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When, During Your Working Years, Did You Actually Start To Work As A Translator?
Thread poster: Barbara Cochran, MFA
Barbara Cochran, MFA
Barbara Cochran, MFA  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 14:10
Spanish to English
+ ...
Oct 20, 2020

Was it your first job after secondary school or college? Did you have another job or career first that was related to translation in some way, so that it seemed to be or was a logical transition at a certain point? Please share your always interesting stories!

 
Lisette Vogler-Chase
Lisette Vogler-Chase  Identity Verified
Bulgaria
Local time: 20:10
Member (2013)
English to German
+ ...
30 years after obtaining diploma Oct 20, 2020

I obtained my translator/interpreter diploma in 1980 and always "kept it for later". I worked in many different jobs before switching to full-time freelance translating in 2013. During 16 years prior to that switch I worked as project manager in Knowledge Management for a big US corporation, which involved the creation of support documents for printers and also the creation of online and classroom trainings for document creation. So, yes, having worked in those fields and in the corporate world... See more
I obtained my translator/interpreter diploma in 1980 and always "kept it for later". I worked in many different jobs before switching to full-time freelance translating in 2013. During 16 years prior to that switch I worked as project manager in Knowledge Management for a big US corporation, which involved the creation of support documents for printers and also the creation of online and classroom trainings for document creation. So, yes, having worked in those fields and in the corporate world does come in handy now.Collapse


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:10
Member (2008)
Italian to English
It Must Oct 20, 2020

It Must Have Been Around The Time When I Started Capitalising Every Word.

P.L.F. Persio
Christopher Schröder
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Barbara Carrara
Anette Hilgendag
Thomas T. Frost
Elena Aclasto
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 18:10
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
20 years after starting to work Oct 20, 2020

I didn't start out my career as a translator. There were a couple of other completely different professions (civil servant, senior secretary, hotel manager, junior director, account executive, public relations officer, vocational trainer) before this one. I do not regret at all this intricate weaving as it gave me a valuable insight of different areas of business. Then translation found me: part-time for a few years followed by 20 years as full-time in-house translator and reviser in a EU Instit... See more
I didn't start out my career as a translator. There were a couple of other completely different professions (civil servant, senior secretary, hotel manager, junior director, account executive, public relations officer, vocational trainer) before this one. I do not regret at all this intricate weaving as it gave me a valuable insight of different areas of business. Then translation found me: part-time for a few years followed by 20 years as full-time in-house translator and reviser in a EU Institution (retired now). In this last job we had not only an excellent working environment but we just made up a fun, friendly and enjoyable team. It was a pleasure working with them and of course sometimes I miss the camaraderie, but working as a freelance translator is now the ideal job for me: not only I love the idea of being at home and avoiding the traffic mayhem but also I love the freedom it gives me and the variety of work! If I could do it all over again I would probably start at an younger age than I did but then again I wouldn’t have all the useful knowledge I had gleaned over the years…Collapse


 
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Kay-Viktor Stegemann
Germany
Local time: 19:10
English to German
In memoriam
Fourth decade of my career Oct 20, 2020

My career path was rather aimless. Studied informatics, but got distracted and started programming for a medical department of the university, writing newspaper articles on the side, stumbled into a consulting firm where I did some more programming and consulting small and medium enterprises, and was persuaded to finish a degree at last. After some more years in the consulting firm I switched to a software development company and did some serious work for two decades and wrote a couple of journa... See more
My career path was rather aimless. Studied informatics, but got distracted and started programming for a medical department of the university, writing newspaper articles on the side, stumbled into a consulting firm where I did some more programming and consulting small and medium enterprises, and was persuaded to finish a degree at last. After some more years in the consulting firm I switched to a software development company and did some serious work for two decades and wrote a couple of journal articles. Started translating on the side, first in some fan projects, then in some translation platforms, then for more and more agencies, and suddenly found myself so swamped with work that I needed to decide between my "regular" job and freelance translating. The rest is history, but "logical transitions" seem not to be part of it  

[Edited at 2020-10-20 08:40 GMT]
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Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:10
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Architect Oct 20, 2020

After many years working 100% bilingually as an architect (between Italy and the UK) I realised that aside from that professional activity, I was becoming interested in translating as a freestanding occupation. At some point I began translating architecture books. Gradually the translating took over from the "architecting" - although I'm still doing both, and they feed off each other. I'm an architect who is also a specialist translator.

 
Steve Robbie
Steve Robbie
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:10
Member (2017)
German to English
+ ...
Many years after I first thought of it. Oct 20, 2020

I was a Chartered Accountant for a number of years, half of it in a bilingual environment, and also have a PhD in history on a Franco-German topic. I began translating for a living aged 40.
Many years ago I went to university with the intention of studying German and French, and the idea of becoming a translator was at the back of my mind. As it turned out, I abandoned the languages degree and graduated in philosophy and politics instead. As I realise now, knowing foreign languages is only
... See more
I was a Chartered Accountant for a number of years, half of it in a bilingual environment, and also have a PhD in history on a Franco-German topic. I began translating for a living aged 40.
Many years ago I went to university with the intention of studying German and French, and the idea of becoming a translator was at the back of my mind. As it turned out, I abandoned the languages degree and graduated in philosophy and politics instead. As I realise now, knowing foreign languages is only part of it takes to be a good translator. I mostly translate accounting and financial documentation, and the knowledge I picked up in my first career is fundamentally important in my work now.

[Edited at 2020-10-20 09:36 GMT]

[Edited at 2020-10-20 09:43 GMT]
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Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
Straight After I Quit The Circus Oct 20, 2020

I wasn’t bad on the high wire but when I lost a ninth finger juggling knives the same day as being mauled by a lion, I realised the Big Top wasn’t my destiny.

And you wonder why I love to clown around on here.

That’s also why I dictate my translations.


expressisverbis
Mervyn Henderson (X)
P.L.F. Persio
Zibow Retailleau
 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 18:10
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Translation was not my first career Oct 20, 2020

Family problems prevented me taking up the place I was offered at the London School of Oriental and African Studies. The compromise solution was a local one-year bilingual secretarial course. So I became a secretary. French never figured highly in my jobs but the "language" of shorthand was fun.

It was a job I both liked and hated. My first bosses were fine but then I got one who thought his secretary was there to lie to his wife, buy her presents on his behalf, and impress his busi
... See more
Family problems prevented me taking up the place I was offered at the London School of Oriental and African Studies. The compromise solution was a local one-year bilingual secretarial course. So I became a secretary. French never figured highly in my jobs but the "language" of shorthand was fun.

It was a job I both liked and hated. My first bosses were fine but then I got one who thought his secretary was there to lie to his wife, buy her presents on his behalf, and impress his business cronies. Yuk!

Fortunately, my company was Shell, so sideways moves were always possible. I moved into administration with responsibility for personnel records, in the still fairly early days of computerisation. Department heads were becoming aware that they could ask the computers questions, such as "How many women with both degrees and children work in X department, and what are their names, job titles, and ages? Getting the answers was a job that fascinated me as it involved using a "language" the computer understood.

I was eventually given the job of focal point and tasked with all the more complicated requests for information. From there, it was a natural move into programming proper. I was involved in that and data analysis for about 10 years until my husband, who also worked for Shell, was given the option of expatriation or redundancy.

What does a wife do in a country where she doesn't speak the language (Dutch)? She retrains to teach others her own language (training paid for by Shell!). I then spent 15 years in France helping mainly business people to use English. About 7 years in, I decided that my French was good enough to allow me to actually ask for payment for my translations, rather than a bottle of the local red. So I took a basic training course and got stuck in.

(Edited for clarity)

[Edited at 2020-10-20 10:14 GMT]
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Thomas McElwaine
 
Elizabeth Tamblin
Elizabeth Tamblin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:10
French to English
@Barbara Oct 20, 2020

I got a degree in librarianship and worked in libraries for a few years before taking a career break to bring up my son.

Then I had a series of jobs to get myself back into the world of work. These included working as a medical receptionist, office jobs and even a character-building stint in a call centre.

As the time approached for my son to leave for University, I thought I'd better try to get a life for myself, and that's why I decided to do an MA in translation. It
... See more
I got a degree in librarianship and worked in libraries for a few years before taking a career break to bring up my son.

Then I had a series of jobs to get myself back into the world of work. These included working as a medical receptionist, office jobs and even a character-building stint in a call centre.

As the time approached for my son to leave for University, I thought I'd better try to get a life for myself, and that's why I decided to do an MA in translation. It was a great way of making use of my degree in French and gave me an opportunity to work from home.

How about you, Barbara?
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Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 19:10
Spanish to English
+ ...
Level 1 Oct 20, 2020

There's a text-book example of TiLing above. Will it evolve, develop, fledge? All agog here.

As for me, I think I've mentioned my beginnings at some point. I helped translate a book on Salvador Dalí, written by a fawning sycophant whom Salva never paid much attention to, in return for the other translator teaching me computer. Then I decided it wasn't a bad profession. Mainly because it was such fun translating Dalí's antics, and I supposed it must be fun all the time. He was defi
... See more
There's a text-book example of TiLing above. Will it evolve, develop, fledge? All agog here.

As for me, I think I've mentioned my beginnings at some point. I helped translate a book on Salvador Dalí, written by a fawning sycophant whom Salva never paid much attention to, in return for the other translator teaching me computer. Then I decided it wasn't a bad profession. Mainly because it was such fun translating Dalí's antics, and I supposed it must be fun all the time. He was definitely off his head, but he got away with it. I never saw it published in either Spanish or English, but it was called Psicodálico Dalí in Spanish, and what could we call it in English but Psychodalic Dalí. If anyone happens upon it in English, it should mention me and another bloke. If it doesn't mention me, I might be able to sue them.

[Edited at 2020-10-20 10:40 GMT]

Actually, here's the Spanish version. Nutter or what? That's the kind of guy who always takes the seat next to me on the bus:

https://www.surrealismstore.com/es/biografias/94-psicodalico-dali.html


[Edited at 2020-10-20 10:43 GMT]
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expressisverbis
Joe France
P.L.F. Persio
 
Elizabeth Tamblin
Elizabeth Tamblin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:10
French to English
@Mervyn Oct 20, 2020

Mervyn Henderson wrote:

There's a text-book example of TiLing above. Will it evolve, develop, fledge? All agog here.

As for me, I think I've mentioned my beginnings at some point. I helped translate a book on Salvador Dalí, written by a fawning sycophant whom Salva never paid much attention to, in return for the other translator teaching me computer. Then I decided it wasn't a bad profession. Mainly because it was such fun translating Dalí's antics, and I supposed it must be fun all the time. He was definitely off his head, but he got away with it. I never saw it published in either Spanish or English, but it was called Psicodálico Dalí in Spanish, and what could we call it in English but Psychodalic Dalí. If anyone happens upon it in English, it should mention me and another bloke. If it doesn't mention me, I might be able to sue them.

[Edited at 2020-10-20 10:40 GMT]

Actually, here's the Spanish version. Nutter or what? That's the kind of guy who always takes the seat next to me on the bus:

https://www.surrealismstore.com/es/biografias/94-psicodalico-dali.html


[Edited at 2020-10-20 10:43 GMT]


What is TiLing, if you don't mind my asking? I checked Urban Dictionary, but none of the definitions seemed to fit the context.


expressisverbis
Christopher Schröder
 
Mervyn Henderson (X)
Mervyn Henderson (X)  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 19:10
Spanish to English
+ ...
@Elizabeth Oct 20, 2020

You obviously haven't been paying attention, Elizabeth. Wasting your time translating, girl. Take a hundred lines.

Check out "Completely frivolous thread", page 5, post 9, title "@expressisverbis". I say no more.


expressisverbis
Christopher Schröder
P.L.F. Persio
Thomas T. Frost
 
expressisverbis
expressisverbis
Portugal
Local time: 18:10
Member (2015)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Elizabeth Oct 20, 2020

Elizabeth Tamblin wrote:

Mervyn Henderson wrote:

There's a text-book example of TiLing above. Will it evolve, develop, fledge? All agog here.

As for me, I think I've mentioned my beginnings at some point. I helped translate a book on Salvador Dalí, written by a fawning sycophant whom Salva never paid much attention to, in return for the other translator teaching me computer. Then I decided it wasn't a bad profession. Mainly because it was such fun translating Dalí's antics, and I supposed it must be fun all the time. He was definitely off his head, but he got away with it. I never saw it published in either Spanish or English, but it was called Psicodálico Dalí in Spanish, and what could we call it in English but Psychodalic Dalí. If anyone happens upon it in English, it should mention me and another bloke. If it doesn't mention me, I might be able to sue them.

[Edited at 2020-10-20 10:40 GMT]

Actually, here's the Spanish version. Nutter or what? That's the kind of guy who always takes the seat next to me on the bus:

https://www.surrealismstore.com/es/biografias/94-psicodalico-dali.html


[Edited at 2020-10-20 10:43 GMT]


What is TiLing, if you don't mind my asking? I checked Urban Dictionary, but none of the definitions seemed to fit the context.


I was going to answer you, but the question was directed to Mervyn.
Please, try to come to the "Completely Frivolous Thread".
I am sure you will find it interesting, and you can regain a little of your joie de vivre


 
Elizabeth Tamblin
Elizabeth Tamblin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:10
French to English
@Mervyn Oct 20, 2020

Mervyn Henderson wrote:

You obviously haven't been paying attention, Elizabeth. Wasting your time translating, girl. Take a hundred lines.

Check out "Completely frivolous thread", page 5, post 9, title "@expressisverbis". I say no more.


Ah, I see. I was worried it was something to do with my post.


 
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