The first thing to recognize is that there’s a big difference between translation and interpretation. If you’re wondering which might be the best career path for you, the answer will depend on your individual preferences and skills. Some people are into communication and the challenges that come with face-to-face human interaction, and if this is you, then perhaps you should consider a career as an interpreter; while others would prefer to sit at their desk in their office or their home for a few hours every day and do translation work. There are others, though, who are both a translator and an interpreter, and they manage both these professional jobs very well.

Get the Right Education

Perhaps you’re a college graduate of mixed ethnicity who grew up into a proficient bilingual speaker, or maybe you have a Bachelor of Arts with a foreign language major, but once you’ve made the decision to become a translator or interpreter you’ll need further education in that field. It’s also advisable to obtain a degree because your degree provides proof of your level of skills and knowledge to potential employees. Next, you need to analyze both your strong and weak points, in addition to the area you believe would make translation fun and rewarding for you.

Stay with Subjects You’re Familiar with

While you’re learning, ideally you’ll be tackling all different kinds of texts and language areas until eventually, you’ll realize that there are certain fields where you feel more comfortable. Once you have this realization, stay in this field until you’re ready to expand. You’ll achieve better results by dealing with a subject you’re familiar with, and it will also boost your self-confidence.

To Freelance – Or Not!

When you’re just starting out you may decide to start by translating a wide range of written material, so you can always advertise your translation services online and accept whatever challenges may come your way. On the other hand, you’ll probably develop your skills much quicker if you work in-house with a team of translators. The policies of the company concerned and the daily routine of members involved with the company will be a great boost to your translation career. Generally, each member stays within a specific field, ultimately increasing their opportunities for advancing their knowledge and skills. Perhaps you’ll choose to translate legal documents, which means that other members of your team will cover technical, literature, medical, and other types of translations.

There’s Money to Be Earned!

The financial rewards for translation and interpretation depend entirely on the amount of work that’s completed, the quality of the work delivered, and sometimes even the turnaround time. If you’re just starting out you’ll obviously take more time to complete a page of translation but, over time, your speed, knowledge, and skills will increase dramatically. You’ll also become more adept at using CAT tools, which are a valuable tool for translators. If you’re considering a career as an interpreter, this may sound a more challenging move for a beginner, because interpretation involves a lot more than just language knowledge: it requires good diction, assertiveness, spontaneity, speed, in addition to anticipation – all of which can be developed and perfected by practicing.

In-House or Freelance?

If you’re working in-house at a translation agency, your professional expertise together with the good name of the agency will result in both more work and better-paid work for you to complete. On the other hand, if your dream is to become a freelance translator, then make sure you develop a top-notch website together with a powerful CV and some of your high-quality, accurate supporting work samples. Then just be patient, because it won’t be long before you land your first translation job!