The Spanish Translation Career

A translation career focused in Spanish is one of the most interesting ones considering the translation business universe. It has a huge demand second only to English and Chinese translations.

Business in the US, in Europe and around the world demand an infinitude of Spanish translations, generating business for translation agencies, translators and interpreters.

Spanish in the US is like an official second language, and it is almost impossible to call a customer service and do not hear something like "Press "X" to speak in Spanish". If you take a train in New York or another cosmopolitan city in the US you will eventually see some train cars with more Spanish advertising than English. Believe it or not! You can get a driver license after taking a test in Spanish! You can get your social security after filling our an application in Spanish...

Spanish is so spread in the US than a relevant part of the Hispanic population do not even care about learning any English. Unless they want to upgrade in the social stratus, they really do not need to worry about learning any English!

For all of this, the market for Spanish translators and interpreters is huge. This does not mean that there is no competition. In fact, there is a lot of competition. But, one that differentiates themselves will develop a competitive edge.

This is a quick overview of what steps are included in the development of a career in Spanish translation:

1. Basic education: it may be a regular degree in a specific knowledge field such as Engineering, Medical Sciences, Law Studies, etc. or a degree in translation.

2. The candidate may start with translations for friends, neighbors, or even paying customers that are aware you are not professional and do not require a high accuracy in their translations (i.e.; personal letters). Although not advisable, some companies that do not care about the quality of their documents will also hire non-experienced translators. Some Chinese companies in particular (i.e. those manufacturing portable CD players, radio, etc.) will willfully look for uneducated translators in order to pay wages that no professional translator would even consider to accept. Their only goal is to meet their market requirements of a "manual in Spanish". It does not matter if it is not understandable or if it is full of errors, since the regulators will not care about that either.

3. Once you realize that you like doing translation, check if you have the required skills for that: patience, attention to details, concentration, pleasure doing something that may be very repetitive, willingness to work overnight when necessary, between others.

4. Purchase technical dictionaries in your specialty, subscribe online dictionaries and do everything possible to increase your technical expertise in your filed of translation

5. Once you have some experience with the "apprentice" translations described in item #2, start contacting translation companies. The best way of doing that is to locate companies that are actively searching for new translators. Sending spam emails to every translation company you find in the web will just cause a bad impression. The worst case is when you Google for "Spanish translation" and then click on the advertising these companies are placing to get CUSTOMERS. Put yourself in their shoes! You pay big bucks to acquire customers, and instead... a translator shows up asking for a position after wasting your advertising budget!! This is the worst thing a translator may do when trying to get work. The second worst thing is to "harass" a translation agency. And, believe it or not, even some professional translators do that. After you got an opportunity to send your resume to a translation agency and speaker with one of their managers or project managers, WAIT until you are called. If they not call you, do not keep calling you asking "do you have any jobs for me?". Maybe you do not fit to their particular needs. Calling them will not change that. Besides not being a match, you will also be considered a pain in the neck or a "no way" choice. It is better to be conservative in this aspect.

6. Translation marketplaces like ProZ are a great place to start your professional career. In these marketplaces there are customers for every level of translation... you will find there companies that pay little and do not care about quality, you will find companies that pay average and are concerned about quality, and you will find companies that pay a LOT but are MANIACS about the quality. A translator usually start charging little and then raises their rates at the same pace they improve their translation skills.

7. At some point of your career, you shall get a certification from some trustworthy association. To get a certification you will be exposed to concepts and practices that will help you improve your production. It is a process that will enable you to CHARGE MORE because after you went through the process you will usually be PRODUCING A BETTER QUALITY translation.

8. After a period of time that will vary from one year to three years, you will have a few clients that will be able to generate a considerable income for you. It is when you will feel like a "professional translator" able to make a live from this work.