Sectors: Careers using languages

Most professional translators and interpreters are freelance, and the vast majority have specific qualifications. Many also have an agent, although it is possible to work without one if you are good at marketing yourself and willing to build up regular clients. Some permanent salaried jobs exist in organisations like the European Commission or GCHQ.

Before starting to find roles, you should consider the following:

• How much demand is there for the languages you are fluent in?
• Who might your target market be?
• Translators generally only translate into their mother tongue, but interpreters are expected to interpret both ways.
• Do you have a Plan B? Early in their career, many translators/interpreters work part time in another, possibly unrelated field to make ends meet.

On the Prospects website you can find occupational profiles for Interpreters and Translators.

Skills and practice

In translating, working accurately and at speed is crucial to attract and keep customers, and to earn a living. Professional translators are usually paid per source word - the more words you can translate per hour, the more you earn. Training (for instance translating 1500-2000 words per day) will help increase your speed and improve your technique. Pro-bono work can be a good way to get this practice. This will also build your CV and shorten the post qualification experience needed to be taken on by an agency.

Some people take time out after their degree in order to develop their language skills by living abroad. In these cases, teaching TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) courses is a common way of earning an income.

In addition to fluency in your chosen languages, IT skills can be useful, and good public speaking is a must for interpreters.

Postgraduate Courses

The kind of translation you may have done during your degree is a good foundation. However, most institutions and agencies require a postgraduate qualification from their translators. The Institute of Translation and Interpreting has a range of information for getting into this career.

If you are considering a course, examine its content carefully, and think about the area you wish to work in. Some courses focus more on theory and others on practical training. Most are full-time, year-long courses though there are some part time distance learning options. There is also a part time diploma accredited by The Chartered Institute of Linguists.

Some courses train you in both interpreting and translation, while others focus on one or the other. Some allow you to choose a specialism such as law, technology, or science. Imperial College London, for instance, offer a MSc in Scientific, Medical and Technical Translation. The Chartered Institute of Linguists publishes a list of such courses. Find out what links to employers the institution has and where the alumni of the course are now working. Some courses, for instance, are part of the European Masters in Translation network, recognised by the European Commission.

Translating and interpreting positions

Translation and interpretation skills, either simultaneously or consecutively, are required in many sectors and settings. These include major conferences, police investigations, international organisations, security services, government communications, and immigration.

There is a real demand for native English speakers with fluency in other languages in the European Commission. Shortage languages include but are not restricted to German, Arabic, Chinese, Romanian, Latvian, Maltese, and Russian.

If you would like to work as a translator at the United Nations or European Commission, bear in mind that neither organisation recruits on an annual basis. The EC, for instance, holds competitions for translators in each language roughly once every three years (see the EU page interpreting for Europe). The UN only officially works in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese, and recruits via an exam system similar to the EC’s competitions.