Welcome to the T&I Industry!
There is no need to go it alone: your more experienced colleagues are here to help!
Follow other translators and interpreters on social media. Ask questions about building your skills and your business. Join the ATA (and your local chapter). Watch some free webinars. Sign up for a mentorship.
And feel free to email me with questions. I don’t have all the answers, but I can point you in the right direction!
Find your community.
Follow professional translators and interpreters on social media. Notice how they present themselves and remember the tips they share. After a while, you’ll feel more comfortable asking questions and sharing your own insights. Here are some people to follow. This is just a start. Look around and find people who do things you would like to do! (I’m listing people where I see them actively posting. Most people can be found on multiple platforms.)
Twitter:
@corinnemckay - training for interpreters (offers classes through her website, but her Twitter/LinkedIn posts are excellent - and free!)
@language_news - Judy Jenner, Spanish court-certified interpreter
@jacksonsusie - budgeting and pricing, templates for quotes
@jeromobot - Jost Zetzsche, German translator and tech expert
@savvynewcomer - ATA Savvy Newcomer, a blog for newbies
@anglocom - English and French copywriting
LinkedIn:
Madalena Sanchez Zampaulo - website and business issues, using Google and LinkedIn to help the right clients find you
Nora Diaz - technology and productivity
Maria Scheinbengraf - marketeing and copywriting in Spanish
ATA Spanish Language Division
Northwest Translators and Interpreters (this is our local chapter of the ATA - they host excellent webinars and meetups throughout the year)
Josh Goldsmith - technology training
Julia Poger - conference and diplomatic interpreter
Here is a list from conference interpreter Amelie Roy of cool people for interpreters to follow.
Podcasts/Blogs:
En la luna de Babel - blog by English to Spanish literary and audiovisual translator Scheherezade Suria Lopez
Smart Habits for Translators - podcast on business and life for translators and interpreters, find them on Twitter as @smarthabits4xl8
Meet the Translator - weekly episodes, translators talk about their niches
Speaking of Translation - tons of back episodes on productivity, lifelong learning, time management
Learn!
This is a list of the books, journals, and free/low-cost courses that have helped me. The public library is a great place to find books. Google Books sometimes has previews that are long enough for you to see if you really want to buy the book or not. Let me know if you find something good that should be on here.
Why Translation Matters, by Edith Grossman - this book made me think in new ways about how translation gives power to messages from other cultures.
The Prosperous Translator, by Chris Durban - this book is older but still good. It’s a compilation of questions people have sent in and Chris’ answers to those questions. “Done right, [translation] can be a lucrative and intellectually satisfying career.”
The ATA Chronicle (read it at https://www.ata-chronicle.online/) - the Chronicle comes out six times a year and covers everything from technology to mental health as they affect T&I professionals. Check out the articles that interest you (and don’t forget to follow the authors on social media).
The ATA also developed an e-book on getting started as a translator.
Textbooks - I’m a legal translator, so I read law textbooks and contract drafting handbooks. Whatever field you are interested in, search out textbooks and study guides (which are often easier to get into) for that field. Again, the library is your best friend. Google Books is your second best friend.
Free/low-cost online courses (there are tons of good ones, these are just a few that my colleagues and I have enjoyed)
Coursera offers free classes on lots of topics that are relevant for translators and interpreters. Examples: Clinical Terminology for International and U.S. Students from the University of Pittsburgh, Understanding Medical Research: Your Facebook Friend is Wrong from Yale University, The Law in Action: Arbitration of International Disputes from the University of Leiden. Classes are free to audit (you don’t get a grade).
FutureLearn offers classes from UK universities on a wide range of topics like law, medicine, ethics, and technology. They have paid and free options for each class.
edX.org is a candy store of classes from Harvard and other top schools. I enjoyed the Intro to Contracts. Other things that caught my eye: Medical Terminology, Human Anatomy, and International Law. Some are free, some are paid.
Find a mentor.
The ATA runs a yearly mentorship program from April to September. The deadline to apply is March 31. Check it out here.
Some ATA divisions run informal mentorship programs. I’ll post back here when I have the information. Feel free to email me!
“At this point, I don’t know what I like and don’t like, because I’ve never done it before. So I just want to test out every single thing. Just start building my brand out of things that I care about and that I like doing.”
— Morgan Simianer (“Cheer”)