How to become an active translator again and for good! How to take advantage of your potential?
Thread poster: Inita Kostanenko
Inita Kostanenko
Inita Kostanenko  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 14:49
Latvian to English
+ ...
Jun 4, 2019

Hello dear translators!

I am 35. People as well as my family ask me, how in the world I am not rich with all of the language knowledge work experience and having studied in three countries (and still studying)?

Anybody who has been in the same boat?

Looking forward to hearing from you!


Take care!

Inita


Nagehan Carroll
 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
As a clever man said Jun 4, 2019

Inita, as one clever man said: "Ok, you know a foreign language and can speak it well, yet even a beggar in that country can do it much better, so... What you can do with your languages?"

Unlike unmarketable so-called "pure translators", a decent specialist in a field (an engineer, a mentor/educator, a consultant, a worker, a doctor...) with good foreign language skills is in demand.


Inita Kostanenko
 
Tina Vonhof (X)
Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 07:49
Dutch to English
+ ...
Question Jun 4, 2019

Hi Inita,

What can you tell us about your work experience and the studying you have done and what would you really want to know?


 
Inita Kostanenko
Inita Kostanenko  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 14:49
Latvian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
My work and study experience Jun 4, 2019

Hi and thanks for a response!

After highschool I went to a theological studies in Greenville, SC in America. Afterwards I started studying English philology and kontrastive French. That is when I started working with Christianity related translations, and business intelligence article translations and summaries ( ENG, RU into LV). Later I got my first contract translating for State Social Insurance Agency in Riga, translating information on benefits, EU regulations from Latvian int
... See more
Hi and thanks for a response!

After highschool I went to a theological studies in Greenville, SC in America. Afterwards I started studying English philology and kontrastive French. That is when I started working with Christianity related translations, and business intelligence article translations and summaries ( ENG, RU into LV). Later I got my first contract translating for State Social Insurance Agency in Riga, translating information on benefits, EU regulations from Latvian into English. Since I continued later distance studies, I worked at Swedbank headquarters as a board member secretary, often took minutes at international board meetings , prepared other documents in English and helped out the bank translator. Due to family situation had a pause, in 2010 started as an English, Russian substitute teacher at a highschool level. Later worked for Swedish companies in Riga customer service, such as Taxi Kurir and Western Union Sweden and Scandinavia, where I developed my Swedish skills, esp inconcern to money, security transactions. When moved to Sweden in 2013, started as a freelance translator, have translated construction contracts, other contracts, marketing, business general, state institution documents, some medical. It was a side job to my French teaching job at primary and secondary schools for almost 3 years. During these years in Sweden I have been also working for agencies as an interpreter from Swedish into Latvian and English (schools, municipality, medical). I compleyed Swedish state exam, took two serious interpreting courses (introduction and unemploymend and social services, state institutions general). Then since September 2018 I have been studying pre BA course in French, to then continue with 1,5 years of pedagogics studies. This term I studied art history level 1 at Stockholm University (in Swedish) as well as the Interculturality and Communicative Competence course, which is a course in French. I have been accepted so far for the translators program this fall, specializing either in French and Swedish or Swedish and English. Not sure about the teacher's degree anymore, still thinking. But being a single mom, translation would be perfect for me if I got the hang of it. Only this time I would want to do it more seriously.
What do you think, do I have any chances in the translating industry?

Thanks,
Inita
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Inita Kostanenko
Inita Kostanenko  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 14:49
Latvian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Sounds reasonable, just wondering to which of those cathegories do I belong. Jun 4, 2019

Presenting objectively what I can do for the client is not so easy. Developing a good translators CV, condencing my experiences to the essential and appropriate ones - those are some of the challenges I am facing right now. .

 


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How to become an active translator again and for good! How to take advantage of your potential?






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