English-Indonesian Translation

With the increasing growth of multi-national enterprises, translation career becomes more interesting and promising. Many people now choose to be a full-time translator. It is not surprising that more colleges now offer translation subject. Of course, translating job may not be as simple as it sounds. Being proficient in the theory and language structures is not enough to produce high-quality translation.

What to Prepare for your Translation Career

Are you a translation student, who is preparing your career in this field? The following are some tips that may help you preparing your career:

Improving General Knowledge

Translating deals not simply about language structure, grammar or diction. Instead, you will deal with more general things like social and cultural aspects of both source and target language. If you want to be a professional translator, make sure to improve your general knowledge in any aspects. They may include economics, law, history, marketing, politics and even medicine.

In addition, make sure to learn the relevant technology in every field of science. You may deal with idioms, loan words, verbalization or nominalization. Translating idioms may be a challenge, since you may not find the relevant terms in the target language. Improving general knowledge may help you overcome such problems.

Consider Specialization

Some translators begin their career by specializing in one field, at least initially. As your translation career path goes, you can improve language proficiency and add the language. At the beginning, choose a field, which you love the most or in which you are familiar with the terms. However, some translators suggest this only at the beginning. If you specialize in one field, your customer segment may be narrower too.

Getting Work Experience Soon

Even expert translators agree translation skills grow with time and practice. The more you practice the jobs, the more familiar you are with the terms. In the end, the translation is also more accurate and natural. So, make sure to begin gaining experience as early as possible.

If you are not qualified yet to join a translation agency, you can start with people around you. For instance, you can offer free translation service for your relatives or free members. Ask their opinion about your translation. If possible, you can exchange the fees with testimony. Testimony will be a great ‘weapon’ for you in planning a career in translation.

Then, you can begin the translation career and earn extra money from it. You can join online or brick-and-mortar translation office. However, the first option is better for a student. Being a freelance translator allows you to gain experience why earning extra income.

Being a Member of the Industry

Indulge yourself into the world of translation and be an active member in the industry. There are some strategies to do this, such as:

• Joining local or national translation organization.
• Join social media groups and online forums. Participate in sharing ideas and experience in translations. You can get useful information from this kind of forum.
• Joining training course or conferences in translation. These are helpful not only to get updated knowledge about translation but also to get information on job opportunities.

Ready to be a part of translation industry? Set up the plan as early as possible, and get prepared to be an expert translator. Stay updated with the latest trend on translation industry by visiting our blog.