching, since not everyone is able to transmit knowledge effectively, in addition to the specific academic training which is required to be a certified teaching professional. Finally, we could highlight the writing profession, as some translation and language experts have a special knack for the written word, so many jump at the idea of writing about their professional experience, areas of expertise of any other modality.
Translation is a rich professional activity and translators are professionals who can reach a competence level of the highest standard. This opens many doors in the labor market and gives them the possibility of facing new professional challenges.
Image reference: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-43129119
