More and more companies are turning to a professional translation agency in their search for translators and interpreters. In a globalized world, language proficiency is absolutely essential in any company and in any field. This is true from marketing to human resources, project managers to CEOs.
English, French, German, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Russian… The world of languages is so broad. In this article, we will break down the main and most lucrative career opportunities in the fields of translation and interpreting.
Professional Translation Careers
The translation market is very extensive and currently includes sectors from various fields, such as the publishing industry, teaching, tourism, human resources management, development cooperation, foreign trade, etc.
1. Freelance translator. It’s a very common career if you’re a translation and interpreting student. As a translator, you can work for direct clients or through an agency.
2. Teaching. Many translators also obtain a special degree to be able to work as language teachers, in public, private, or charter schools.
3. Publishing. The vast majority of publishers have translators in their teams.
4. Companies. More and more companies need to have translators in their teams to be able to offer their products to foreign clients.
5. Legal work. Here, the role of the certified or sworn translator emerges. In this line of work, you translate official documents as a certified specialist.
Professional Interpreting Careers
Professional careers for interpreters are found mainly in four sectors: foreign trade, international relations, cooperation and development, and public administration.
International agencies, like the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), etc., require highly qualified interpreters to help with supranational matters.
In the field of development cooperation, language proficiency is absolutely essential, as well as interpreters to facilitate communication between local communities and international organizations.
On the other hand, a very risky but very interesting career is being an interpreter in the midst of an international conflict. An example of this is the hiring of hundreds of these professionals by the U.S. Army during the Iraq War.
In the business world, simultaneous interpreting services are required at meetings, conferences, events, and all kinds of ceremonies with an international presence.
Other professional career options
In addition to those already mentioned, there are other professional career options for translators and interpreters:
– Community manager for a media or international company
– Video game tester
– Content creator
– Linguistic consultant
– Travel agent
– Tour guide
– Dubbing script adapter
If you’re thinking of studying translation and interpreting but still feeling hesitant, here at blarlo we encourage you to take the first step. We are a translation agency with over 4,000 professionals from all over the world and extensive experience creating success stories. Don’t get discouraged, keep pursuing your dream! You too could become a great translator or interpreter.
This post is also available in: Español (Spanish) Français (French) Nederlands (Dutch)
