Choose a Translation Specialization - How to Choose a Translation Specialization

Choose a Translation Specialization - How to Choose a Translation Specialization

There are two basic avenues that you can follow when becoming a professional translator. One avenue is to be a general translator or a for-hire translator, working on whatever jobs come your way based on your expertise and experience. The second avenue is to choose a specialization and only work with specific types of translation. Both of these avenues can provide you with a wide variety of different job opportunities, but one is obviously more limiting than the other in what types of translation you will participate in. Once you know how to choose a translation specialization, you can decide if this is the right course of action for you or not.

Every industry has its own specific nomenclature and terminology, and these words, phrases and other intricacies are absolutely critical in conducting the industry's everyday activities. Whether the industry is legal, business, financial, marketing, media, manufacturing, government, medical or otherwise technical in nature, working with a specialized translator is ideal because someone with a thorough understanding of the specialization will have an easier time translating without encountering words, phrases or subjects that he or she is unfamiliar with. This is why it is important to know how to choose a translation specialization, especially if you have interest in a particular subject.

The best way to choose a translation specialization is to decide what area you want to specialize in first, because this is going to have an influence on your education and training requirements early on in the preparation process. If you want to become a legal translator, for example, you need to obtain a law education in addition to your translation education. The more you know about law and the legal system, the better able you will be to perform as a specialized law translator. This is an example of why it is so imperative that a specialist be used, because one wrong word could lead to legal troubles in many important legal documents or proceedings.

There are many different areas or fields that you can specialize in, depending on your interests and where exactly you want to take your translation career. The first step is simply to choose the specialization you want to focus on. Next, you should determine what education path is going to be able to get you to the end of your career goals. You might consider speaking with businesses in the industry to find out what their translation needs are, so that you can prepare yourself accordingly.

-By Adriana Tassini

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