The profession of an interpreter is recognized as one of the most prestigious and in-demand. In today’s business, in which foreign partners are increasingly present, it is simply impossible to do without an interpreter.
Translators are needed to sign contracts and negotiate with foreign partners, create a website in a foreign language. But despite the need for the presence of a translator on the staff of the company, only some companies hire him only for translations. Most of the time, an interpreter in a company does not have only one job, but combines his or her profession with another one, such as a manager. This is explained by the fact that most companies can not give full workload to translators in their direct line, and no one is going to pay a salary for doing nothing, so the translator often have to learn another or several professions.
Translators have their own specialties: someone is engaged only in translation, working with fiction, science, journalism, technical texts, articles and documents. Some translate spoken language (consecutive or simultaneous interpretation).
Depending on what field of translation the specialist translator works in, depends on a set of his personal qualities.
- For an interpreter involved in business negotiations, it is important to be a diplomat, and in case of confrontation between the parties, it is sometimes a good idea to soften the general tone of the negotiations.
- For a simultaneous interpreter, you need communication skills and development of such a skill as predictive anticipation – a person just starts talking and the interpreter already knows what he or she is talking about.
- Those who work on written translations, on the other hand, will need thoughtfulness, assiduity, and the ability to abstract.
Pros of the translation profession:
- Opportunity for self-fulfillment in any field: translation, simultaneous interpreter, interpretation or consecutive translation, translation of movies, books, magazines;
- There is an opportunity to communicate with different people and learn the cultures of other countries;
- A person who speaks a foreign language is welcomed in journalism, travel agencies, PR-companies, management;
Cons of the profession:
- Unstable workload in different months, the amount of translation can vary several times;
- Sometimes these professionals are treated as second-class citizens: interpreters accompany delegations to stores and bars, and sometimes perform courier errands;
- Often they do not receive remuneration when the material is delivered, but when the payment comes from the client.