Becoming a translator

[bottersnike]

Hi,
I'm considering this after 12+ years in business, using my languages (French&German mainly, bits of others as required) daily, so would welcome any hints and tips from freelance translators.
I've seen the suggestions of sites, marketing etc, and am hoping that I can manage the exams without having to attend the preparation courses - is this reasonable?
Any input appreciated, thank you!

Hi bottersnike,

Which exams are you hoping to take? I took the ITI exam last year without really doing any preparation for it, although it might be different for the IoL exam.

Arguably, having experience is more useful than having a translation qualification, although a lot of translation agencies do expect you at least to have a degree in languages. OTOH if you don't have much in the way of translation experience, a translation qualification would look good on your CV.

I applied to lots of different agencies when I started freelancing, heard back from a few and now work regularly for two or three - which may not sound very much, but it provides me with just about the right amount of work (more or less - sometimes I have far too much, other weeks are very quiet, which I think is part and parcel of working freelance).

Hope that helps; just ask if you have any other questions!

I was thinking of doing the DipTrans, simply because it's the only qualification I've come across!
I've got a degree in languages, but I thought a translation qualification would be useful. I will try what you suggest though, and see if my CV is successful on its own.
I don't mind about the unpredictable nature of the work; in many ways that is what I would prefer over the daily 8-5 that I'm in at the moment!
Thank you for your help

I must admit I don't really know too much about the DipTrans, but I have a couple of friends who passed it recently - I could ask them for more information if you like.

I do occasionally miss the predictability of a 9 to 5 job (which I haven't had for over nine years) - mainly when I'm working in the evenings or at weekends... OTOH working from home gives me so much more flexibility and I can't imagine going back to work for an employer again. And the quiet times make up for the ridiculously busy periods; it does seem to balance itself out (more or less) most of the time.

Hi Bottersnike,

I took and passed the DipTrans (Ger-Eng) in 2009. I did three semesters of the distance preparation course at City University, mainly because I hadn't studied languages at university (in fact, not even an A-level) and really wasn't sure what to expect or if I was at the right level. The tutor for the course was fantastic - very committed, prepared me perfectly for the exam. His initials are I.G., by the way.

However, the IoL exam is in itself not really great preparation for being a translator these days. Although you can take the exam on a laptop, no Internet resources are allowed so it is frankly unrealistic. The examiners are also apparently really not into free translation (no changing from singular to plural, every single particle has to be translated etc), and in the line I work in free translation is quite necessary.

I decided not to become a member of the IoL because all my clients are in German-speaking countries and membership of the BdÜ would be more useful.

I was immensely lucky in getting work. A good friend of mine was a partner in a translation collective and gave me some work on a trial basis, then gradually more, and I'm now a partner myself. Another translator friend was looking for someone to share a job and offered me work with a client who has since become a regular (and for whom I should be editing right now instead of MNing...). As a consequence, I don't work for agencies at all and have moved into project management and copy-editing. So it really was luck and contacts. But if I hadn't had those I would have touted my CV round the agencies and worked at low rates for a while.

Like LinzerTorte, I love the flexibility of working from home, but the lack of predictability can be annoying. You can bet a regular will mail with an urgent job just when you have to bake a cake for a school bash or take DC to the doctor. On the other hand, I never need to make arrangements for school holidays - the kids know now I'm in my home office and appreciate having quiet time at home to themselves.

A good resource for finding out about setting up is the proz.com forum. I don't advertise for jobs on proz because the rates are pitifully low, but there are lots of old hands there who know the ropes.

Sorry for the rant. Now back to that editing...

I thought I posted on here earlier, but apparently I didn't!
Just wanted to say thank you for all the suggestions, and I will now be considering my options.

Linzertorte
Did you just send your cv to random agencies? I've considered doing this but there are so many out there that I would not know where to begin. I have a degree in French and Italian but don't have a specialist area which is why I considered the Diptrans. I got really good advice on here before about specialising in something like finance but never did much about it. I currently teach 3 days per week but get fed up and would like to try something new but am a bit cash strapped with 3 dc and a big fat mortgage.
Any tips /encouragement much appreciated

Maybee Sorry not to reply earlier; I've only just seen your post.

I made a list of agencies in Austria (where I live) and the UK; I can't remember now where I got the names of the agencies from (probably a combination of different websites), but I did check all the agencies' websites to see whether they were recruiting freelance translators, how they preferred you to apply (CV or online form) and what requirements they had.

A qualification like the DipTrans would probably be very useful if you don't have a specialist area. I did an MA in translation after my languages degree and learned a lot about technical translation from it (and also discovered I didn't want to specialise in financial translation!).

As far as specialisation is concerned, I've rarely worked in any of the subject areas I put on my CV (possibly they weren't unusual enough; I'm not sure). I spent two years translating in-house for a software company but the only time I've ever translated an IT-related text since then was for the ITI exam! I now translate mainly fashion and statistics texts (an unusual combination, I know), neither of which I had much experience of before I started translating freelance; I've just had to pick things up as I go along.

Just ask if there's anything else you'd like to know.

Thanks LinzerT, I will get motivated this summer.

No problem.

I posted on your other thread about five minutes ago just in case you hadn't seen my reply, so apologies for the necessary hijack.

And feel free to CAT me if you have any more questions in the summer.

Wierd timing LT but thanks again.

unnecessary hijack, of course.

People actually pay me to proofread their texts, would you believe.